14 DAY TRIAL // Plastic wastes, which come from an abundance of sources, including wrapping, bottles and other commodities, take more than one hundred years to disintegrate when left into the environment, which makes them one of the most harmful substances on the planet. Even so, it would seem that people are more than willing to buy them, and then discard them as soon as possible. Fortunately, there are those who choose to recycle them, and their numbers are growing, according to the latest estimates for 2007.
The American Chemistry Council (ACC) and the Association of Postconsumer Plastic Recyclers (APR), which has recently released the 18th annual Post-Consumer Plastics Bottle Recycling Report, say that the level of recycling in the US has gone up 2.3 billion pounds every year, as far as plastics go. This means that, from the 2006 levels, the country has registered an increase of 115 million pounds of recycled plastic. This is nothing but good news for the environment, activists maintain, as less of the dangerous chemical ends up getting stuck in landfills or polluting the soil.
“These numbers show us that consumers are increasingly interested in recycling plastic bottles. Valuable recycled plastic materials go on to become useful products, such as new bottles, carpeting, fleece jackets, and durable outdoor lumber,” APR executive director, Steve Alexander, shares. He adds that the number of PET bottles collected at various centers across the US has increased by more than 124 million pounds, which would seem to imply that Americans are becoming more and more aware of the environment, as well as of their carbon footprint.
“We are pleased to see plastics recycling continue to climb. Plastics recycling continues to grow because people recognize that plastics are a valuable resource – too valuable to waste,” ACC’s Plastics Division managing director, Steve Russell, points out. According to the numbers his organization has supplied, PET and High-Density PolyEthylene (HDPE) bottles continue to make up for more than 96 percent of all plastic bottles in the country.
The good news about last years' increases is that they follow an ascending trend, which has continued undeterred for more than 17 years. As more and more people become aware of the dangers pollution poses to their own health and to that of their children, they start bringing in their used plastic containers so as to reduce the need of factories always making new ones.