Why is there a shortage of recycled plastic in the U.S.?

Question

I mean why is there a shortage of plastic products that get recycled

Answer 1

Only 23% of the plastic which is sold into the market (water bottles, product packaging, cups, etc) is put into recycle bins - the rest just goes into the garbage bin and into the landfill.

Also, plastic has a limited number of times it can be recycled, some forms of already recycled plastic cannot be reused.  

Plastic is a poor decision overall, especially when it's used for disposible products.

Answer 2

you whinners.

send me a check for the difference between new and recycled products and i'll use them.

or i will sell you my old plastic, if you want.

Answer 3

I think people would recycle more if they were informed on how not recycling affects them personally.  Most people I know that don't recycle, live in a bubble.

I know some people that work really hard and may need help recycling, too.

Answer 4

It's true BobSpain..the US dumps the most, clean the least...

The greener city in Europe is Helsinki, followed by Berlin and Barcelona.  Here, in Italy...I can say that the province of Varese is the greener one...considering that the instruments exist and the population is being educated to do so.  I just know that Napoli is the worst...but is a cultural and political thing.

Julie...however in Europe, even the Humid is separated.  I mean like the grease you take out from meat before you cook, etc.  We recycled everything.  Every little town has it's own recycle center, which then sends everything to the city center...What is being done at home?

Afratta437- I don't need your money.  Use it to help Wall Street.  Men, why can't we come clean and admit that while other countries are working hard to keep it clean, our country is doing Jack s.....!!!

Answer 5

Hi,

I'm not really sure exactly what you are asking here...there is certainly not a shortage of plastic to recycle-you throw away millions of tons of it in your garbage.

If you mean 'Why are there not more items made from recycled plastic?' then there are a number of reasons...

   ...Your president does not lead the world, by example, on environemt issues and, unfortunately, neither does the rest of the population.  

As a nation (though there are, I know, many people who ARE concerned) you do not separate out your garbage, so that materials can be easily used.  Plastic, paper, glass, etc., are all, generally, thrown away together and it is then becomes easier just to dump it, rather than use the materials for recycling.

This adds an extra cost for any company wishing to use material in a responsible way.  It is a sad fact of life that the sheer cost of processing used plastics (and other materials) is much higher than the cost of manufacturing from new.

People, although they would be happy to use recycled plastic products, are not prepared to pay more for the privilege,  So more new products are made, more are then thrown away, leaving you with a huge amount of waste that has to be disposed of.  Some is burned (though with plastics this can cause even worse environmental concerns), some is buried in huge landfill areas, where it will lie for, possibly, hundreds of years before degrading.

Some is even recycled, though the gesture is not really commercially viable.  To reprocess more will need a concerted effort by many more Americans, and they will need to be prepared to pay more for the recycled products.

That is, unfortunately NOT a popular idea...and people are NOT prepared to pay more for goods which are made by recycling.  Your government is not leading by example and, at best, pays only lip service to environmental moves.

You are not the only country which has this lack of concern...there are many others, including China, the UK, Spain and so on...but the USA is the biggest user of products that produce waste and one of the least effective in using recycling techniques.

So it's down to the general citizens to make it known they wish the government to pass legislation to enforce recycling programs.  

This will probably not happen...people are (not just USA citizens) generally in favour of attempting to save the world becoming buried in waste materials, but they are not prepared to fight for it, nor are they prepared to pay for it...

Cheers,

BobSpain