Recycling Of Plastics In The United States

Municipalities in the USA and indeed around the World are generating growing numbers of plastic waste than ever before and the facts are that only a small percentage of it is recycled. In many developing countries plastics and other byproducts litter streets, drains, rivers and much of that ends up in the oceans. In the USA, the EPA estimates that the municipal solid waste stream contains more than 12 percent of plastic. This figure has grown consistently over the past fifty years, from one percent in the 1960’s. Additionally, the EPA estimates that as consumers are buying increasing amounts of plastic only 8 percent of it gets recycled because the plastics industry almost never uses recycled plastics in their products, unlike what obtains in the the glass and …show more content…
Additionally, we are told that two soft drink bottles can be recycled into a polyester fiber baseball cap; in the construction industry, artificial lumber made of recycled plastic is used for corrosion resistance in sea walls, fencing and outdoor tables and benches. These applications offer great durability since these materials do not decay or crack, and provide resistance from termites and ants and does not require protective sealants. Another justification for the growing use of plastics is in their high energy value when incinerated, this is thought to enhancing waste-to-energy conversion that leaves less ash.
The most obvious form of pollution associated with plastic packaging is wasted plastic sent to landfills. Plastics are very stable and therefore stay in the environment a long time after they are discarded, especially if they are shielded from direct sunlight by being buried in landfills. The already slow rate of decomposition is further decreased by presence of anti-oxidants added by manufacturers to improve the resistance of the receptacle to acid