20-25% of landfill weight is plastics. Landfills are most common way to dispose of Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) in the US, with an overall increase in MSW consistent with increases in the population.
Plastics made up only 1% of MSW in 1960. This has increased to 12% (30 million tons) in 2008. 43% of this is containers and packaging, 22% is nondurable goods, and 35% is from durable goods. This means that 11.3 million tons of just containers and packaging end up in landfills each year.
Most people agree that recycling is a preferred method of dealing with plastics. However, only 24% of municipal waste is recycled and 9% is composted, for a total of only 33% of waste that is recovered.
What about plastics in particular? Only 7% of plastics that are disposed of are recovered, compared to 55% of paper board. Only 37% of PET soft drink bottles are recycled, and only 28% of HDPE milk containers and large water bottles are recovered. All in all, plastic bottles alone account for about half of the material that appears in dumps that could have been recycled. [...]
Conclusion
The United States is a leader in both the manufacturing and the consumption of plastics. Unfortunately much of this plastic is not recycled and ends up in landfills for indefinite periods of time. There is a solution. EcoPure additive renders plastic biodegradable in a landfill with ASTM D5511 testing to back up the claims. EcoLogic, the company who distributes the product, has aligned itself with the EPA’s Methane to Markets program to encourage landfill gases be recaptured and converted to energy. At the same time, the company encourages source reduction and recycling, both of which will reduce the amount of plastic going into landfills.
Sincerely,
Galen Killam Director of Business Development Ecologic, LLC 145 West Wisconsin Ave, Suite F Neenah, WI 54956
References:
Andersen, J., A. Boldrin, J. Samuelsson, T. H. Christensen, and C. Scheutz, 2010. Quantification of Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Windrow Composting of Garden Waste. J. Environ. Qual., 39:713-724 (2010).
Arsova, L., R. van Haaen, N. Goldstein, S.M. Kaufman, and N. Themelis, 2008. The State of Garbage in America, 16th Nationwide Survey of MSW Management in the U.S., BioCycle, December 2008.
Jackel, U., K., Thummes, P., and Kampfer, 2005. Thermophilic Methane Production and Oxidation in Compost. FEMS Microbiology Ecology 52, 175-184.
SCAQMD, 2001. Ammonia and Volatile Organic Compound (VOC) Emissions from a Greenwaste Composting Operation. Source Test Report 01-171, Conducted at Inland Empire Composting, 1951 W. Key St., Colton, CA 92324. Sept. 27 & Oct. 4, 2001.
Sullivan, P., The Importance of Landfill Gas Capture and Utilization in the U.S., Biocycle Magazine, Earth Engineering Center, Columbia University, April 6, 2010.
Themelis, N., Ulloa, P., 2006, Methane Generation In Landfills, Earth Engineering Center & Deptarment of Earth & Environmental Engineering, Columbia University, August 2, 2006.
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