>From: "Miller, Kevin" <kmiller@cityofnapa.org>
>To: "'Gary Liss'" <gary@garyliss.com>
>X-Mailer: Internet Mail Service (5.5.2650.21)
>
>Just a quick thought about the "all bottle" concept promoted by the APC.
>One of the studies that APC uses to support it "all bottle" concept is one
>from Napa in 1996. We came to an entirely different conclusion that APC did
>from the same set of data.
>
>The "All Bottle" recycling concept is somewhat of a scam because it
>perpetuates the notion (buttressed by the # 1-7 coding within the chasing
>arrows symbol) that "all" plastics are recyclable. NOTHING COULD BE FARTHER
>FROM THE TRUTH!!!
>
>In fact, what the APC study did show in our community was that the amount of
># 3-7 plastics collected would mean they would have to be segregated from #
>1's & # 2's, just to be thrown out!! At the same time, the specs for
>recycling # 1 & # 2 have become more and more restrictive. For example,
>the PRCC now doesn't want blue or brown # 1's and has a virtually
>non-existent tolerance for any #3 (PVC) that might contaminate the PETE
>loads. Also, many buyers of colored # 2 do not want any bottles that
>contained motor oil or toxic chemicals from households (e.g., bleach
>bottles, cleaner, pesticides, automotive fluids, herbicides, etc.) because
>of storm water permitting problems at their storage/processing facilities.
>These restricted colored # 2's represent somewhere between 25%-40% of the
>available bottles in this resin type.
>
>In Napa, we only recycled one or two loads per year (30-60 tons) of colored
>HDPE a year. The extra sorting required to recover a couple of extra tons
>was not cost effective nor justified in terms diversion, collection costs,
>labor sorting costs, or market value. For these reasons, Napa actually has
>discontinued collecting colored # 2 plastics and have shifted that labor
>cost to mixed paper collection and processing. Instead of intensive sorting
>for 10-20 tons more plastic bottles, we are recycling an additional 800-1000
>tons of mixed paper.
>
>Beyond all this, there is an ethical question of promoting "all plastic
>bottle" recycling when # 3 - # 7 resins are likely to be landfilled anyway.
>We had the same problem with paper milk & juice cartons which currently
>don't have reasonable domestic markets. Any way, I though it was worth
>sharing our local experience with APC's self-serving conclusions.
>
>Kevin Miller
>Waste Reduction/Recycling Coordinator
>City of Napa
>p. (707) 257-9520x7291
>f. (707) 257-9522
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Gary Liss [mailto:gary@garyliss.com]
> Sent: Friday, September 08, 2000 2:07 PM
> To: gary@garyliss.com
> Subject: Fwd: ALLIANCE AIMS AT DOUBLING BOTTLE
>RECYCLING
>
>
> >Subject: ALLIANCE AIMS AT DOUBLING BOTTLE RECYCLING
> >
> >Plastics News
> >September 8, 2000
> >
>
Gary Liss
916-652-7850
Fax: 916-652-0485
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