RE: [GreenYes] recycling plastic number 5's and 6's.

[Jay Donnaway <jdonnawa@dca.state.ga.us>]

Especially in rural areas, recycling is often used as a backhaul opportunity
by trucking firms, meaning they carry in finished goods and haul out scrap
at discounted rates.  I have shipped LDPE film to Nevada in a truck that
originally carried California produce to the East Coast (and yes, that trip
may be wasteful to begin with....).  SP recycling here in Georgia actually
uses a dedicated fleet to haul out finished newsprint rolls and return with
old newspapers.  A lot of our scrap paper exports to Asia travel in
intermodal containers that would otherwise make the return trip empty. So
I'd argue that the environmental impact of hauling recyclables is also much
less than meets the eye.
Regards,
Jay Donnaway
State Recycling Coordinator
Georgia Department of Community Affairs
60 Executive Park South, NE
Atlanta, GA 30329-2231
TEL: 404-679-3161
FAX:  404-679-0646
Email: jdonnawa@dca.state.ga.us


> -----Original Message-----
> From:	Sarah I. Wolpow [SMTP:swolpow@abacus.bates.edu]
> Sent:	Wednesday, December 12, 2001 12:30 PM
> To:	Stephan Pollard
> Cc:	The Eden Sterling Company; greenyes@grrn.org
> Subject:	Re: [GreenYes] recycling plastic number 5's and 6's.
> 
> I sometimes wonder about the cost/benefit of mailing things out to get
> them
> recycled. Trucking is such a huge source of pollution, it may be better
> environmentally to simply landfill the plastic rather than burn fuel to
> get it to
> a recycling plant... Any thoughts?
> 
> 
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