Alan, your best tack is to challenge the companies that use plastic
packaging. downloading the risk and cost to local communities. Let
those companies be responsible for worrying about plastic markets.
THis is a classic example of those who benefit from plastic use
(producers and consumers) not bearing responsibility. Why should you or I
have to be an apologist for plastic?
Helen Spiegelman, Coordinator
Zero Waste Vancouver
www.zerowastevancouver.blogspot.com
At 09:13 AM 1/10/2008, Alan Muller wrote:
Recently the following appeared in
the Wilmington (Delaware) News Journal
http://www.delawareonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2008801090338
My old enemy Pat Canzano, CEO of the Delaware Solid Waste Authority (I
write about it as the Garbage Empire) is quoted as saying:
"The main impediment to greater recycling of other types of
plastic is that no one wants to buy them, said DSWA Executive Director
Pasquale S. Canzano."
"The market drives the process," Canzano said. "It doesn't
make any sense to collect anything you can't market. Right now the people
who are taking even single-stream [mixed] recyclables do not want
margarine tubs, yogurt containers, the higher plastics. They see them as
contaminants rather than recyclables."
"The state authority expects to double its recycling volume next
year, to as much as 40,000 tons, as curbside pickup programs expand. But
Canzano said the authority has no immediate plan to expand plastics
recycling beyond narrow-neck bottles."
"Rigid plastics are banned from those curbside collections because
they contaminate the recyclable plastics."
Can anyone give me some quick ammunition for responding to
this? Prices of the whole range of recovered plastics?
Thanks,
am
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