Suzhou Oude Science&Technology Co.,Ltd

Stop! Before you throw away that empty plastic bottle, think about recycling it. 

When it comes to embracing environmentally friendly technologies, recycling may not be as exciting as solar panels or hybrid cars, but it’s one area where consumers can make a huge difference.

Since the early days of recycling back in the 1970s, the nation’s recycling infrastructure has grown considerably.  Surveys suggest that, today, approximately 80 percent of Americans have access to a local recycling program¹, be it residential curbside collection or a community drop-off center. 

Through these programs, specific types of post-consumer plastics are collected, processed for recycling, and used to create an array of second-generation products – everything from fleece jackets and bottles for beverages and detergents to carpeting and even high-end composite lumber for outdoor decking².

Message in a Bottle
Take bottles. The number of bottles collected in the United States has increased every year since plastic bottle recycling was first calculated in 1990. In 2005, that number jumped to over 2.1 billion pounds of post-consumer plastic bottles, and the overall plastic bottle recycling rate climbed to 24.3 percent.  While this is all good news, it’s clear that there’s a tremendous opportunity to recycle even more – namely, the remaining 75.7 percent of plastic bottles used in this country annually.

Consider this: In most areas, the demand for recycled plastics exceeds (sometimes far exceeds) the available supply.  The message to consumers, especially those of us with access to community recycling, is that we can all work a little harder to make sure that our bottles and other recyclable plastics make it into the recycling bin when we’re finished using them.

The following tips can help make it easier to maximize the plastics you recycle:

1. Learn what items and materials are accepted for recycling in your community.

   On the one hand, all major types of plastics (#1 through #7) are recyclable, meaning that technologies to recycle these materials have been developed and are in use in some areas.  Community recycling programs often collect plastic bottles made from PET (#1) and HDPE (#2), which, together represent approximately 96 percent of all plastic bottles produced in the United States.  Although a growing number of communities have started to collect other types of plastic containers, such as tubs, trays, lids, buckets and so on, opportunities to recycle plastics vary widely.  The only way to know what materials are accepted in your area is to check with your local recycling or solid waste facility.

   How to check: One way to get started is to search the Web.  Using your favorite search engine, enter the name of your municipality (usually a county, city or township) and the word “recycling.”  Many municipalities list the types of materials they do and don’t accept on their websites, and some provide the names of locations of where residents can drop off specific items for reuse or recycling. Even if this information isn’t available on your municipality’s website, you should be able to locate a phone number so you can call and ask.

2. Recycle often and recycle right.

   In other words, once you know the rules, follow them.  There are two keys to making any recycling system functionally and economically viable:  (1) a continuous and dependable supply of incoming material, and (2) the ability to control the quality of the materials being recycled.  Consumers are absolutely essential to making both parts work.

   In addition to making sure that plastic recyclables end up in the recycling bin, consumers can help keep out potential contaminants.  Mixing the wrong types of materials (even other types of plastics) with recyclable plastics can lower the quality of recycled material.  This is why it’s so important to learn which types of plastics are – and are not – recycled in your area, and to sort things accordingly.

3. Deposit bottles in the bin – not the trash.

   A “bottle” is a container that has a neck or an opening that is smaller than the base³.  Plastic bottles are among the most readily recycled plastics, but there’s still a lot we can do to recycle more of them.  Here’s the problem:  Lightweight, shatterproof plastic beverage bottles are ideal to take on the go – to work, to school, to the gym, on errands, and just about anywhere.  But because more beverages are being consumed away from home, a smaller percentage of empty beverage bottles are making it into our recycling bins. 

   One remedy:  Place the cap back on and temporarily store the empty bottle in your briefcase or backpack or simply leave it in your car until you get home. This will prevent any residual liquid from leaking out until you can properly recycle the bottle. 

   Below is a list of suggested “dos and don’ts” to help you maximize the bottles you recycle while avoiding mistakes that can contaminate the material collected.

Players in Malaysia report that domestic producers have announced their February PP and PE offers to the local market with further increases from the late January offer levels. Higher production costs along with limited availability were cited as the main reasons supporting producers’ price hikes. Producers’ new prices have not yet met with acceptance on the converters’ side, with many buyers electing to delay their purchases for now in hopes of obtaining more attractive prices after the Chinese New Year holidays.

In the PP market, initial February offers were reported with increases of MYR210/ton ($62/ton) for homo-PP injection and raffia, MYR310/ton ($91/ton) for PP film and at MYR410/ton ($120/ton) for copolymer PP when compared with the late January offer levels. Offers for domestic PP are currently being reported at MYR4740-4810/ton ($1390-1410/ton) for homo-PP injection and raffia, MYR4980-5010/ton ($1460-1469/ton) for PP film and at MYR5160/ton ($1513/ton) for PP block copolymer, all on an FD Malaysia, cash equivalent basis.

In the PE market, initial February offers were reported with increases of MYR400/ton ($117/ton) for LDPE film, MYR150/ton ($44/ton) for LLDPE film and MYR100/ton ($29/ton) for HDPE film when compared with the late January offer levels. Offers for domestic cargoes are currently being reported at MYR5600-5640/ton ($1642-1654/ton) for LDPE film, MYR5220/ton ($1531/ton) for LLDPE film and at MYR4730-4860/ton ($1387-1425/ton) for HDPE film, all on an FD Malaysia, cash equivalent basis.

In Indonesia, persistent supply tightness in the country’s local PP and PE markets has encouraged converters in the local market to pick up the pace of their purchases out of fears that tightening supply could force sellers to seek further price hikes over the near term. In addition to concerns about further price hikes, converters commented that they are also looking to build up some buffer stocks in case domestic materials become even harder to locate over the near term.

A distributor reported that they sold out their stocks of domestic PP and PE this week at prices equal to the new producer price level for both products, with the distributor claiming to have concluded deals at $1400/ton for homo-PP injection, $1440/ton for PP film, $1430/ton for HDPE film and $1480/ton for LLDPE film, all on an FD Indonesia, cash basis. The distributor attributed the rise in buying interest to converters’ concerns about being able to locate sufficient amounts of prompt material.

When compared with the end of December, the producer price level in Indonesia has posted cumulative increases of $80/ton for homo-PP, $60-70/ton for LLDPE film and $40-70/ton for HDPE film.