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Last week we talked about how robots are being used to help sort recycled material, a lot of which is plastic; so today we’ll talk a little more about plastic and how it is evolving. The information comes from an article in the Minneapolis StarTribune — as I am currently up here in Minnesota to enjoy my wife Mary’s lake cabin and some boating/fishing.
“At least 60 chemical companies are racing to develop technology that can return trash to its original hydrocarbon ingredients,” the article said. “The process — call it the unmaking of plastic — creates clean, virgin resin that can be used for new products, avoiding the need to pump oil for endless fresh batches.”
These companies believe the stakes in finding a good inexpensive solution are quite high as plastic is getting a bad name for having floating islands of waste,tht kill fish, birds and land-dwelling animals. Because of this, some bottling companies and some using plastic to hold their product displayed on shelves are switching to other things.
The current "old-fashioned" way of handling recycling plastics, sometimes referred to as "chop and wash" can’t handle many types of plastic. Thus, sometimes yogurt tubs are sent to the landfill and milk jugs are made into plastic lumber.
The article notes that less than 10 percent of plastic in North America gets recycled. This provides about one pound of material for every 15 pounds needed.
One corporation, Eastman Chemical Co., is joining the efforts of others, in developing a way to break down the recycled plastic into its chemical components. The end product, as a VP for the company stated, is “indistinguishable from what’s produced by fossil sources.” They will soon have a commercial-scale operation using mixed plastic waste with plans for a second plant to follow.
It is believed such efforts, if successful, will more than quadruple the amount of recycled plastic used to about 50 percent by the year 2030. But its cost won’t be cheap. It is estimated at least $20 billion will need to be invested each year to fully develop such systems. However, the payout of this effort is expected to be in the range of $120 billion for the companies involved. I may not live till 2030 to see it, but I hope it is very successful.
Till next week, do have a great one and have a safe and enjoyable Memorial Day weekend, but please take a moment of silence to honor all those who gave their lives to preserve the wonderful freedoms we have.
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Ollie is a local citizen concerned with the environment and helping others. A retired Air Force fighter and instructor pilot, he is a graduate of Leadership San Marcos and received his degrees at Texas State University where he worked on staff before totally retiring. For questions or comments, he invites you to call him at 512-353-7432 or email [email protected].
