Recycling Plastic

High 32. Cloudy and lightly snowing.

As I look out my window at the few flakes of snow that are marking the start of the newest winter storm, I can’t help but notice the bright pink plastic bags jammed into the snow in front of my neighbor’s house.  I’ll have to go pick them up later.  Trash on land usually ends up in streams, rivers and then in the ocean, following a crooked path of hydrology that culminates in enormous islands of trash out at sea.  Once out there, ocean currents act like a vortex and all that trash gets pulled together.  Right now, there is a giant mass of garbage (mostly plastic) floating in the Gulf of Alaska and similar masses are developing in the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans.  I am greatly disturbed by the thought of this. 

What can be done about this massive pollution?  How long will it take before the plastic islands grow so large as to be seen from land?  Or reach land?  I can imagine, in several decades, the oceans being completely covered in trash and plastic like a buried treasure.  The best thing we can do is reduce, reuse, recycle and INVEST in technology that will lead us away from waste as a byproduct of daily life.

Reducing personal waste and reusing packaging materials are the two most important actions we can take in reducing pollution.  I try to keep my garbage and recycling to a minimum mainly by composting and buying food in bulk.  There are numerous ways to reuse old containers-jars can be cups, old food containers can be next year’s Christmas boxes…  But we all rely on recycling for the things that are impossible to reuse or worn out.  The following is a list of what plastic can be recycled in western Mass.

Containers– Milk, water, soda, juice, water, cooking oil bottles; condiment bottles, peanut butter jars, margarine and butter tubs, yogurt containers, liquid dish and hand soap bottles, liquid household cleaner bottles, shampoo and conditioner bottles, mouthwash and lotion bottles, pump hair spray bottles, vitamin bottles, liquid laundry detergent bottles and jugs, bleach jugs (rinsed well), liquid fabric softener bottles.

These things cannot be recycled in western Mass-

Polystyrene (styrofoam), plastic egg cartons, deli trays, berry cartons, microwave trays or containers, packaging peanuts, plastic bags, plastic wrap, plastic swimming pools, lawn furniture, flower or plant pots, black plastic, toys, coat hangers, plastics from electronics or appliances, pails, buckets, hampers, cds, video tapes, cassettes, medical supplies, caps, lids, pumps, jugs and pails over 2 gallons, prescription bottles, and bottles that contained motor oil, automotive products, poison, pesticides, solvent, adhesive, paint or other chemicals.

That’s alot of stuff that can’t be recycled.  I’m going to try to buy non-plastic versions of things when the plastic version can’t be recycled.  For example, plastic hampers cannot be recycled so the next time I need a new hamper I’ll look for one made of wicker or light wood.  I’ll opt for metal coat hangers instead of plastic. 

My students are often frustrated with environmental issues.  They tell me that they are sick of hearing about problems and want to hear more solutions.  I do too, and here is something we can do.  I urge you all to think about your plastic waste and reduce it.  Aim for zero trash.  Know what you can and can’t recycle and look for alternatives to non-recyclable items.  No one wants to see a pile of garbage on top of our oceans.