Engineers are working to reduce waste
Packaging
After reading the July 1 Forum article “The Recycling Game Is Rigged Against Us,” I felt the need to expand upon some points from the packaging perspective. The author is apparently unfamiliar with the single-stream recycling service we enjoy here in Pittsburgh. Our recyclables of all types go into one bin and are sorted at a recycling facility. Having visited one on Neville Island, I saw that it is a wonder of equipment that rapidly and automatically sorts glass, metals, paper and plastics into the appropriate areas. Those sorted materials are then sold to reprocessing facilities. Reprocessing may consist of further sorting, washing and resizing for reuse.
Glass is infinitely recyclable, while plastics and paper are not. The “recipe” for using post-consumer plastics can rarely support using more than 25 percent recycled vs. 75 percent virgin resin. This is because the molecules break down and oxidize in the process, causing holes, black spots and defects. Further, post-consumer recycled content cannot be used in food or pharmaceutical applications. Theplastic-molding process is not hot enough to kill some microbes, nor can it eliminate contaminants such as chemicals. You wouldn’t want a water bottle that formerly held motor oil! Post-consumer plastics can be used in articles only where risk of contamination is not a concern and where color isn’t an obstacle, since post-consumer resin is notsorted by color.
Addressing the “other” resins, triangle 7, packaging engineers do not set out to use such combination plastics; however, some products are classified as hard-to-hold and require barriers or additives to perform adequately. There are advances every day that enable us to use single resin packaging; an example is ketchup, which formerly was in a multiple layer/multiple resin bottle but now comes in straightPET.
There are several advantages to plastics. Among them, it requires far less energy to produce a plastic article than the same item in glass. Plastic is lighter weight than other packaging, which reduces freight costs. Breakage from a plastic bottle is less hazardous than a broken glass bottle, especially in the kitchen or bath.
We must all do our part in observing the recycling triangles and recycling whenever possible. Trust that packaging engineers are doing their best to make packages lighter with less plastic, use recycled content or otherwise reduce combination packaging wherever possible. Reduce, reuse, recycle! BRIDGET FITZPATRICK Quality Lab Supervisor Berlin Packaging
Clinton