Plastic goes to landfill

New Zealand is throwing millions of dollars of recyclable polypropylene plastic into landfill, while at the same time importing recycled polypropylene, according to a study from Plastics NZ. Polypropylene plastic is a durable, lightweight plastic that is used to make everything from ice cream containers to car bumpers. But its greatest asset is that it can be melted down and reused. However, instead of being recycled, more than 67% of polypropylene goes to landfill after a single use. At the same time, New Zealand imports about 1200 tonnes of recycled polypropylene, the study found. Polypropylene was one of the easiest plastics to recycle into new materials, and businesses should be doing more to stop sending it to landfill, said Rui Peng, co-founder of building material company Critical Design.