Opinion: Never in our history has recycling need been greater

Jeff Snyder
·2 min read
Materials are sorted and divided up at the Rumpke Recycling Facility on August 24, 2021.
Materials are sorted and divided up at the Rumpke Recycling Facility on August 24, 2021.

During November we celebrate America Recycles Day. It’s one day of celebration, but recycling is an effort that is taking place 24-7 around the world. After all, more than half of the trash you generate can be recycled, and each time you place an item in your recycling bin or cart, you are giving that item new life.

Rumpke Waste & Recycling, a 90-year-old, Midwest recycling leader, processes more than a billion pounds of recycling annually through its 12 recycling facilities. More than 90% of those materials are processed and shipped to end users in the Midwest. As a solid waste solutions provider, it is Rumpke’s job to keep innovating and finding new solutions to manage society’s waste. Recently, the company invested about $2 million to add new robotic sorting technology and expand the types of plastics that can be recycled.

According to Dumpsters.com, every year U.S. landfills receive about 27 million tons of plastic. In the past, a consistent end user for every plastic resin was a challenge, and without an end user, recycling simply doesn’t work. Today, things are changing. Packaging producers are demanding a greater percentage of recycled post-consumer resin in their containers and companies are responding. No longer is the value of recycled plastics based solely on the value of crude oil.

Materials are sorted and divided up at the Rumpke Recycling Facility on August 24, 2021.
Materials are sorted and divided up at the Rumpke Recycling Facility on August 24, 2021.

Plastic production is up, especially the demand for polypropylene (tubs), polyethylene teraphalate (water bottles) and high-density polyethylene (milk jugs and detergent bottles). The polyethylene products become shipping strapping, new carpet fibers and new bottles. The high-density polyethylene is converted into irrigation piping, plastic pallets and new containers.

The newcomer to the plastics recycling stream is polypropylene, the material used mostly for butter tubs, yogurt containers and other dairy products. A previous barrier to recycling materials was the ability to reuse them as food containers because of their odor and color, but today new manufacturing technology is removing those obstacles, and manufactures are attempting to secure Food & Drug Administration approval to use recycled polypropylene for food containers. When that approval comes, we can expect an even higher demand for these recycled materials.

scrap recycling provides an environmentally friendly way to keep materials out of the landfill and in the manufacturing lifecycle loop.
scrap recycling provides an environmentally friendly way to keep materials out of the landfill and in the manufacturing lifecycle loop.

Pyrolysis is also improving. Pyrolysis is a common technique used to convert plastic into useable fuel. Essentially, plastic bottles are broken down through a thermal degradation process which removes oxygen producing the liquid oil necessary to create new plastics or biofuel. There is even research involving development of a fuel pellet with potential use as a coal alternative.

Never in our history has the demand for recycled materials been greater. If you’re asking yourself whether it’s worth the effort to recycle that glass or plastic container, metal can, carton, paper or cardboard, the answer is a resounding yes. Not just on the day we celebrate America Recycles Day, but every day.

Jeff Snyder is director of recycling for Rumpke Waste & Recycling. For more information about Rumpke and their recycling efforts, visit Rumpke Waste & Recycling on YouTube, or schedule a recycling tour at Rumpke.com.

Jeff Snyder
Jeff Snyder

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Opinion: Never in our history has recycling need been greater