The Truth about Plastics and Recycling

On November 3rd and 4th, there was the second inaugural Montreal Zero Waste Festival.  I am so proud of our city for hosting this event for another year.  The popularity has increased and with that, so have the lines:

Even at 10 AM on a Sunday morning, the line snaked three blocks.

The movement is growing, it is more apparent in social and traditional media and this is excellent news.  The more people are educated about our environment and its precarious situation, the more action that can be taken.

At the festival, I heard two presentations that particularly struck me.  Chantal Plamondon, from Gatineau (please visit her excellent website:  Life without Plastic) spoke about the dangers of plastics in our society and how to reduce the plastic in our lives.    I also heard a rather discouraging presentation about the state of recycling in Quebec.  It was a panel discussion, led by Karel Menard of the FCQGDE (Front Commun Quebecois sur la Gestion des Déchets Ecologique) and Agnes Le Rouzic from Greenpeace.

In both presentations, the message was clear: plastics are poisoning our environment and what we put in our recycling bin does not necessarily get recycled.  Everyone needs to remember this.  Our recycling bin should actually be called our collection bin.  Basically, what we put in our bin is collected and then gets sent to a sorting center so that it can then be sorted into different types of materials.  Then the material is sent elsewhere to be recycled.  We are not sure where it all goes because Recyc-quebec does not track this but we suspect that it is going overseas.  The sad truth:  we don’t know how much material is recycled.  Recyc-Quebec only measures the collection and sorting rates.  The current estimates are that plastics are only being recycled at rates of 10%.  Even more discouraging is that glass is probably recycled at an even lower rate than plastic.  Karel Menard indicated that Owens Ilinois, a glass manufacturer located in Pointe St-Charles is actually looking for material to produce glass.  Apparently there is a shortage of sand / silica feedstock but because the glass in our collection bins gets contaminated, it cannot be used.  The solution:  dedicated glass sorting centers.   Citizen and government action is needed to allow this to occur.  I encourage you to contact your local city government to see if a pilot project can be started in your city.  But glass is not our enemy.  Plastics are.  Some important points to keep in mind:

# 1 Not all plastics are created equal

There are some plastics that are better for you than others.   #3 PVC Polyvinyl chloride and #6 PS Polystyrene have gotten considerable bad press in the media as being dangerous to our health.  As a chemical engineer who worked in the plastics industry for 10 years,  this information does not surprise me.   The manufacturing processes to produce these products involve the use of a number of dangerous chemicals.  Styrene, the precursor to polystyrene is a suspected human carcinogen.  The same is true of vinyl chloride.  Although I recommend that you avoid using any plastic, HDPE (and LDPE), PP and PETE are better options than PVC and Polystyrene.

All plastics or polymers contain ingredients like stabilizers (to prevent them from cracking and discoloring) as well as other additives.   These additives are not bound in the polymer and can leach out.  You know the color that plastic containers take from food such as spaghetti sauce? Well, guess what, the ingredients in plastics can flow into your food. The exposure of any plastics to heat is bad as it allows additives and contaminants in the plastics to transfer more easily to your food or liquid. In the case of PVC, chemicals called phthalates are added to make the PVC (usually a rigid polymer) more flexible.  Phthalates are harmful to reproductive health and can leach out of containers into your food.  Sadly, PVC is used for IV bags and children’s toys.   Ironically, “vegan leather” is often times made of PVC.  In my opinion, it is much better to use actual leather than vegan leather.

#2 Plastics recycling rates are very low

Whenever you put something plastic in your recycling collection bin, remember that most of it will not be recycled.  This is why recycling is the fourth R and hence not a good option.   There are some plastics that are easier to recycle than others.  The most highly recycled plastics are #1 PETE also known as polyester (used in water, juice, carbonated beverage bottles), #2 HDPE or High Density Polyethylene (used for cosmetic bottles, cleaning products, water bottles) and #5 PP Polypropylene (cereal bags, piping, furniture, caps, pumps).   Keep in mind that even these “highly recycled plastics” are only recycled at rates of about 10%.  One of the reasons for this is that plastic that has already been processed to produce a finished good has been subjected to heat and then to the elements.  This reduces the quality of the material.  Consequently, the material has to be used in conjunction with fresh or virgin plastic.  In addition, recycled plastic tends to be down-cycled or used in a lower grade application than original.  The other plastics (#3 PVC, #4 LDPE and #6 PS, #7 other) are either extremely difficult or costly to recycle.As plastics are often contaminated or aged by the time they are put into the recycling collection bin, they can only be “down-cycled” i.e. used in a lesser application.  This is because plastics degrade after exposure to heat and oxygen.  In addition, recycled plastic is typically combined with some percentage of virgin material, causing more plastics to be used.

#3 Prioritize your Packaging

If you have to buy packaged goods, my recommendation would be to favor cardboard and metal first (they can be recycled at very high rates, close to 100%) followed by glass, with plastic being the last choice.  Why put plastic last?  Plastic takes over 400 years to decompose.  As it decomposes, plastics break down into smaller and smaller pieces, which eventually become microplastics, which fish and animals can eat.  Glass will not be eaten by any animal and is not toxic to our environment.

Challenge for the Week:  How much plastic packaging are you purchasing?  What about other plastic in your life?  I would challenge you to reduce your consumption and usage of plastic for your health and that of your family.