So we all made it back home safely after the fires, and except for a lot of sweeping and washing of the patio that needed done last Sunday morning, all was well. Now I’m in a hotel room in Tempe, AZ, at the end of a long day at which I presented my first results of my new area of research on plastic use and recycling. Conclusion: Recycling works, depending on what it is you’re trying to accomplish. more))
Plastics. For decades, the signal materials of modernity, now ubiquitous in the consumer marketplace. Over 42 million metric tons of thermoplastic materials entered use in the US in 2007. At the same time, about 28 million tons were disposed of in the waste stream. Half of that was packaging waste.
In an era of increased consumer consciousness of environmental issues, recycling of postconsumer waste has gained prominence as a means for individuals to contribute to a sustainable society. Plastic packaging products present particularly promising potential for postconsumer recycling owing to their high embodied energy content, their ubiquity in the market, and their longevity in landfills and the environment. Despite these facts, in 2007 less than 7% of plastic waste was recovered for recycling in the US, making plastic the least-recycled plastic material category according to the US EPA.
As industrial ecologists, we might find that number alarming, or at least indicative of the potential for improvement. Recycling is generally acknowledged to have environmental benefits, usually for its contribution to two main areas: first, a reduction in energy use, and second, reduced extraction of primary (virgin / non-recycled) materials. Plastic recycling should thus be considered on the same basis– put simply, to what extent does plastic recycling displace the production of primary materials?
Read more: here is my presentation to SIEYP 2009, the first Symposium of Industrial Ecology for Young Professionals, May 17, 2009: sieyp-show
Our home, and the location of trusty ocean.301south.net, is presently less than a mile from the boundary of the mandatory evacuation area for the Jesusita fire, which is presently threatening to consume Santa Barbara. We are on evacuation alert, and I suppose if the power goes out, of course, you won’t be able to read this; or if we lose the house, then this entry will be lost forever. Here’s a link.
Wish us luck, anyway.
I am in Davis, CA, and this morning my sister and I went on a six-mile Cold Canyon loop hike by the Lake Berryessa Dam. Because it was raining, we had the normally popular trail mostly to ourselves and had a splendid time.
See, this is the reason I’ve never kept a blog before: I HAVE NOTHING TO SAY.
