1. Recyclingisanoption,butis itthe bestoption?
Zero-waste-to-landfill,agoal undertakenbySouthwire,isanambitiousendeavor.Recyclingeffortsin
office areashave greatlyreducedwaste thatwasonce sentto the landfill.The collectionof paperand
plasticmaterialsisofferedthroughoutworkareasforrecycling;thismakesthe choice of the decision
easy.
In recentyears,plasticbottleshave becomethe maincontainerforcarbonateddrinksandwater.In
mostcases,usedplasticcontainersare collectedandsentforrecycling,butdowe reallyknow what
happensnext?
Plasticbottlesare made frompolyethylene terephthalate(PET). Accordingtothe National Association
for PET ContainerResources,5,764millionpoundsof plasticbottleswere usedinthe UnitedStatesin
2013. However,only1,798 millionpoundsof thesebottleswere actuallycollectedforrecycling. To
compoundmatters,recyclingisnot100% efficient,andonlyabout1,301 millionpoundsof thismaterial
were actuallyrecycledwhile the restwasdiscarded.Inotherwords, the USdisposesof more thanthree-
fourthsof its plasticcontainerstothe landfillorothernon-recyclingmethods.The recyclingeffortis
importantandshouldbe continued,butthatisn’tthe whole story.
Justbecause a plasticbottle iscollectedforrecyclingdoesnotmeanthatthe bottle isgoingto be
transformedintoyournextbottleddrink.Bottle-to-bottle,orclosedlooprecycling,isverydifficultto
achieve due tostringentFDA regulationsgoverningthe recyclingprocess.Approximately24% of
recycledbottle plasticactuallywentintothe reproductionof new bottlesin2013. The remainderof the
material wasrepurposedintofiber,non-foodbottles,strapping,sheet,film, buckets,andotherplastic
goods.The majorityof Southwire’srecycledplasticbottlesgointothe productionof carpetfiberand
paintbuckets.
Recyclingyourplasticbottle isagreat wayto reduce Southwire’swaste,butitmaynot be the bestway
to Grow Green,especiallyforbottledwater.
Bringinga bottle fromhome andrefillingitthroughoutthe daywithcool tapor filteredwaterinthe
breakroom isthe most effectivewaytoreduce waste.Onaverage,anadultrequires3litersof watera
day.Through the use of a refillable waterbottle,yousave 5bottlesperday.That’s25 bottlessavedina
normal workweek.If bringingabottle fromhome isn’tanoption,tryreusingyourinitial bottle of water
a fewtimes.
In our effortstoGrow Green,Southwire hasrecycled plasticbottlesandothermaterialswherefeasible.
Recyclingisa greatoption,butreductionandreuse are betteroptionstotake our Southwire Growing
Greeneffortstothe nextlevel.Sonexttime youreachforthat bottle of water,thinkreuse,reduce,and
thenrecycle.