Plastic in e-waste - closing the loop
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Only 10% of plastic waste is recycled each year, amounting to over 14 million cubic yards of plastic filling over 350,000 football fields. Plastic makes up 21% of e-waste by weight, but only 10% of plastic e-waste is recycled. More companies need to use recycled plastic resins in manufacturing to increase demand and incentivize better recycling programs that can process the 11.5 million tons of plastic e-waste generated annually. Individual and corporate actions are suggested to close the loop on plastic recycling.
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Plastic in e-waste - closing the loop
- 1. Plastic in e-waste And why everybody else who’s making stuff from plastic should do so too. How one little company is closing the loop.
- 2. One year’s worth of plastic….. 300 million tons produced globally Less than 10% recycled
- 3. 300 million tons of plastic is the equivalent of about 16,665,000,000 cubic yards. 90%, or 14,998,500,000 cubic yards, of that is NOT recycled. So what does that amount, destined for landfill OR WORSE, look like? 14,998,500,000 cubic yards = 351,525 football fields, filled 20 feet deep A year’s worth of plastic not getting recycled…. …fills 351,525 of these 20 feet deep!!!
- 5. Ferrous metals: 50% Plastics: 21% Other: 16% Source:United Nations Environmental Programme, Division of Technology, Industry and Economics International Environmental Technology Centre Materials in e-waste by weight Non-ferrous metals: 13% The estimated 10% of the plastic in e-waste that’s recycled Plastic in e-waste
- 6. Plastic in e-waste is especially problematic • Contains mixed plastics. Of no value for recycling unless separated. • Too much ends up exported to poor countries. Usually just burned (spewing toxins) or left as junk (that won’t go away - ever) • If separated for recycling in “low tech” manner, unsafe techniques like “burn and sniff” are often used • Demand for recycled resin growing, but not fast enough
- 7. • About 55,000,000 tons of e-waste generated per year globally • About 11,550,000 tons of that is plastic (21%) How much plastic e-waste are we talking about? Plastic e-waste generated per year More than 15,000 football fields, 20 feet deep ONLY 10% OF THIS IS RECYCLED!!!!!!!!!!
- 9. When recycled right, plastic in e-waste is no longer a hazard. IT’S A RESOURCE. If companies that make things from plastic treat it as such, and replace virgin plastic resin with recycled plastic resin (like the “clean tech” resins from MBA Polymers) they will: • save over 80% of the energy and between 1 and 3 tons of CO₂ for every ton of virgin plastics replaced • reduce demand for crude oil which is used in virgin plastic • keeps plastic out of landfills • make beautiful, durable, things that can be recycled again • DO THE RIGHT THING
- 10. Transforming e-waste into energy-saving lightingHeronLED® Personal Task Light • Energy-saving LED desk lamp made in USA from recycled e-waste and high recycled content steel • Body of desk lamp made from 89% post- consumer Evosource® ABS plastic harvested from e-waste (from MBA Polymers) • Steel base from made-in-USA steel that is made from 70% scrap • Uses only 4 watts for same light as 30 to 40- watt incandescent • No mercury • Bulb lasts 15 years • Designed to be recycled at end of life
- 11. Other electronics makers closing the loop on recycled plastic harvested from e-waste There are more, including some big names like HP and Philips, but NOT ENOUGH! Nespresso Electrolux But what about the rest???
- 12. Dell and HP recycle their own products to close the loop on plastics • Yay!!!!!!!! • Probably only viable for very big manufacturers • And in the meantime, we still have to deal with what’s already out there…
- 14. • If you’re a recycler, become an e-Steward • If you generate e-waste (and who doesn’t?), become an e-Stewards enterprise • Tell Congress you support responsible electronics recycling regulations • If you buy things made of plastic, make suppliers aware that you CARE if they’re using recycled plastic. If they’re not, ask “what’s your excuse?” • REMEMBER Recyclable Recycled!!!!!! • If your company manufactures things from plastic that is NOT recycled, find out why not. (In other words WHAT’S YOUR EXCUSE??? • Design with INTENT to reduce waste We CAN (we MUST) recycle more than 10% of the plastics in e-waste. It’s all about supply and demand… And here’s what you and/or your organization can do can do right now…. Increased demand by manufacturers for recycled plastics will support growth of plastics recycling industry, and a more robust plastic e-waste recycling industry will make use of recycled plastics an easy choice (NO BRAINER) for manufacturers. INCREASE DEMAND Increased demand for recycled plastic in the things we buy (that are made of plastic) will encourage manufactures to increase efforts to source recycled plastic resins for their supply chains. MANAGE SUPPLY The supply is there (11,550,000 tons per year of it!!) but there aren’t enough companies working on exploiting it (which goes back to demand) E-waste recycling needs to be managed responsibly and safely Better take-back programs would encourage more local plastic e-waste recycling, creating green jobs and bolstering local supply of recycled resins