In today’s society, we have become increasingly reliant on items that aid our on-the-go lifestyles including disposable water bottles, takeout containers, and pre-portioned packaged foods. While these aid in convenience, they can have detrimental effects on our environment when they end up in landfills. In fact, eight out of 10 plastic water bottles used in the United States become garbage or end up in a landfill, according to the Container Recycling Institute. Fortunately, we can take small steps as consumers to reduce our carbon footprint, such as use re-usable containers that last many years. This page offers environmentally-friendly tips and alternatives that can help reduce the amount of plastic waste that reaches landfills in the future.
- Did you know that a reusable beverage bottle can eliminate 365 disposable water bottles / year (based on avg. use of 1 disposable bottle per day)
- American’s use 3.3 million plastic bottles every hour but recycle only one in five.
- Rubbermaid products are reusable, which can eliminate the use of disposable products such as food bags, water bottles and take out food containers
- Many Rubbermaid products are recyclable
- Using a reusable plastic tote in place of a cardboard box can reduce waste
- Rubbermaid wire shelving products use 100% post consumer steel in manufacturing
- Rubbermaid laminated wood shelving suppliers use a high percentage of recycled content
(Source: Earth911.com)
1. Durability - For maximum environmental impact, Reuse then recycle. Plastic is a great product for reuse due to it’s durability.
2. Weight - Plastic is lighter than metal or glass. Lighter weight means reduced transportation costs.
3. Variety - Plastic can be recycled into a wide variety of products including jackets, deck lumber, mulch and more. Paper and glass typically only get downcycled into similar type products
Now that you know how valuable plastic is, what is it doing at the bottom of your trash can? If you can’t reuse it, recycle it.
Plastic recycling affects a range of products, from drink containers to shopping bags to pipes. Plastic is almost always the product of petroleum, a non-renewable resource. This makes recycling plastic even more important.
*PET and HDPE are the most common forms of plastic, so they are the easiest to find recycling locations for.
Learn more about plastics recycling at Earth911.com
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PET (Polyethylene terephthalate) Soda bottles, oven-ready meal trays and water bottles |
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HDPE (High-Density polyethylene) Milk bottles, detergent bottles and grocery/trash/retail bags |
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PVC (Polyvinyl chloride) Plastic food wrap, loose-leaf binders and plastic pipes |
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LDPE (Low-density polyethylene) Dry cleaning bags, produce bags and squeezable bottles |
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PP (Polypropylene) Medicine bottles, aerosol caps and drinking straws |
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PS (Polystyrene) Compact disc jackets, packaging Styrofoam peanuts and plastic tableware |
from Rubbermaid
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