Other Cities' Plastics Recycling Programs

If you look at the range of plastics accepted for residential recycling in some of the nation's largest cities, the first thing you notice is that no city's program is the same.

This lack of consistency is the first clue to the fact that there is no standard or perfect recycling program design.

different places accept different plastics
other cities' programs
west coast: asian export markets
nyc's program

Different Places Accept Different Plastics

Some cities, like Los Angeles, accept almost anything plastic; others, like Philadelphia, accept only plastics that bear a #1 or #2 code. No city's program is equivalent to any other, and all programs have detailed (some would say complicated) instructions of what to include, and not to include, as plastic recyclables.

No city is as restrictive as New York City about what plastics to set out for recycling, which leads New Yorkers and non-New Yorkers alike to question why more types of plastics seem to be recycled elsewhere, but not in NYC.

The answer has to do with NYC's location on the East Coast, as well as the City's commitment to only collect what we know will eventually end up being made into new products. Basically, we ask residents to recycle only bottles and jugs because we do not want to collect other kinds of plastic that will end up being disposed of as trash, after they've been laboriously sorted from bottles and jugs at the recycling plant.

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Other Cities' Programs

Other cities take a different approach. In the Midwest and on the East Coast, some cities may include tubs and trays along with bottles and jugs, sometimes asking residents to use resin codes to identify acceptable plastics.

While there may be markets at certain times for #1 or #2 tubs and trays, or #5 tubs, the markets are weak and unstable. This means that often these materials end up being discarded after sorting at the recycling plant. Because of the state of markets, only #1 and #2 bottles and jugs can consistently be sold for transformation into new products.

Cities that take a wider range of plastics than bottles and jugs may not advertise the fact that some of the plastics they collect for recycling do not in fact become new products. Residents may never know that some of what they set out in good faith for recycling collection ends up being discarded as trash anyway. Cities do potentially benefit by this approach, since residents may participate more (and be less confused) if a wider range of plastics are accepted in their recycling programs.

NYC has chosen a different route; we only collect what can be marketed consistently, and we are clear about this with the public.

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West Coast: Asian Export Markets

On the West Coast, the availability of Asian export markets makes the situation different still. Asian importers will buy mixed loads of different types of plastics from the U.S., knowing that some of it will be valuable #1 and #2 bottles and jugs. Other plastics in the mix will either be discarded in the importing country, or recycled there under generally less stringent conditions than in the U.S.

Some additional types of plastics may find markets once they're sorted out in Asia. Small markets exist for a wider range of materials where raw virgin materials are not as readily available. Sorting materials is cheaper where environmental and labor laws are not as restrictive. Discarding materials that have no markets is cheap and easy where there is a lack of government oversight.

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NYC's Program

We understand that NYC's decision to only accept plastic bottles and jugs has created confusion, frustration, and sometimes even anger among the public.

Some feel it would be far easier for NYC to simply accept all numbered plastics, sort out the saleable items (#1 and #2 bottles and jugs), and discard what can't be sold, as many other locales do. We don't think that it is the best use of our taxpayers' dollars.

For this reason, NYC will only accept additional plastics in its recycling program when and if market conditions exist for consistent, ongoing recycling — which means that what is collected is actually made into new products.

ALSO SEE:
recycling plastics in nyc

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