Disposal of Plastics
Although it has been theoretically possible to recycle plastics for a long time now, this technology was often ignored, particularly in the industrial section. See, until recently, The best strategy for disposal of plastics was simply throwing them out. After all, there was no tax incentive to recycle plastic materials, and the cost was greater. Add to that the fact that plastic recycling can be complex. There are many different types of plastics, and all require different procedures, and thus you have the perfect recipe for waste.
In the last couple years, however, all of that has begun to change. Nowadays, the environmentally correct disposal of plastics is a very high priority in a lot of cities, and they are willing to invest the capital to ensure that plastic recycling is taking place at every level. Citizen recycling has become almost universal, and industry is slowly starting to catch up. In my company right now, for example, we recycle 60% of the plastic we use, a huge jump from just a couple of years ago. There are a few good reasons for this.
One of the reasons most often cited by business advocates is incentives for the disposal of plastics. Business incentives allow companies to profitably do what is environmentally correct even if it costs a little bit more. After all, with the discount, they actually save money by directly disposing of plastic, or at least do not lose as much. However, business incentive is not the whole story. The technology has gotten a lot cheaper, and the disposal facilities have gotten a lot more convenient. Disposal of plastics, particularly in large quantities, used to mean shipping across the country. The expenses were huge, much higher than any government was willing to offset with subsidies, so unless your business happened to be near one of the big plastic recycling facilities, it just was not going to happen.
Today, the age of the big facilities is over. The move has been toward smaller, more efficient and more community-centric facilities for the disposal of plastics. Nearly every major city has a least a couple places where you can handle recycling of whatever materials are necessary. Disposal of glass and paper are also a lot easier than ever before, and often one facility will handle all of it. As a business manager, it is nice to know that the moral choice is also the economically more feasible choice. It is good to be able to do the right thing while making money.
Category: Going Green