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By Darryl W.
Young, Director
California Department of Conservation
Guest
Commentary
With Californians
facing a daily challenge to conserve
energy, it may be easy to overlook other
important resource conservation
practices such as recycling. Easy, that
is, until you realize that last year we
threw away 6.3 billion aluminum, glass
and plastic beverage containers – enough
to circle the Earth nearly seven times.
If that doesn’t catch
your attention, consider this: those
trashed containers were worth
approximately $160 million at the local
recycling center.
Since the earliest
Earth Day movements of three decades
ago, California has been a national
leader in recycling. Throughout the
1990s, we recycled an average of 77
percent of the bottles and cans
purchased in California. Still, many of
us fail to recognize the significance of
tossing a plastic bottle or an aluminum
can into a garbage can rather than a
recycling bin. In 2000, nearly 40
percent of the 16.5 billion beverage
containers purchased in California were
trashed.
Tossing so many
containers in the waste bin is more than
a waste of money; it’s a tremendous
waste of energy and valuable raw
materials as well. Once a bottle or can
is land filled, it cannot be used again.
It takes more heat to
create an aluminum can from aluminum ore
than it does to melt down an existing
can for reuse. In fact, the energy
difference between processing raw
aluminum ore and processing a recycled
aluminum can – about 95 percent –
provides enough saved energy to run a
television for 2.5 hours.
A our recycling
habits have fallen by the wayside, the
market for raw materials made from
recycled plastic, glass and aluminum has
grown steadily. In some cases, this
caused a shortage of recycled materials
for manufacturers.
Most often an
aluminum can will end up back on the
grocery store shelf within 90 days as a
new aluminum can. But it also can be
used in softball bats, aluminum shingles
for new homes or outdoor park benches
and playground equipment.
Glass bottles in
California already average about 28
percent recycled content, but recycled
glass also is used to make fiberglass
insulation, glass tiles and countertops
in home construction, and a growing list
of other products.
Plastic, which is
recycled the least, can be used to make
a variety of new products, from clothing
to construction materials. Recycled
plastic is found in decking materials,
picnic benches, signposts, garden hoses
and even kayaks.
Finally, local cities
and counties with curbside recycling
programs generate income from the
California Redemption Value (CRV) of
each bottle and can they collect,
approximately $64.4 million in 2000. In
most cases, the income is used to offset
the cost of recycling programs and waste
collection services, thereby keeping
customer bills lower. Tossing beverage
containers into the trash deprives those
local communities of revenue that can
offset customer costs.
Many local charitable
organizations, school activities and
other social programs recycle bottles
and cans for their CRV and scrap value.
Imagine what $160 million, the
approximate amount of unredeemed CRV in
2000, would have done to support our
local communities throughout California.
Recycling bottles and
cans carries significant ramifications –
economically, environmentally and
socially. And recycling is relatively
easy.
Beverage container
redemption centers are located in many
grocery store parking lots. A center is
located within a mile of most stores
selling CRV bottles and cans. More than
500 cities and counties throughout
California have some kind of curbside
collection program. Many parks, beaches
and other public venues also have
recycling bins.
So as you are out and
about this summer, remember to recycle.
It’s good for the bottle. It’s good for
the can.
It’s good for
California.
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