Saturday, May 22, 2021

Did you know that plastic beer carriers can't be recycled (even though they are labeled as 100% recyclable)

"It’s estimated* that at least 10 million new plastic can carriers are used annually by breweries in Massachusetts, with just 10% of them being collected and re-used, and less than 2% of them ever getting recycled. As a result, the amount of plastic beer packaging waste ending up in landfills each year is enough to fill any of the state’s largest breweries with discarded carriers rather than beer.

A number of factors have combined to create a perfect storm in which carriers end up in the hands of consumers who pitch them into their curbside recycling bins because manufacturers market them as “100% recyclable.” But the state’s RecycleSmart website, an initiative of the Massachusetts department of Environmental Protection (DEP), and its three largest waste disposal companies (Casella, Republic, and Waste Management) all say that plastic carriers and six-pack rings are incompatible with sorting equipment. As a result, they get rejected and sent to landfill or incineration, both of which have negative impacts on the environment."

2 comments:

  1. Thank you for this Steve. Franklin Liquors currently is a cork recycling center. We will now look at becoming a center for plastic beer rings too!

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    Replies
    1. Thanks, Mark. I'll contribute my stack to your collection! Good to know about the cork, I have some of those too!

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