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5 Ways to Use Recycled Plastic Products In Your Home
Since we were in elementary school, most of us learned the "three R's" environmental ethos: reduce, reuse, and recycle. While we may separate our plastic milk jugs, water bottles, and bags, few people have any idea where those recycled plastics end up. The demand for post-consumer plastic has increased dramatically in recent years. This interest has directly led to the proliferation of several companies producing recycled plastics for the home.
Using recycled materials to produce new materials is an essential component of what is known as the "circular economy." The circular economy is a growing movement that will help our society become more sustainable by reducing our reliance on mining and extracting products from the earth. Instead, these practices will increase our dependence on existing products that would otherwise end up in a landfill or ocean.
Below, we will briefly examine the ecological costs of plastic and some of the downsides of utilizing plastics in your home. Then we will offer five ideas for how our choices in home furnishings reflect our values.
Table of Contents
Why Do We Need to Recycle Plastics?
Plastic is a relatively inexpensive and durable material, which is one reason it has been produced en masse during the past decades. A staggering 8.3 billion metric tons of plastics have been produced since 1950. Because plastic is a stable, synthetic material, it stays in the environment for hundreds of years. From the Great Pacific Garbage Patch of plastics floating in our oceans to roadways littered with thousands of bottles, bags, and everything in between, plastic pollution is a genuine problem.
In addition, because plastics are oil-based, an enormous amount of fossil fuel energy is needed to manufacture plastic products. The Pacific Institute estimates that in 2006 alone, over 17 million barrels of oil went into American consumers' water bottles, leading to 2.5 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions. Moreover, upwards of 4 percent of the world's oil is used to make plastics. A similar amount goes toward energy for the manufacturing process.
Plastic Lumber
Are you looking to build an addition to your patio? Perhaps you don't want to invest in wood beams and deck boards due to the possibility of termite infestation, wood rot, splinters, and ongoing maintenance. If so, plastic lumber is an excellent alternative for outdoor building projects. These products are made to look like regular wood lumber, and most people can only tell the difference through touch. Plastic lumber is made from HDPE plastic from recycled milk jugs and plastic grocery bags. Plastic lumber can last for several years and is naturally resistant to rot, mold, and insect infestation. Trex is one company that makes decking products by blending recycled wood and recycled plastic composites. Trex estimates that they use over 140,000 recycled plastic bags, films, and wraps for just one 500 square-foot decks.
Plastic Countertops
While granite or marble countertops are certainly aesthetically appealing, they tend to be expensive. In addition, the mining and transportation costs associated with these products have a high carbon footprint. Recycled plastic countertops sourced from post-consumer HDPE plastic are environmentally friendly and durable. They can even look like their authentic marble or granite counterparts. Durat is one company that manufactures a unique, solid surface material that contains a large percentage of recycled postindustrial plastics. Their countertops come in over 70 color schemes, and you can custom order a specialized tint that matches your kitchen ambiance.
Plastic Insulation Products
Melted-down plastic bottles can make a unique and high-performance insulation material. This new type of insulation will increase your home's energy efficiency while diverting large amounts of plastic trash from the landfill. In addition, the melted plastics, made into hollow fibers, maximize the insulation's ability to trap air and improve the home's thermal efficiency. In Switzerland, a company is currently working on a technique that would turn plastic bottles into insulation foam with an R-Value comparable to other commercial insulation products. In the UK, SupaSoft makes roll insulation out of recycled plastic with no added chemicals or binders.
Bottom Line
Incorporating post-consumer plastics into some areas of your home is a great way to increase the demand for plastic recyclables. Not only will this limit the need to produce virgin plastics, but it will help keep plastics out of landfills and oceans. And the more we can utilize recycled materials, the more we can close the loop and support our future circular economy.
Tobias Roberts
Tobias runs an agroecology farm and a natural building collective in the mountains of El Salvador. He specializes in earthen construction methods and uses permaculture design methods to integrate structures into the sustainability of the landscape.
