Document 6wr0N7GOdVw85VaozkQqZp3M9

The Vinyl Institute Solid Waste Fact Sheet Draft -- 7/18/86 The Solid waste Dilemma If all the garbage brought to U.S. landfills every year were collected in one location, it would cover an area of one square mile and reach almost as high as the Statue of Liberty. Every year, Americans generate over 141 million tons of garbage or "municipal solid waste." That's more than 1,240 pounds for every nan, woman and child. Currently, over 90% of this municipal solid waste -- or MSW -- is disposed of in landfills. Many cities, however, are facing a landfill crisis as the number of suitable sites decreases and opposition from nearby residents increases. New York City, for instance, estimates that its current landfill space will be totally depleted by the year 2000. Recycle symbol Additionally, MSW managers now realize that landfilling also squanders a valuable resource: the potential raterial and energy recoverable from landfill products such as paper, yard wastes and plastics. As an alternative, many municipalities new ar turning to recycling and incineration as better ways to manage the solid waste dilemma. CTL026354 -2- Two Alternatives: Recycling and Resource Recovery Recycling is simply a way of salvaging the reusable content from potential garbage and reprocessing it for further use. Recycling has been used for years to extend the useful life of certain paper products like newspapers, and also helped the aluminum cans gain the lion's share of the beverage container market. Success in these areas has led to recycling programs for newer products -- most notably PET (polyethylene terephthalate) two-liter soda bottles. Nevertheless, recycling cannot be considered a permanent solid waste solution, as it merely prolongs the time until an item is disposed of. At that point, recycled products also become MSN components. Incineration symbol The practice of incinerating or burning solid waste to recover energy is really another form of recycling, with heat or light being the final product rather than reprocessed material. Incineration has been used in the United States since 1885 to process MSW. While early incinerators often were blamed for generating dust and foul odors, state-of-the-art installations now CTL026355 -3- operate cleanly and efficiently -- so much so, that they are the preferred method of MSW management in much of Europe and in Japan, This growing popularity also is due to the other benefits that incineration provides. For example, there is no need to separate waste components for special handling; all items in the solid waste stream -- combustible and noncombustible -- can be processed alike. Incineration also eliminates the need to impose deposit systems on components of the waste stream for which recycling programs do not -- and most practically cannot -- exist. Finally, incineration substantially reduces the volune of waste destined for landfilling. Incineration typically reduces MSW volume by 75%, with only the ash fran combustion and non-burnables retaining. Moreover, incineration is a solid waste solution that can keep pace with the growing practicality and popularity of disposabl constmer items. CTL026356 -4- Are Plastics the Solid Waste Culprits? The makeup of today's MSW is somewhat The Monicipal Solid Waste Stream Durable goods Nondurable goods Food wastes Yard wastes Packaging* Other 12.7% 24.9 14.0 12.8 34.0 1.6 100.0% * Paper Glass Metal Plastics Other 17.9 8.2 3.3. 3.4 1.2 34.0% Plastics represent only 3.4% of the total MSW stream. (Source: Franklin Associates) different than it was five years ago. It contains a slightly larger percentage of plastic packaging -- a direct reflection of the increasing demand for the convenience and superior performance that plastics provide. Despite this, plastics represent only 3.4% of the entire MSW content. And, even if plastics replaced all existing glass, metal and paper packaging, they would increase to only a third of the MSW total. By far, the largest proportion of disposed items consists of yard wastes, nondurable goods like magazines and clothing, and durable goods like appliances and tires. Side Bar: Four Reasons Why Plastics Are the Preferred Packaging Product 1. Plastics are lightweight. They reduce shipping costs; are easier to handle. 2. Plastics are nonbreakable. They provide an extra measure of safety for users; eliminate breakage costs for bottlers, shippers and handlers. 3. Plastics make innovative, convenient packaging possible. 4. Plastics help food and medicine last longer, stay fresher. CTL026357 -5- Fran clear to opaque, rigid to flexible, rfrail simple "plastic wrap" to sophisticated plastic "cans," plastics are the package designers -- and the package user's -- choice. / Recycling: Why It Works, Why It Doesn't Recycle Markets Most Exist A key to the success of recycling programs is the existence of markets and uses for recycled materials. Although many PET Bottles: Available recycled material Available recycled material markets products-- and virtually all plastics -- can be recycled, purity and quality demands set for many applications preclude the use of recycled material. Hie Food and Drug Administration, for instance, prohibits the use of recycled material in food-contact applications. In nany cases, simply far outstrips demand for recycled product. For ^ose applications where recycled materials can be used, supply frequently outstrips demand, creating the need to stor indefinitely those items collected for recycling. CTL026358 The plastic package of the future will be a oonposite of several different aaterials. -6- Source Separation Required Recycling also requires "source separation," the process of sorting MSW components by type of material. Although this can be done relatively easily for one-material products like aluminum cans and one-gallon polyethylene milk jugs, the new trend in packaging is toward "composites" -- containers made up of several different materials. Composite packaging is becoming more and more popular because it allows container designers to create lightweight, easty-to-handle packaging while maintaining or improving product shelf life. So-called "barrier" packages like the plastic ketchup bottle -- with one or more materials forming the wall of a container and another the wall liner -- are good examples of advanced composite packaging, but even the simplest package may include a cap of one material, a carrying handle of another, with the container itself being a third. Hius, efforts to simplify source separation by labeling containers as to their material makeup -- a solution growing in popularity with regulators -- are of limited practicality. CTL026359 No. of Al cans produced No. of Al cans recycled Even the most successful recycling programs fall short of processing all available product. -7- Finally, source separation faces consumer resistance and increases handling costs for municipalities that institute "postconsumer" sorting of MSW components. Consequently, despite markets for the recycled material, only 55% of all aluminum cans are recycled, only 20% of PET bottles. Incineration: MSW Management That ftekes Sense for Plastics Flow diagram: incineration process One ton of NSW will produce 9 million BTU's -- enough to ... Unlike other components of the waste stream whose useful lives are best extended by recycling, many plastics contribute the most to resource conservation when they are burned for their energy content. A pound of plastic, for instance, will produoe 12,000 BTU's when properly incinerated -- roughly the equivalent cf a poind of coal. Plastics, however, are not the only products that can be burned to produoe energy. Almost anything that burns produces BTU's, even grass clippings. Moreover, even the most successful recycling program eventually produces items that can be reprocessed no further. If these items are burnable, they too become candidates for incineration and energy recovery. In a sense, incineration CTL026360 -8- TRANSFER ANO DISPOSAL COST n* on, Projected Municipal Solid Waste Disposal Cost is really a form of recycling, with energy instead of material being the recycled product. Thus, incineration presents a practical way to handle all combustihle MSW components, not just plastics. And, as land, transportation and operating costs increase, incineration becomes even more attractive. While the expense of landfilling likely will continue to rise, the investment in incineration facilities can stabilize or even decrease MSW management costs. IVC in the Solid Waste Stream - The Facts IVC (polyvinyl chloride, or vinyl) is one of the world's most widely used plastics. It also is one of the most versatile because it can be either rigid or flexible, opaque or transparent. Because of its versatility, IVC is finding growing use in the packaging industry in food wrap, rigid blister pack and in bottles for drugs, sundries, edible oils and other food products. Like all CTL026361 -9- plastics, IVC can be recycled. Typical uses for recycled PVC include fence posts, stadium seating and. However, as with other plastics, experts in MSW management are beginning to see that the best way to recover the value of IVC is through incineration with energy recovery. Recently, some concerns have been raised as to how IVC packaging products react in the incineration process. Here cure the facts: The presence of IVC in the incinerator does not increase dioxin production. PVC represents only 5% of the chlorine present in MSW. Fully 50% of the chlorine present in MSW cones from tablsLss&t. <54^ r s cHXfefs. Recent testing to determine the sources of chlorodioxin generation in MSW indicates that the amount of water and oxygen present during the incineration process, plus the operating conditions of the incinerator, ar the crucial factors in dioxin formation. Other tests, specifically conducted with FVC-free MSW, reveal that dioxin forms even when all vinyl products are renoved. This is because IVC represents only 5% of the chlorine present in solid waste. Fully 50% of the chlorine present in MSW oomes from other sources, including table salt, , TV^'Crvanprc ann CTL026362 ) -10- 1 "Acid rain" linked to incinerators is caused primarily fcy emissions of sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides, not hydrogen chloride. Uncontrolled emissions from power plants burning fossil fuels are the principal contributors to acid rain. Additionally, emissions of all incinerator off-gases can be minimized by the installation of scrubbing equipment and by following proper operating conditions. (need reference to testing here) Sumiary for section -- use as caption: PVC constitutes only 6% of all plastics used in packaging. Plastics, in turn, represent only 3% of all packaging materials found in the solid waste stream, (need statement here on overall plastics/PVC effects on incineration process.) ,L CTL026363 -11- The Viryl Institute Position Plastics are fast becoming the preferred packaging material because of the superior performance properties they provide. However, their impact on the MSW stream is minor and banning their use in disposable products will not substantially alter th magnitude of the solid waste problem. It will, on the other hand, deny consumers of the many advantages that plastic packaging provides. A few plastic products in the market, most notably the two-liter soda bottle and the gallon milk jug, are excellent recycling candidates because of their distinctive shape and their cne-material composition. However, because of the limited market for recycled plastic materials, this is a long-term solution at best and one that cannot be used at all with multi-material packages. CTL026364 -12- A1though plastics have changed the overall composition of MSW, they do not require extraordinary disposal techniques. In fact, the best way to process the majority of plastic waste - via incineration - is also the best way to handle other waste stream components. To that end, the Viryl Institute has taken a very active role in supporting research to advance the state of incineration technology. The Institute is the sole industry sponsor of tests being conducted by the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) which currently is studying operating variables in conmercial incinerators. In addition, the Institute is a founding member of the Corncil on Plastics and Packaging in the Environment. A coalition of plastics producers, the packaging industry and several food and beverage manufacturers, the council was established to address the issue of plastics in solid wastes. CTL026365 II .* -13- Finally, through its own committee structure, the Vinyl Institute maintains an ongoing technical program devoted to FVC and solid waste management, which includes independent research projects in areas related to the issue. Hie Vinyl Institute recognizes solid waste management as one of the most critical issues facing this country today. Practical approaches exist, however, that can be adapted without unnecessarily restricting the use of materials which provide numerous consumer benefits. By working with the scientific conmmity, legislators, regulators and other government officials throughout the country, the Vinyl Institute is helping to develop solutions to the solid waste dilarena that serve not only industry but the public interest and the environment as well. For more information contact: The Vinyl Institute Wayne Interchange Plaza II 155 Route 46 West Wayne, NJ 07 470 (201) 890-9299 CTL026366 Ihe Vinyl Institute is a division of the Society of the Plastics Industry representing the leading manufacturers of WC and its feedstock, VCM.