The Cost-Effectiveness of Recycling Plastic Research Paper

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Do you believe that recycling plastic number two is more cost-effective as compared to the manufacturing of new products?

Recycling has been considered an effective way of managing plastic wastes. According to Fullerton (85), recycling of plastic number two has been considered the most effective way of managing environmental wastes. However, one issue that has raised concern is whether or not manufacturers consider recycling of such plastic wastes to be more cost-effective as compared to manufacturing new products using new raw materials. Most of the manufacturers have always considered the manufacturing of new plastic products to be more cost-effective as compared to the recycling of used materials. Unlike using raw materials, old plastic materials will need more processes to clean in order to make them effective in the production of other plastic materials. This may be considered a costly way of manufacturing new products.

Most companies have, therefore, avoided recycling such products because of the high cost. However, Ackerman (47) notes that recycling should not be viewed rigidly as a way through which companies use wastes products to produce new products. Recycling may also involve re-using of various products in other activities after serving their initial purposes. For instance, containers used to pack laundry products can be used at home for various purposes. They can be used to store pegs used for hanging clothes and such other tasks. That is one way of recycling. The manufacturers can also use old plastic number two to manufacture other plastic products such as toys, plastic lumber, rope, and piping materials.

When can recycling of plastic number two be considered more costly as a way of managing wastes?

Recycling of plastic materials is very important in managing waste appropriately without subjecting the environment to any form of pollution. However, there are instances when it can be considered as an ineffective way of managing plastic wastes, given the associated costs. For instance, the plastic materials that are used to wrap products in the supermarket are very dangerous to the environment. Environmental agencies have been recommending the recycling of these materials as the most cost-effective way of managing them. However, there are instances when manufacturers would consider recycling of plastic number two more costly than manufacturing new products using the raw materials. One such case may arise when such plastic materials have been subjected to dirt. In order to recycle them, a lot of processes will have to be undertaken, a fact that can make the cost of the process to be very high. In such circumstances, the waste is best-managed using landfills (Porter 58).

Compare the cost-effectiveness of recycling plastic number two in the United States and China?

There has been an effort to manage plastic wastes through recycling in China and the United States. However, the approach taken by the United States in recycling plastic wastes is different from the approach taken by China. While the recycling of such wastes in China is largely controlled by state organs, the United States has privatized this process. Privatizing the process of recycling plastic wastes has proven to be more cost-effective than running the facility under the direct management of the government. The government should only come in as a regulator. This is why the cost of recycling of plastic number two wastes is more costly in China than in the United States.

Works Cited

Ackerman, Frank. Why Do We Recycle: Markets, Values, and Public Policy. Washington: Island Press, 2006. Print.

Fullerton, Don. The Economics of Household Garbage and Recycling Behavior. Cheltenham: Elgar, 2002. Print.

Porter, Richard. The Economics of Waste. Washington: Resources for the Future, 2002. Print.

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