Plastics: Biodegradable or 100% Recycled?
About three or four years ago, in one of our lecture series in Laguna, a school administrator asked whether claims of plastics (not holters but just the simple plastic bags from malls and shops) being biodegradable are true or not. Frankly, I do not have any idea whether the claims are true (at least on a scientific level), and I said all I know is that these corporations claiming they provide one would not sacrifice their name for a false claim. One of the lecturers said that he will conduct an experiment — let the plastics stand by till it biodegrades — to know the truth.
Anyway, that day, I realized that we should not really just believe all claims.
Also, I still do not know if the experiment pushed through. I have some “biodegradable” plastic bags here at home for quite some time now, but they’re still, well, here. Hehe.
While there are still heavy discussions on the existence of “biodegradable” plastics, let us bear in mind that plastics, still, are a hundred percent recyclable. While we have yet to wait for our local plastic bags to disintegrate, let us go back to what we do best and that is recycling!
Let me share with you these “segregated” plastics, on display in the exhibit of IA booth during the GP3 Conference at SMX Convention Center, photos as provided by Ms. Adel Licos of the Ayala Foundation (also of the Solid Waste Management Association of the Philippines – SWAPP).
From left to right:
1) PS, or styro can be processed into rulers, photo frame, bricks, tiles, etc.
2) Hard plastics, or sibak, can be processed into pails, basin (batya of palanggana), dipper (tabo), hangers, etc.
3) PP, such as caps and straws, can be processed into plastic straw, garbage bags, etc.
4) PET, or plastic water bottles, can be processed into the same product.
See? Plastics can be recycled so please, please, don’t just throw them away (and please, pretty please, don’t throw it on our esteros!). Just bring your plastics to the nearest Materials Recovery Facility (MRFs), drop them at malls during Recyclable Trade Fairs, or sell them to junkshops. Just don’t ever, ever throw them just about anywhere!
photo credit: Ms. Adel Licos of Ayala Foundation
