during the recycling process and the possible
journey the recycled material may make to
china just to be used! upon closer inspection,
we discover that petcore was initially set up in
1993 by resin producing companies to ‘create
a "knowledge centre" on PET that would
promote the product across the european
continent’ so inevitably their true goal is to
promote the consumption of PET containers. a
more defensive stance is adopted by the
american plastics council sounding not unlike
the national rifle association: plastics don’t
pollute, people do.

the root problem in our extensive use of
plastics in packaging applications is that they
are not biodegradable and cannot be disposed
of or destroyed in an ecologically friendly way.
charles moore in an article for best life
magazine points out that: ‘except for the small
amount that’s been incinerated—and it’s a very
small amount—every bit of plastic ever made
still exists.’ why are we using some of the
most resilient materials known to man, that may
last for centuries, for our most disposable
products and applications? there are
alternatives being developed from renewable
sources (biodegradable starch packaging,
corn based plastics) and some are already in
use. recycling does conserve natural
resources but how much is open for debate.
It also appears that as one ecological hurdle is
navigated, another is encountered: glass
bottles are too heavy to transport efficiently =
use lighter PET bottles to reduce fuel
consumption - PET is not recycled enough and
fills up landfills = use corn or starch based
plastics which degrade - the corn used is a
gm crop... the cycle continues.

no matter how efficient plastic recycling
becomes and how much natural resources
we conserve, finite resources will always
eventually become exhausted. so do we
tackle the root of the problem now or wait until
we have no other options? recycling has been
found to be better for the environment in 83%
of studied scenarios when compared to
burning or burying, until we find a viable
alternative material and curb our excessive
consumption of PET it is our best and only
option.

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read more

turn off the taps
consumers increasingly buy water to drink on
the go -new designs for PET bottled water.
article from the designboom archive, december
2003
http://www.designboom.com/contemporary/pet.html

soft drink companies and PET bottles
article from the designboom archive, august
2001
http://www.designboom.com/eng/education/pet/companies.html

basics on recycling
article from the designboom archive, august
2001
http://www.designboom.com/eng/education/pet/recycling.html

don't re-use your plastic water bottle
american scientists say re-used bottles can be
'bacteriabreeding grounds. that's not considered
acceptable drinking!
http://www.designboom.com/eng/education/pet/bottled.html

from trash to treasure
see the gardening ideas, the water bottle
rockets...article from the designboom archive,
august 2001
http://www.designboom.com/eng/education/plasticbottle.html







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