Single-serve dilemma: a preference for single-serving and convenience packaging is proving to be at odds with improving recycling rates. (Municipal Recycling Update).

We are a mobile nation, and we want to take our conveniences with us. We tote along our cell phones, digital organizers and bottles of water. We bring single-servings of our favorite snack foods and microwaveable meals to work for what passes as lunch, often consumed hastily before or en route to a succession of errands, or at our desks amid a pile of work that needs our attention.

But what do we do with the packaging that remains after we've gobbled up the last of our microweavable macaroni and cheese and washed it down with the last swig of cola? Odds are many of us don't tote what remains home to place in our recycling bins, but toss it in the garbage at the office (or at the service station) before heading to our next stop.

Some within the industry speculate that our desire for mobility and convenience has contributed to the increase of PET food and beverage containers and the decline in recycling rates for these containers. But many are also quick to point out that the inherent and perceived value of the materials, whether aluminum or PET, also affects the rate at which they are recycled.

TAKING IT WITH YOU

Our desire for and convenience has affected the packaging of the food and beverages we tote along with us. Whereas the production of aluminum cans has remained essentially steady at 100 billion units per year, aluminum cans are losing market share to PET bottles in terms of the total volume of containers produced.

Pat Franklin, president of the Container Recycling Institute, Arlington, Va., says that the growth in the beverage industry is in non-carbonated or "new-age" beverages, such as water and teas. "These non-carbonated beverages are essentially being packaged in plastic and glass rather than aluminum. Obviously, bottled water is almost exclusively PET, and that is the biggest growth beverage of all."

Franklin says plastic is preferred for several reasons, notably its light weight and breakage resistance.

Plastic containers are also re-sealable, Pete Dinger, director of technology for the American Plastics Council, Washington, adds. This feature is particularly attractive among the mobile.

Other than portability, there are a variety of other features associated with food and beverage packaging materials.

MATERIAL ADVANTAGES

Robin King, V.P. of public affairs for The Aluminum Association, Washington, says that 12-ounce aluminum cans chill more quickly and better preserve carbonation as compared to plastic bottles. In addition, King says, aluminum cans provide pricing and recycling efficiency.

"Consumers realize the efficiency of the can in pricing benefits to the bottled package," King says. He adds that two out of every three cans make their way back into the can manufacturing stream. "That's a far greater recycling rate and package efficiency than any other beverage container."

King also believes that aluminum provides an advantage in single-serving multipacks. "The price efficiency is the reason grocery stores sell so much volume through cans."

Franklin says that according to the beer industry data, there seems to be a regional preference for aluminum cans, with cans making up a greater percentage of packaged beer sales in southern and western states. "Essentially, it's pretty easy. Aluminum is a good conductor of hot and cold," she says.

However, Dinger says plastic is "a very good insulator compared to other packaging. That's one of the interesting things about the new beer bottle." Although the plastic beer bottles may not feel as cold to the hand because of the insulating property of plastic, Dinger says, the beer actually stays colder longer.

Dinger also credits plastic's light weight as a benefit, particularly in fuel-savings throughout the distribution chain. It's also a very adaptable material.

"The barrier properties can be engineered for the product requirements. That's one of the beauties of plastic, because it is so many different materials," Dinger says. The plastic molecule can be modified by "hooking other chemicals to it with different additives, different rheological properties, layering it with different barrier materials," he explains.

But this adaptability also complicates recycling.

"Instead of having relatively homogenous types of plastic packaging, we are now getting these hybrid packages ... where you are getting various types of resins together in the same package," John Hanson, president of Ontario-based Hanson Research and Communications, says. Hanson is the former executive director of the Recycling Council of Ontario, Toronto.

These hybrids result in better vapor barrier liners to increase shelf life. "It means that plastic will be increasingly more competitive with other types of packaging," Hanson says. "But that's what is creating the recycling challenge. Every presentation I've seen has shown very clearly that the trend is toward these more complex plastic packages. I guess I should also say that when you are talking about composites and laminates, it's not just different types of plastic resin that are incorporated. Sometimes you are getting into different materials where you've got combinations of metal, plastic and paper in the same package. We know that there are a lot of challenges in effectively separating out those different materials. But it can be done," Hanson adds.

But whether it can be done cost-effectively is the issue.

"Aluminum cans are imminently recyclable. There's really very little if anything required to enhance the recyclability of the material," Hanson says. "Whereas plastic bottles, because they are becoming more complex and the nature of plastics in the waste stream is changing, require a change in technology for managing them.

"It's one thing to say that something is potentially recyclable. It's quite another to have a comprehensive recycling program in place for any particular material. With plastic, yes, there is no question that there have been advances in automated sorting technologies for separating them out," Hanson says. "It's quite another as to whether people are investing in those technologies, because they are quite expensive to operate and you need significant economies of scale to justify the investment in new plastic sorting technologies."

Hanson says that in light of the trend toward more complex plastic packaging, "the economics of manual hand sorting become less and less attractive, and you really do need to have large-scale automated sorting to have a meaningful impact on the plastic stream."

TOSSING IT OUT

According to statistics from the National Soft Drink Association (NSDA), Washington, there has been a slight decline in the PET soda bottle recycling rate, which currently stands at 35 percent.

Preston Read, NSDA's director of environmental affairs, speculates that the decline in recycling is because more of the beverages in plastic containers are being consumed away from home.

The number of curbside programs grew from 2,700 in 1990 to more than 9,000 in 1999, Franklin says. "But we've also seen (PET container) recycling rates dropping at the same time. Again, it's a function of more and more of these beverages are being purchased and consumed away from home."

Read says, "There's also been a huge growth rate in the PET package -- the individual size packages, the 20-oz. containers, the half-liter containers, the 16-oz. containers -- their popularity has increased dramatically. We're not entirely certain that consumers have gotten the message yet that those are just as recyclable as the 2-liter bottle."

Read says that the NSDA is working with the American Plastics Council to promote an "all bottles" collection message, which moves away from the old resin code message used by most curbside programs. Read says that the simplified message of the all-bottles program greatly increases the amount of PET and HDPE collected.

Dinger says that approximately 1,200 communities currently have all-bottles programs in place. "Our data shows that it doesn't add to the cost, it doesn't cause any problems with quality and it diverts the material from the landfill and gets the stuffback into the hands of the businesses that are really crying for the material."

He remarks that, "The biggest struggle that the plastic bottle recycling industry faces is supply of materials, and that's been the case for about four or five years now." Dinger adds that the APC is working with a number of other associations in organizing public education campaigns that stress the need for recycling plastic containers.

"But the problem we're facing is that in our on-the-go, mobile society, the plastic packages are exploding in what we call the "custom" market, or the isotonics, the juices, the teas, different kinds of beverages, all these things are being consumed more and more away from home where the typical recycling takes place," Dinger says.

"We can take a lot more bottles, and the markets for recycled plastic are very strong," Dinger says. "The demand is really there, and we just can't get enough stuff. That's the bottom line." The PET and HDPE collected for recycling can be used in fiber or plastic lumber and detergent bottles, respectively, he adds.

However, Franklin says, "I think essentially what it boils down to is the difference in value of the scrap material. When there is a financial incentive involved, you will see higher recycling rates." She compares the 55 percent [or greater, depending on which statistical formula one chooses] recycling rate for aluminum cans with that of PET plastic, which is 23 percent, and credits it to the worth of the aluminum can.

King says, "Generally speaking, a can to be recycled is worth a penny. No other consumer package comes anywhere near that. The marketplace rewards the general public for its recycling activity in one way or another." While you may not see your money directly when recycling curbside, King says you will receive an economic benefit in the form a lower overall tax rate for your area. "Other materials are recycled to protect the landfills, not because of their inherent value."

King adds that the Aluminum Association is actively looking for ways to increase recycling habits, though it does not necessarily support deposit programs because the refund given to the customer is higher then the actual value of the cans.

However, Franklin finds that in areas with deposit programs, the recycling rates are far higher. "It is essentially a function of the value. Either the intrinsic value of, for example, the aluminum can, or the essentially artificial value that is created by the law that puts a mandatory deposit value on bottles and cans," Franklin says.

Deposit programs are the only proven mechanism for achieving 75 to 80 percent recycling rates, she adds.

DESIGNING FOR RECYCLING

In addition to our mobility, Hanson believes our changing economy is also adversely affecting recycling rates. "I think we're seeing similar patterns throughout North America, where austerity measures are introduced and municipal governments are increasingly trying to cut costs in many different areas."

In some cases, communities are moving toward less frequent collection of recyclables. "I think that there's a certain percentage, and I couldn't identify what that percentage is, but a certain percentage of loss associated with the cutbacks in collection frequency," Hanson says.

"You also find that with any program, you have to maintain good public education programs. That often is one of the first things cut during periods of austerity," he adds.

Despite these variables, Franklin says, "If we're really going to address the problem of waste in this country, not just the solid waste that we put into the ground in landfills, but the waste in terms of the bigger picture of wasted energy and wasted resources, we really need to have producers of this packaging ... begin to design for recyclability rather than marketability. Essentially, the trend is toward packaging to increase market share. All these different colors of plastic, different colors of glass, create serious problems for recyclers. Designing for recyclability would definitely assist us, or would reduce the problems for recyclers."

RELATED ARTICLE: Take me out to the recycling bin.

Recyclers of PET bottles are often quick to point out that end markets for the material exist--but that guaranteeing a sufficient supply can create the opposite problem.

The PET recycling rate has been stuck for a number of years, even though many Americans have access to a curbside recycling program, that accepts PET containers.

A statistically significant amount of PET containers are never brought home, but rather are disposed of at work, in parks and service stations, and at large gatherings and venues where crowds gather to eat, drink and be entertained.

The National Association for PET Container Resources (NAPCOR), Charlotte, N.C., has been establishing programs to capture this elusive stream, in part concentrating on stadiums, arenas and other places where soft drinks are consumed.

A series of NAPCOR programs has yielded some encouraging results:

* As much as 60 tons of PET containers may be recovered this year at Miller Park, home of baseball's Milwaukee Brewers.

* 25 tons of PET may be recovered from the ten large crowds that gather at Ericsson Stadium for Charlotte Panthers football games this season.

* From a half-ton to three tons of PET have been collected at single events such as 10K races and air shows.

The author is a staff member at Recycling Today and can be contacted via e-mail at [e-mail].