what i do with plastic left over from scrap

when i get plastic left over from scrap i just put it into my recycle bin and not the trash bin. you dont want it going to a landfill. i have seen on youtube that they say the plastic is trash and i assume from that they are putting it in the trash bin. i figure if you put in into the recycle bin they can melt it down into new plastic items. so what do all of you do with your left over plastic stuff?

Plastic can go in our blue recycling bin here #1 - #7 and ridged plastics are ok as well

There are no facilities around here that will recycle my plastic. If it's #1 or #2 plastic they'll take it but #6 and #7 they don't want it.

Any plastic that is on a PC is not removed and the yard I take the PC cases to takes printers also. The good circuit boards and paper are removed from the printers first but I don't break then down any further.

Originally Posted by sledge

When I got into e-waste about 3 years ago- there was a market for the plastic- since gas was about $4 a gallon.
I was getting paid .02/lb for plastic- but I recycled it at my local R2 facility because I could.

Because crude oil is down so far right now (I'm paying about $2.11/gal) there are no buyers for the computer plastic- the manufacturers are able to produce virgin plastic cheaper than melting old.

See if you can snag your garbage men- ask if they will take your computer plastic. Mine will SOMETIMES. I had a run for about 2 months where I would fill 2 garbage cans with it- and they would take it- then new guys were on the route and they don't take it. I figure if 100 lbs of it got recycled- I did what I could! Heck when all of the garbage goes to the sort-house- it may be sorted out and recycled there- just not at curb to truck!

wow thanks for that. i didnt know that who would have thought.

Originally Posted by mike1

when i get plastic left over from scrap i just put it into my recycle bin and not the trash bin. you dont want it going to a landfill. i have seen on youtube that they say the plastic is trash and i assume from that they are putting it in the trash bin. i figure if you put in into the recycle bin they can melt it down into new plastic items. so what do all of you do with your left over plastic stuff?

I'm going to apologize in advance in case some of this comes across harsh.

All rubbish and recycling companies have certain standards as far as what they can and can not recycle. If we are talking about a rubbish company that picks up your garbage and recycling at the curb, they should have given you a list of acceptable items. Anytime that you put something not on the list in the container, you are contaminating the load. This contamination needs to be removed by someone or something, which ultimately effects their bottom line and in the end, the contamination will wind up in the landfill or the incinerator. Just because you think it is recyclable, doesn't mean that they or anybody has a market for it. Even if it is recyclable, please make sure it is clean. Contamination such as food or grease can make paper products hard, if not impossible to recycle. Please do some research before you automatically decide that anything plastic (and for that matter, glass or metal) can go in your curbside recycle bin.

Heres a list of the house hold plastics recycling program in my area.

Plastics

PET (1) clear and green plastic resin (soda, water, and beverage bottles)

HDPE (2) clear plastic resin
(juice and milk jugs)

HDPE (2) colored plastic resin (detergent containers)

PVC (3) plastic resin (narrow neck containers only)

LDPE (4) plastic resin (margarine tubs, six pack rings, desert cups)

PP (5) plastic resin (yogurt cups, syrup containers, ketch
up bottles)

Other (7) plastic resin (narrow neck containers only)

Aseptic packaging and gable top containers (milk and juice cartons)

Plastic buckets (kitty litter containers; 5 gallon size maximum)

Here is our list, they take lots of stuff here.

•#1 (PETE) plastics: Soda, water and beer bottles, salad dressing bottles, peanut butter jars, clear plastic berry, tomato and sandwich containers
•#2 plastics: Milk jugs, vinegar and juice bottes, cleaning bottles. Cereal box liners and trash bags are not accepted.
•#3 (HDPE) plastics: Window cleaner, shampoo and detergent bottles, cooking oil and cleaner bottles. Plastic food wrap is not accepted.
•#4 plastics: Squeezable bottles for lotions. Plastic grocery bags are not accepted.
•#5 plastics: Butter, sour cream, yogurt and cottage cheese containers.
•#6 plastics: CD/DVD cases, clear clamshell food containers.
•#7 plastics: 3- and 5-gallon water bottles, rigid plastics.

Originally Posted by hobo finds

Here is our list, they take lots of stuff here.

•#1 (PETE) plastics: Soda, water and beer bottles, salad dressing bottles, peanut butter jars, clear plastic berry, tomato and sandwich containers
•#2 plastics: Milk jugs, vinegar and juice bottes, cleaning bottles. Cereal box liners and trash bags are not accepted.
•#3 (HDPE) plastics: Window cleaner, shampoo and detergent bottles, cooking oil and cleaner bottles. Plastic food wrap is not accepted.
•#4 plastics: Squeezable bottles for lotions. Plastic grocery bags are not accepted.
•#5 plastics: Butter, sour cream, yogurt and cottage cheese containers.
•#6 plastics: CD/DVD cases, clear clamshell food containers.
•#7 plastics: 3- and 5-gallon water bottles, rigid plastics.

Lucky you! Seems you can get rid of alot of stuff.

A local yard here used to take my computer plastic (ABS, etc.). They didn't pay for it, but I was okay with that because I was going there anyway and it was a way to be sure it got handled properly. Then one day I showed up and they said no more. Now I have to pay to get rid of it.

Oh it's worse than that - I should have elaborated: that yard doesn't take it at all. I have to take it to our county recycling center, and there is no separate collection for it there, it goes into a dumpster with all kinds of other trash. I truly hate that, but at the moment, it's my only alternative. I'm trying to locate someone who can take it (even free) and then try to work out a cost effective plan to get it to them (at my volume, it's certainly not worthwhile for anyone to come collect it). Anyway, much like the CRT discussions we've had on SMF, I've got to think there's a solution that includes small scale recyclers like me ... but in the interim, it sickens me to think of what's already underground, dumped in the oceans, etc.

My county has a place where you can take all kinds of stuff for 5 dollars a truck load but if you go rolling in with 800 pounds of plastic, they will send you on your merry way.

They only take residential trash from vehicles with county plates and what I have to offer is considered Business trash.

You need to check with your curbside service. If they will accept rigids, then you are probably all set as long as your dimensions are good per their terms. But if they don't, even if there is a #7 or #5 resin code (the common e-waste plastics), then it's just getting "negative sorted" and winding up in a dumpster at the MRF. PETE and HDPE are the high-value plastics; everything else is just along for the ride, at this point.

If you have a steady volume, you might check with Plastics Recycling, Inc., in Indianapolis. I can't speak to much more about them than just my own experiences but so far, it has been excellent. I don't imagine they will buy it (unless you can bale and ship 40k at a whack, maybe) but I have been mailing them some weird stuff from VT and they are quite ready for more of the same.

Our fee is $16.30 a month for that you get once a week trash and once a week recycling pick up. 2 times a year bulky brush pick up and 12 neighborhood recycling drop off locations across the city. They are threating to close the neighborhood locations as people are dumping lots of trash and large non recycling items.