Plastics Lab Sustainable Recycling Program Development

2024 PLET

The Objective is to implement a sustainable and comprehensive recycling program in the plastic lab that will result in a reduction of material (plastic, metal, paper) entering the waste stream by 70%.​

Team Members

Colin Ryan | Joe Greene | | |

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Project Summary

Overview

The current state of domestic plastics recycling is lacking to say the least. In 2018, 35.7 million tons of plastic waste was produced in the US. Only 3.1 million tons, or 8.7%, of the waste was recycled leaving 32.6 million tons of plastics to be disposed of. With landfills filling up with plastics and production not slowing down, the need for recycling is ever increasing.

Objectives

The objectives of this project are to achieve a waste reduction of ≥70% by weight, be funded through self-generated revenue, and ensure longevity of the program.

Approach

  • Collection and reprocessing setups were optimized by taking methods used in past collegiate level waste recycling programs and customizing these practices for the plastics lab at Penn State Behrend.
  • Audits were set up for all three semesters of the project to determine the total amount of waste recycled for each semester.
  • Optimization included purchasing reusable “Bag It Tag It” tags, making residual waste bins more prevalent, creating information posters and placing these in commonly used areas of the lab, and making resources such as trash bags available to students 24/7 at each press.

Outcomes

  • The waste audits from the spring 2023 and fall 2023 semesters yielded a waste reduction value of 72.5%, giving the project a 2.5% buffer going into the final audit in the spring of 2024 (11 week audit).
  • The spring 2024 audit yielded a waste reduction of 70.3% by weight. This value proved the hypothesis true with a value of 0.3% over the required 70%.
  • With equipment donations and the utilization of equipment in the plastics lab, there was no start up costs of the program apart from $30 for collection materials. This resulted in the recycling program being funded through self-generated revenue.
  • The longevity of the program was ensured with the creation of a program manual and a tech elective with transition period, thanks to the plastics club.