Is Recycling Good for the Environment FRQ

Suppose you are planning a party and want to determine the most environmentally friendly way to serve drinks to your friends. You can choose either one-use, recyclable plastic cups or glass cups that can be kept and reused.

a.) List four factors that are likely to increase or decrease the environmental benefits of using recyclable plastic cups.

1. One factor that would likely decrease the environmental benefits of using recyclable plastic cups is that plastic is made out of petroleum, which is a non-renewable resource.
2. Another that would likely decrease the environmental benefits is that recycled plastic cups degrade in quality, so they can only be useful a certain amount of time. This means that new plastic cups will eventually have to be manufactured.
3. Another is that making a new plastic bottle costs significantly less than making a recycled one.
4. It also requires a lot more energy to make a recycled plastic cup.

b.) Suggest three reasons why using plastic cups at a party may be less environmentally costly than using glass cups.

Three reasons why using plastic cups at a party may be less environmentally costly than using glass cups are that they do not require an abundance of energy and resources to make, their recycled plastic can be used in other related products, and they decrease the amount of solid waste in land fills.

c.) To reduce the amount of waste that ends up in landfills, engineers have developed plastic cups
made with oxo-biodegradable plastic that are designed to be composted. However, many of them end up in landfills because people do not have compost piles or do not understand that they can be composted. Despite their biodegradability, these cups persist for many years in landfills. Why might biodegradable plastic persist in a landfill for a long time?

Biodegradable plastic might persist in a landfill for a long time because things that can be composted usually need sunlight in order to do so. Therefore, when solid waste continues to pile up, the cups are prevented from receiving sun and cannot biodegrade.

d.) Suggest one method to reduce, one method to reuse, and one method to recycle waste at your party.

Reduce - Limit party guests to only one plastic cup per person. No exceptions.

Reuse - Wash out the cups and save them for the next party.

Recycle - Clearly label recycling bins for the cups to be put in.