Recyclable Materials — Behind the Scenes of Recycling

• Published on May 30, 2017
• estimated reading time: ~7 minute(s)

Recycling is becoming more and more important as our society moves forward. This is partially because of increasing resource scarcity, and partially because of environmental pollution. In this article we will list advantages and downsides of the most popular recyclable materials for packaging, and show which one of them is the most environmental-friendly.

The History of Recycling

The concept of recycling materials is surely not new, our ancestors must have been masters of reusing and recycling goods. But there was likely no intentional act of recycling, it was rather by necessity. As time passed, humanity moved into the 20th century and with it came the industrial revolution. Manufacturing new products became increasingly faster and cheaper than fixing old or broken ones. For a while, the whole idea of recycling became almost irrelevant.

In Switzerland, it was 1984 when the topic of recycling and reducing waste regained some importance. Within 25 years, 35 new federal regulations and guidelines were introduced to tackle these topics. The relative amount of recycled waste was propelled from 25 to 50 percent. However, at the same time the market also grew by around 40 percent, which means that the absolute amount of waste is still almost identical today, as it was back then.

Types of Recyclable Materials

In order to really understand which material is the best, we first have to analyze them; one-by-one. We collected important facts and information about the most popular recyclable materials.

Glass

• In Switzerland, glass is the most recycled material of all with a 90 percent recycling rate
• Drinking glasses and window glass is not recyclable, since it has a different chemical composition
• Glass can be infinitely recycled without changing its structure
• Recycling glass is very uneconomic, because it is heavy, bulky to transport and has a high 1580°C melt point
• White and brown glass can only be produced with pure colors, therefore they are collected separately and made with a maximum of 55 percent recycled glass
• Green glass on the other hand is less sensitive and even tolerates blue or red colors, but even so, it is made with a maximum of 85 percent recycled glass
• About 20 percent of all collected glass is downcylcled and used as building material (e.g. insulation foam)

Aluminum

• In Switzerland, aluminum is collected similar conscientious as glass with a recycling rate of about 90 percent. However, this number is a little bit misleading, because it only accounts for aluminum cans, all other aluminum packaging is ignored
• Just like glass, aluminum can be infinitely recycled without changing its structure
• Recycling aluminum is incredibly efficient and economic, it melts at 650°C and is formed into aluminum bars
• Mining, extracting and processing raw aluminum takes a tremendous amount of energy, higher than any of the other materials
• Aluminium (Al) comprises about 8.2% of the Earth’s crust and is thus the third most abundant element in the crust
• Aluminum does not naturally occur on its own, therefore Bauxite ore is the most commonly mined for aluminium
• In order to comply with BIO SUISSE a special permission is needed to pack products in aluminum containers

PET

• In Switzerland, the recycling rate of PET is on the lower end with 75 percent. This is mostly due to PET being the to-go container and therefore usually ends up in the trash can
• For the production of 1kg PET, 1.9kg of petroleum is required
• PET is used on airlines because of its light weight; a one liter bottle only weights 30 grams
• PET has a low melt point at 250°C, therefore not all PET containers can be recycled (e.g. oil bottles)
• Only about 35 percent of all collected PET bottles revives as bottle once again, the rest is downcycled and used for textiles or foils
• Whether or not PET is infinitely recyclable is to-date uncertain

Paper/Cardboard

• In Switzerland, the recycling rate of paper is at about 80% in the middle field
• Paper can be recycled at most 6 to 7 times, thereafter the fibers are broken and it becomes waste
• 25% of all collected paper goes straight to the oven, because is no longer recyclable
• Among all recyclable materials, paper and cardboard is the most collected one of all
• Pure paper, such as newspaper, is actually compostable

Financing the Recycling Process

One more very interesting fact, which applies to all recyclable materials, is that the recycled material is more expensive than new one. This is a huge problem, because no one is willing to pay more for something of possibly lesser quality. Therefore the government subsidies recycled materials to keep the price below the market price of new resources. This subvention is financed with small fees on recyclable containers. For glass bottles the fee is between 2 and 6 Rappen, depending on the size. Aluminum cans are charged with 1 Rappen and PET bottles with 1.8 Rappen. The only material that is excluded from this regulation is paper and cardboard. The paper lobby (printing agencies, newspaper publishers, etc) had successfully resisted against the pre-paid fee upon its introduction.

The same principal is also applied to other products, such as batteries or electronic devices in order to pay for the professional disposal or dismantling.

Additional Information about the ARF comission

An interesting fact about the advance recycling fee — short ARF — is that when making purchases online or abroad, the fee is usually not included. This is a big problem, because it leaves the recycling process with big financial gaps.

For that reason SENS eRecycling launched the FAIR ARF campaign, which allows consumers to pay a voluntary ARF fee after making online purchases. We support this campaign and have started to contribute for our purchases of electronics.

FAIR ARF—When you purchase electrical appliances abroad or online, ARF is often not included. You can make a voluntary ARF contribution of CHF 5.00 using just your mobile phone by texting “vRG” to 488. Thank you.

Overview & Comparison

The following table is an overview of all relevant information about the different types of recyclable materials from the above list. It will help us to compare these materials better.

1. When ignoring glas color requirements
2. Only accounts for aluminum cans
3. Whether or not PET is infinitely recyclable is still a debate

Conclusion—which material is the best?

Now that we analyzed all the different types of recyclable materials, let’s sum things up.

• As evident from all the facts, aluminum is the most environmental-friendly packaging, despite its bad reputation. But is all depends on the recycling rate. Once it is mined, it is the ideal packaging and produces no waste. If it ends up in the the landfill, all production is almost in vain as the pollution values exponentially grow.
• Despite its poor recyclability, PET is surprisingly environmental-friendly. This is primarily due to its easy production and transportation.
• Single-use glass is clearly on the lower end of the cart, mostly due to the high melt point and weight. Actually the best packaging are returnable glass containers, provided that they are reused at least 30 to 40 times. Unfortunately this kind of packaging is seen less and less on the market.
• Paper and cardboard are difficult to compare, because they are usually not interchangeable with the other packaging. Particularly beverages or moist products cannot be packaged with them. One packaging material that is usually not really considered, is cloth, such as Furoshiki. Similarly like paper, it is not suited for liquids. However, it is reusable and also recyclable.
• Last but not least, nothing beats the packaging that is not needed in the first place. Shops that sell products without packaging, the so-called Zero Waste shops, are opening like buds in spring, and we think that is definitely a positive development.

Hopefully these information will help you to see packaging from a new perspective. Not all packaging is bad, and sometimes even disposable materials are better than recyclable ones. We encourage you to be more aware of how products are packaged and make conscious choices during your shopping trips. Soon we will be also publishing an article with tips and tricks for recycling, stay tuned.

• We highly recommend this very comprehensive article by NZZ Folio about waste (German)
• Further information about the ARF comission are available on the SENS eRecycling Website