Welcome to another Trash Talking Friday, the only trash talk that walks the talk! Each week, I send you Ideas to ponder about. Ideas that have the potential to change your life, and hopefully help you become a better human being by understanding yourself.
This week I talk about, 1) different types of waste we collect from homes 2) what happens to the waste post collation 3) resources to learn more
Let’s get into it!
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What happens to your waste?
Many of you have sent me messages wanting to know what really happens to your waste after we collect it from your door step every month. Firstly, for all those who are part of our monthly packaging collection drive, thank you! For you are playing a vital part in helping us manage your waste by segregating it. This week’s newsletter is all about your trash and what ends up happening to it.
The first step of managing waste is of course trying to reduce the amount you produce through modifying your purchase and consumption habits. None the less, it does not matter how hard we try, waste will be produced and it must be managed in the best possible manner utilizing all available recourses at hand.
In general, we receive the following types of waste from residential collection:
1. Cardboard
2. Mixed paper, tissue & news print
3. Plastic
4. Glass bottles & broken glass
5. Metal & wooden hangers
6. Aluminum and tin cans
7. Clothes and shoes
8. E-waste
9. AAA and AA batteries
10. Bio-plastic & compostable plastic
Segregation is the first step of the waste management process. Even though you have put in the effort to segregate and clean your waste, it does not mean it can be sent directly to the recycling facility! Why? Well there are many reasons as mentioned below:
1. Each type of waste has to be further classified into different categories. For example, plastic has seven different categories, cardboard has five different categories, metals have different categories and so does household paper. Clothes and shoes have to be graded, plastic coverings need to be removed from E-waste, glass bottles have to be sorted according to size and type etc. Kapish!
2. Most mills and recycling facilities only take their respective type of waste in volumes and this makes the most economical sense for a business like ours
3. We cut out middle men traders and deal directly with the recyclers. These recyclers require the product to be provided to them in a certain graded manner.
4. The additional process at our facility adds value to the raw materials.
What happens to my waste?
Cardboard: As mentioned cardboard comes in five different verities! Colored, brown board, imported, rolls (toilet paper & others) support pillars (Rigid pieces uses as support in large packaging). Different grades of paper for different purposes are made from these different types of cardboard and they all command a different market value. So, once we collect this waste from you, it’s bought to our facility where its segregated into these different types, bailed (compressed, buy putting in a large machine) for ease of transportation and then sent to the paper mills for recycling. The only challenge in cardboard is the support board calles phanti in scrap language), as most of the time it comes with a filler that not accepted by mills. Once mills receive the cardboard from us, they pulp it and recycle it into large rolls of paper of different GSM and BF strength that is then supplied to box manufacturers that make cardboard boxes out of it.
Read LinkedIn in article detain how the cardboard and waste aggregation market works. Link at the end of this article.
Mixed paper, tissues and newspaper: Mixed paper and tissue waste is again segregated at our facility into different qualities. Tissue separately, colored paper separately, white paper separately based on brightness and type (copy, A4, book, legal etc), laminated paper & glossy paper separately and sent to the mill for the process of recycling. In certain cases, we shred A4 size paper and then supply this to large wholesalers of vegetables and fruits for the purpose of using it as cushioning in the process of packaging produce. Paper has many grades and as mentioned in the start of this article, the more you segregate and grade the more value you add for yourself and the recycler. Newspaper, received from homes is first removed and neatly refolded and tied in bundles and then loaded onto the truck and sent to the mill for the purpose of recycling.
Plastic: Well, majority of the questions have been in this regard, so here we go! There are seven different types of plastics as mentioned below with their codes.
1. PET: Polyethylene terephthalate
2. HDPE: High density polyethylene
3. PVC: Polychloride
4. LDPE: Low density polyethylene
5. PP: Polypropylene
6. PS: Polystyrene
7. Others: (fiber, bio plastic, compostable plastics, nylon, acrylic etc)
PET: All those mineral water bottles, soda bottles, oil bottles, some shampoo bottles, juice bottles etc, are all made of PET. Additionally, PET thermoform packaging is used in a wide variety of products such as take away containers, battery covers etc. PET is the world’s most widely used material. Once this material is collected from your homes, the process of further segregation starts at end. This entails color sorting the bottles, removing labels on them, removing the caps, some bottles have metallic rings and metallic caps, so removing those are vital. Post this the bottles are bailed according to color and sent off for recycling. Majority of the PET is downcycled into polyester clothing (75% or more). Once again, the more we sort and grade the better value we receive from the recycling unit.
To understand this process properly kindly read the detailed process document written by me in a recent article on LinkedIn, the link to which has been provided at the end of this article.
HDPE: This is one of the most commonly recycled products. Products made of HDPE are shampoo bottles, detergent containers, milk containers, etc. HDPE is commonly known as polyethylene and comes in many types but can be classified as low density and high density. Once we receive this material from homes, its sorted according to how clean or contaminated it is as dirty unclean product effects the recycling process adversely. This is one reason as to why we request you to rinse and clean your containers before giving it to us. Post segregation HDPE is sent to recycling facilities where its washed thoroughly, contaminants removed and then granulated which are then further converted into new products. Some products made from recycled HDPE are toys, pipes, benches, tiles, large drums and more.
PVC: This type of plastic is easily recycled. Products made from PVC include pipes, cable coating, garden hoses, automotive parts, polyvinyl flooring and more. PVC plastic once received by us, is segregated and cleaned before it’s sent out to processing units to be recycled into new products.
LDPE: Belongs to the same family of HDPE. Think garbage bags think LDPE, think poly bags think LDPE, all those e-commerce plastic packaging is mostly LDPE. Besides this tubing, plastic parts for computers and host of other products are made from LDPE. Once received, this material is graded according to color, cleaned and then sent out to recycling units where the product is recycled into new products for reuse again.
PP: This type of plastic is one of the most commonly used plastic in the world. The caps on your soft drink bottles are made of PP. Besides this PP has many other uses such as its used to make cutlery, containers for home cleaners, disposable cups. PP once received is again sorted according to color and type, cleaned and then sent further for recycling where it’s again recycled into newer products ready to be re used again.
PS: The packaging foam that you get in your e-commerce packaging, Styrofoam single use disposable cups, egg cartons, many cheap take away boxes, plates and spoons are made of this material. Styrofoam as it’s commonly known, is actually the brand name of a rigid blue insulation made by Dow Chemicals. The biggest challenge with this material is to do with contamination, while all other plastics are relatively clean this type tends to get excessively dirty. Have you eaten on plate made of this material? Chances are yes! Take a look at it next time to see how dirty it gets! The other challenge with this material is that of transportation. Lot of volume, little weight, which makes transportation an expensive proposition. This material is not easily recycled and mostly ends up in the landfill. As an organization we send this material to a waste to energy plant (This is not recycling and should be discouraged) as a last option and tend too not accept it in our collection stream unless the client is willing to pay a fee for collection which most don’t agree too. Majority of the recycling of this product happens in the unorganized sector in a manner that far from desirable. PS is recycled into pellets that are then converted into items like toys to building insulation.
Other: The biggest green wash taking place right now constitutes of material which fall under this category. Bio-plastic or compostable plastic, or plant-based plastic or the many feel good name that are given to these products to make consumers feel good about their purchase and consumption decisions. Packaging with the code 7 is not recyclable and mostly ends up in the open landfill dumps or getting burnt. Many cosmetic, food delivery companies, and a host of other organizations are pushing such materials onto ill-informed consumers playing on their fears.
Glass bottles & broken glass: Glass bottles and broken glass are all recycled and re-used to some extent. For bottles, we segregate them according to type and size. For example, small beer bottles of the same size are all clubbed together, wine bottles are all clubbed together, whiskey bottles are all clubbed together. The caps are removed and these bottles are then sent to bottling plants where they washed sterilized and used again to serve you your favorite beer, whiskey or wine. This business of bottles being reused is of course a risky business, as we need to make sure that it ends up directly with the bottling plants. The reason behind this that adulteration in liquor is rampant in India and many of the branded bottles are sold by the unorganized sector for this purpose. 110 rupees per empty carton is the going rate for a well-preserved Jonny Walker Black carton that houses the bottle. Many of the bottles specially imported whiskey and wine are broken before they are sent further for recycling as they are no reuse options available from manufacturers. In some cases, we supply empty bottles to individuals that upcycle them into new products such as light holders, glasses etc.
Broken glass when received is sorted according to color, post which it sent for recycling where it’s turned into cullet’s of different sizes by grinding and crushing it. This material is then washed and cleaned, removing contaminants, melted and molded into new glass products.
Interesting Fact: Glass is made by heating ordinary sand to a point till it melts (1700 degrees Celsius!) and consumes vast amounts of energy to manufacturer.
Metals and wooden hangers: All those hangers from dry-cleaning and broken wooden hangers are all sorted according to type. The metal hook on the wooden hanger is removed. The wood is then sent to recycling facilities, where it’s shredded and converted into powder that is then used as a filler in many items. The metal is bailed and sent to the smelting unit where its melted and converted into new products again.
Aluminum & tin cans: Aluminum & tin cans are all recyclable. Once we receive these, they are sorted, contents removed, bailed and sent to respective smelting units.
Note: Aluminum cans contain a thin layer of plastic in them.
Clothes & shoes: Textile waste is one the largest and biggest problems faced globally. Most of your torn clothes end up in the landfill or get burned. The biggest challenge among textile clothing is polyester, which is made from plastic waste. This as of now cannot be recycled, although there are a few inactivates at a very small-scale level tying to upcycle these products. Cotton clothing that is given to us in decent form is mostly recycled, or repaired and sold. Panipat in India is the recycling hub for textile waste. Recycling or reusing this waste is tedious process which entails sorting according to type (male, female, pants, skirts, jeans etc.), size, quality, fabric type, condition. A lot of what is collected is sorted in this manner, graded, repaired and exported to African countries or sold in local markets in India. Decent condition cotton clothing that we receive is sent to Panipat where the cloth is shredded and converted into thread that is converted into yarn for clothing.
Shoes: As of now majority of the shoes are not recycled, although rubber soles are removed and sent for recycling. We are in the process of establishing a network of cobblers that repair shoes that we receive so that they can then be sold again. Unfortunately, most shoes end up in the landfill.
E-waste: Majority of the E-waste generated in our country is handled by the unorganized sector in unauthorized facilities that burn the waste to recover the precious metals within. Dismantling and recycling E-waste requires specialized equipment and must be done in a controlled environment with great ventilation. For this purpose, our organization has tied up with one the world’s largest metal and e-waste recycler to ensure that all waste is treated systematically and in the most environmentally sound manner. Unfortunately, in India, there is very little recycling of E-waste happening in the formal sector, hence most of the E-waste is dismantled and exported abroad for recycling. The irony of the situation is that India is one of the largest importers of Gold and it continues to allow this raw material buried in e-waste to be exported, while importing finished gold bricks in mass volumes.
Note: Even our partner does not recycle its waste in India. It dismantles it and then sends it to its facility abroad for the purpose of recycling.
AA and AAA batteries: These are toughest to recycle here in India as there are very few genuine recyclers of this product. We suggest that you always buy rechargeable batteries to minimize the amount of AA & AAA battery waste generation. The other challenge is that the Indian battery market is dominated by Zinc carbon cells which are not rechargeable. Most batteries that we receive are sent to our E-waste partner. In Indian most AA & AAA cells end up in the landfill, so please buy rechargeable batteries from known brands.
Bio-Plastic, Plant Based Plastic & Compostable Plastic: None of these are what they claim to be. These products need an industrial composting facility to treat and will not decompose in your backyard composter. Further, abroad many industrial composting units have refused to accept this material as they degrade the quality of compost produced. This material cannot be recycled using the conventional mechanical method of recycling and contaminate the recycling waste stream. In India most of this waste is disposed in landfills where it does not degrade in absence of oxygen. What we get, we send to a waste to energy plant.
MLP: Not recyclable, whatever we get we send top the waste to energy plant.
What is important to understand is that majority of the waste management sector in India is unorganized and there is serious need for infrastructure development from collection to processing of all sorts of waste. Further, I hope that through this article you realize the amount of effort that goes into managing your waste properly. This is one of the most capital- and labor-intensive sectors, that has been ignored for far too long. It not only holds massive potential to generate employment, create wealth at the bottom of the pyramid, but also holds the massive potential of realizing the dream of Atmanirbhar Bharat by the manes of using waste as resource.
Want to learn more! Check out these indebt articles on the subject matter:
- PET collection, segregation, aggregation, value addition business in India
- The business of cardboard scrap in India
- Economic of scrap collection business in India
- Calculation cost of logistics, collection and aggregation in India
- Warehousing labor & more
Have a fantastically sustainable weekend!