The Avengers in the Battle against Plastic

Plastic is one of the most versatile materials that we make use of. They are all around us, whether we’re at home, at work, when we go shopping and even when we’re on holiday. However, the prevalence of plastic also means that we have large amounts to then dispose of. Moreover, recycling plastic is very important, but why? At Surencooke Agencies, Plastic recycling is one of our main aspects in the areas of Sustainability and Social Responsibility.

As you may be aware, there are many types of plastics and many types of plastics can be recycled. But, you’re probably unaware as to why we, Surencooke Agencies take plastic recycling so seriously.

Continue reading as we will give you some reasons as to why plastic recycling is important and how we incorporate recycling in our operations.

1. Plastic make up a huge amount of the World’s solid waste

As mentioned, there are large amounts of plastics that are disposed of as solid waste. But you’ll probably be surprised to know that plastics make up more than 12% of all solid waste disposed. This is equivalent to 30 million tons of plastic being disposed every year!

The unfortunate part about plastic disposal is that it is simply thrown into landfills along with other waste. Given that most types of plastic can be recycled, sending plastics to landfills is a terrible thing to do to the environment. We are running out of landfill space at an alarming rate, which is why we need to refrain from disposing plastic along with solid waste.

We ensure all the Plastic used in our operations are sent for recycling and the materials used does not find it’s way back to the environment.

2. Plastic takes ages to break down

Let me ask you this; do you have an idea of how long it takes for plastics to degrade back into the environment? The answer may surprise you. It’s between 500-1000 years. This is well beyond comprehension for most people.

Simply put, when we dump plastics into landfills, it doesn’t break down easily. Rather, it clogs up valuable landfill space and can take centuries to break down.

3. Plastic pollution is a major problem

While plastic pollution is prevalent in landfills, as mentioned, it’s not the only place where plastics cause pollution. As a matter of fact, 90% of all waste that is floating on the surface of oceans is plastic. That can be approximated to about 46,000 pieces of plastic per square mile!

And, plastics in the ocean really harm the ecosystem. Over a million sea birds and over 100,000 marine animals are killed by plastic pollution every year and around 66 % of all sea animals supposedly have plastic inside their body.

Surencooke Agencies is part of a beach clean up project “ Save our Seas” , where we take action to clean the shore and deep sea across the island from Plastic waste.

4. Not all types of plastics can be recycled

Majority of Plastic types can be recycled but there are exceptions where certain types of plastics such as Styrofoam, trash bags, zip pouches, bubble wrap, cereal box plastic, clear plastic wrap, potato chips bags, some department store plastic bags, candy wrappers, 6-pack plastic and soiled plastic bags and bottles cannot be recycled.

There are several economical and technical reasons why these forms of plastic cannot be recycled. But the bottom line here is that no matter what we do, this plastic waste will inevitably reach landfills. And, this plastic waste will accumulate, creating a volume of refuse that won’t go away easily.

As such, you should ensure that you recycle other types of plastic as much as possible.

Furthermore, if plastics are sent to waste processing facilities, they can overburden the facility which leads to another issue. The burning of plastic is very harmful to the environment. And as if these two things weren’t bad enough, if plastics are disposed of in the ocean, it then becomes contaminated.

5. Recycled plastics can be put to good use

Another reason why plastic recycling is important is because it can put to good use rather than unnecessarily ending up in landfall We go the extra mile and use recycled material to produce most of our products. Best example is our Tamper proof rodent bait station which is made of 100% recycled plastic.

As you can see, plastic can live many lives so why on earth would you cut its life short – hurting the environment in the process?

6. Plastic recycling conserves energy and the environment.

For every 1 ton of plastic that is recycled, it is estimated that 7 yards of landfill space is conserved. This is significant, especially considering the fact that we’re running out of landfill space rapidly.

Moreover, by recycling plastic, 80% of the total energy that goes into manufacturing new plastic products is conserved. The manufacturing of plastic involves the use of petroleum and other fossil fuels. Not only are these fuels scarce, but also the process of manufacturing plastic takes place in an environmentally harmful manner. By recycling, we can reduce the amount of plastic being manufactured and help the environment.

I’m sure you can now see that plastic recycling is extremely important and why we, Surencooke Agencies incorporate it into their Sustainability Plan.

Just as we are doing our part in reducing pollution due to Plastic it’s time you started taking action. Start small and reduce plastic usage, because afterall it is all of our Responsibility.

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