04-28-2008, 05:40 PM
TGILL, I worked on a pilot project in the early 90's for full cycle recycling of polystyrene. The process is viable, but was not pursueable with the oil prices of the time. The biggest problem was getting patrons to not mix paper into the 'plastic only' bins at the test Fast Food establishment..... PS is fairly pure hydrocarbon & made for an excellant test. Some plastics have too many binders to make them a feasable full cycle candidate. My faith in humans is that we are too lazy to make it work without alot of handholding, which really adds to the cost.
If you have looked into the recycling containers at the transfer stations, you will realize why I doubt anything will work.... people will screw it up (I am unusually pessimistic of my fellow humans right now, as I am in the midst of my senior research on the recreational debris we fling against our coasts, and the damage it does to our marine environment .... At this point, I see us as worse than coachroaches of the earth ....)
If you have looked into the recycling containers at the transfer stations, you will realize why I doubt anything will work.... people will screw it up (I am unusually pessimistic of my fellow humans right now, as I am in the midst of my senior research on the recreational debris we fling against our coasts, and the damage it does to our marine environment .... At this point, I see us as worse than coachroaches of the earth ....)