WINNIPEG RECYCLING PROGRAM

I was interested in knowing about some recycling figures in Winnipeg. I had also came across an article about the difference between aluminum cans and plastic bottles in terms of production and recycling.

So last year in Winnipeg 43,857 tonnes were recycled and each year since 1997 progressively has recycled more and more material.

Ask Pablo again has answered a good question about whether aluminum or plastic bottles are better to use than the other. Aluminum cans take the most energy to produce and travel so are ultimately the poorer choice when it comes to what container to use but over 50% of it is recycled compared to only 30% of plastic bottles recycled. Unfortunately both produce are made from virgin materials and consume petroleum in the process.

Here is a snippet of the recycling psychology side of cans vs. plastic:

Since consumers are ultimately responsible for the production of a can or bottle through their purchases, the embodied energy and resulting emissions are their responsibility as well. Consumers have little control over what happens to the materials after they discard them, so we will attribute the emissions reduction from recycling to the demand side of the recycling system rather than the supply (rewarding consumers who purchase recycled-content materials or packaging). Analyzing with this method rewards consumers who buy less, rather than falsely rewarding consumers who consume a great deal but recycle. Recycling reduces environmental impact but does not eliminate it as well as does not consuming in the first place.

The article is really informative and Pablo is always able to run the numbers really well. Don't take my word for it read it yourself! here's the link:
href="http://www.salon.com/mwt/feature/2008/01/28/ask_pablo_plastic/">

__CHRIS.C