TaylorU investigates availability of waste plastic

My DD on plastic availability

I went to one of the largest garbage haulers and applied for a job to see if I can figure out how the garbage and recycling plants work first hand. After sending in my resume and going for an interview I went for my road test today. After getting to know the guy I asked what kind of runs they do in the garbage division. He said they are always in the big cities, a little in the small cities and recycling plants.

My ears perked up and I asked what kind of stuff do you pick up at recycling plants and where does it go. He said they sort all recyclables and send it off to be recycled. Sometimes the recycling plants get overwhelmed with material so they send it straight to the dump.

He then said plastic is one of the big ones. It costs around $50 a ton to dump plastic and $150 a ton to recycle plastic, so a lot of they time the send full transport trucks straight to the dump because it is cheaper. He said he has trucks of plastic (40,000 to 80,000 lbs) going to the dump on a daily basis.

I start 2 days of training soon and then I am on the road by myself. Once I am by myself I will take pictures and post them.

Hope this helps.