Plastic into Oil? What do you think?

This just in: Oregon plastics recycler, Agri-Plas, has begun converting plastic waste back into crude oil. According to Businesswire, "the company recently delivered its first full tanker (8,200 gallons) of oil to a refinery in Tacoma, Wash., which translates to a final delivery of 196 barrels of oil."

The method was developed by Plas2Fuel, a Kelso, Washington alternative energy company.

Until now, Agri-Plas has been a conventional plastics recycler, focusing on agricultural waste such as greenhouse film, nursery pots and plastic binder twine, as well as limited amounts of household plastic waste, which it recycles into other plastic products.

Now, the company is collecting dirty plastic materials which are unsuitable for traditional recycling for the plastic to oil process. And the state of Oregon has been a major supporter of the project, giving financial assistance through the Oregon Business Energy Tax Credit.

Right now, my head is swimming with all kinds of pros and cons. Here are the ramifications that occur to me. Maybe you guys can think of more.

First, the pros:

1) Whether we like it or not, our landfills are already chock full of dirty plastic, possibly leaching chemicals. Perhaps this material doesn't have to go to waste.

2) It does seem preferable to use our own domestic waste to create petroleum rather than importing it from the Middle East or extracting it through offshore drilling.

Next, the cons:

1) Burning petroleum for fuel produces the greenhouse gases related to global climate change. (I know at least one FPF reader will disagree with that statement.)

2) Finding uses for our plastic waste could support the creation of more plastic waste. Will consumers feel relieved of their burden of responsibility? Will they continue to support the manufacture of new plastic products?

As I've pointed out before, plastic is fraught with many other environmental problems besides the waste issue. From manufacture to transit to end use, plastic wreaks havoc in our oceans (as pre-production "nurdles") and in our bodies, leaching toxic chemicals. Will the idea that plastic can be converted to energy cause people to forget these other issues?

One paragraph in the article caused me to gasp:

The synthetic crude oil that Agri-Plas is reclaiming from unwanted plastic can be refined for a variety of uses. The oil can be refined and used in literally thousands of high-end products ranging from makeup to food items, as well as gasoline, diesel, lubricants and other petroleum-based products.

I'm sorry? Synthetic petroleum in my makeup? Synthetic petroleum in my food? WTF people? How are these uses environmentally sustainable?

Okay, just because it can be used in those ways doesn't mean it will be. And extracted petroleum is already being used to create food and cosmetic additives. Still, do we want the environmental community getting behind this dirty business?

Please let me know what you think. Do the benefits of converting plastic to oil outweigh possible concerns?
 

Blue Sky Cleaners: Non-toxic and Plastic-free?

Nowadays, I stick to buying clothes that can be washed at home rather than dry cleaned. Dry cleaning is expensive and environmentally harmful. But I do still have several items of clothing, as well as some wool blankets, that cannot be machine laundered at home, and for those I need a good outside cleaner.

In the past, I have taken clothes to the dry cleaner down the street, not thinking about much more than the fact that I didn't want any plastic bag covering my clothes. The cleaner would comply with my request, and I'd do an extra bit by returning my used hangers to them. This takes care of the waste problem, but not the more serious problem of the toxic chemicals used in the cleaning process itself.

Thanks to Big Green Purse, I've learned a lot about dry cleaning recently. Which is great because I was almost taken in by the "green cleaner" down the street. Rockridge Royal Cleaners on College Ave has posters in its windows touting the DF-2000 "green" alternative to perchloroethylene ("perc").

Granted perc is nasty stuff which, according to Big Green Purse, has been linked to reproductive problems, disorders of the central nervous system, and has been listed by the EPA as a probably human carcinogen. In fact, the state of California is phasing it out.

But DF-2000 is not the answer. Manufactured by ExxonMobil, it is a petroleum product that "may present a fire hazard and emit volatile organic chemicals that contribute to smog." And another supposedly green method, GreenEarth (siloxane D5) may not be the answer either. The EPA is assessing a possible link to cancer.

The only two processes considered environmentally preferable by the EPA are 1) Wet cleaning, which uses water and biodegradable detergents, and 2) Liquid CO2 cleaning. The problem is that businesses using these methods are currently hard to find. In my neighborhood, there are none at all. But checking out the East Bay Eco Metro Guide, I did find a company, Blue Sky Cleaners, which uses both non-toxic methods and which picks up and drops off clothing at your doorstep. Certainly, walking my clothes down the street would be environmentally preferable than having a van pick up and drop them off. But until more companies switch to less toxic methods, this is what we'll have to do.

So, we've got the toxic chemicals out of the way, but what about the plastic? Blue Sky leaves its customers a reusable bag for their dirty clothes. But the clean clothes are delivered in plastic bags. When signing up for the service, I did request no plastic, but I guess the message wasn't relayed.

So I called Blue Sky and discussed the issue. I wondered why they couldn't skip the hangers and simply fold my clothes and return them to me in the blue bag. But they didn't want to do that since the blue bags have contained soiled clothing. I've suggest they have "clean" reusable bags as well as "dirty" reusable bags. In the meantime, they have promised to deliver my clothes folded in paper bags that I can return to the company for reuse, with no plastic.

I plan to hold onto these particular plastic bags and send them back to the company the next time, which will actually be a very long time from now, we so rarely dry clean.

Have you found non-toxic dry cleaning in your area? Or have you given up all clothes requiring dry cleaning in the first place? I can't bring myself to get rid of perfectly good clothes that I love and that I already own just because of the cleaning method. What do you think?
 

Of Coffee, Crayons, Crackling Firelogs, and a Freebie!

I had a very nice conversation today with Doug Farquhar, president of a company called Renovos, which specializes in helping businesses come up with waste-reduction strategies. They also have a subsidiary called BuyGreen.com which rates and sells eco-friendly products. But their most heart-warming green project is ReJavanate bags. These are reusable tote bags that are made out of recycled burlap coffee sacks. They are manufactured by workers from The Arc, an organization that helps find housing and employment for people with developmental disabilites. These bags are both environmentally and socially responsible.

Currently, ReJavanate bags are made from coffee sacks from Boyd's Roasters in Portland which are shipped to a workshop in Hood River to be cut and sewn. They are then sent to ReJavanate where they are printed, either with the ReJavanate logo or an organization's custom logo, using soy inks.

Doug sent me a bag to try out. It's definitely lighter than a canvas bag. For me, the burlap is a little scratchy, but then I can't really deal with wool either. Since I already have quite a few canvas bags, I'll send this one to a reader who'd like to have it. Just leave a nice comment. I'll choose a recipient at random next week.

And speaking of coffee, last Sunday at the farmer's market, a woman asked me if I knew what crayons were made from. I didn't. So when I got home, I did a little research. Most crayons are made from paraffin wax and pigment. Well, I know what pigment is. And I think I know what wax is. Or do I? So I looked up paraffin wax. Turns out it's made from petroleum! You probably already knew that. Silly me. I had no idea.

So I did a quick Google search and found several brands of alternative crayons. Here are a few examples:

• Lyra natural beeswax crayons


• Stockmar beeswax crayons


• Crayon Rocks made from soy wax

Okay, that didn't have anything to do with coffee. But maybe this does. After looking up crayons, I started wondering about other things made from wax. Like waxed paper. I've seen eco web sites promoting waxed paper as an alternative to plastic wrap. But if they're both made from petroleum, is there a difference? Does paraffin wax biodegrade? Apparently, it does, according to a study by Fabien Marino of the Department of Chemical Engineering at McGill University, Montréal. Click here if you'd like to read the PDF-format report.

I searched to see if there were any alternatives to paraffin waxed paper. I did find one Canadian brand called Chefs Select 100% Natural Soy Wax Paper. It doesn't seem to be available in the United States, though. So I contacted Natural Value, the company that makes the "natural" unbleached waxed paper sold in most U.S. health food stores, and I received a very nice reply:

...our wax is indeed paraffin wax…we have considered using the new soy based wax, but both of our waxed paper producers have told us that they do not like the way the product turns out (smell, consistency), and that they cannot guarantee that the soy wax is gmo free…so we are still searching for something that will work for us…if we can do that, we will…I hope this helps

So I guess paraffin waxed paper is somewhat better than plastic because it will biodegrade. But since it's made from petroleum, we should find alternatives.

Which brings me to the subject of coffee. It really does this time! Did you know that artificial firelogs like Duraflame are also made from paraffin wax? Still not coffee-related? Oh, but it is! There is an alternative to paraffin fireplace logs, and that is the Java Log, made from coffee grounds and 100% vegetable wax. And I'll bet it smells good when it's burning. Normally, I like to compost my coffee grounds (as well as those of my co-workers) but maybe this winter I'll try them out in the fireplace in the form of a Java Log or two.

So there, we've come full circle. If you're wondering why I didn't mention the obvious product made from paraffin, candles, it's because natural soy and beeswax candles are ubiquitous these days. A Google search will bring up a huge list of choices.

I hope you enjoyed reading this meandering post as much as I enjoyed writing it. The more logical, organized ones are great, but sometimes a little stream of consciousness helps to lighten things up.

And with that, here are the latest results of the Trash Challenge. If you've tried to comment on the Trash Challenge blog and received a message that you have to be a member of the team, please try again. I think I've fixed the problem.