[DC LoCo] Software Freedom Day / Takoma Park Folk Festival... Thinking ahead.

[Mackenzie Morgan]

On Thursday, May 19, 2011 11:06:56 PM Robert Simmons wrote:
> Are USB sticks more reusable in the long term (which is where it
> matters)?  I could be wrong, but I thought that CD material is
> entirely recyclable and that most electronics including USB sticks are
> about 98-99% recyclable.  The process for recycling CDs is also fairly
> simple: first demetalize to reclaim metal, then melt the plastic into
> pellets that are sold as low grade plastic (car door handles, and
> paint buckets etc.).

"Reuse" comes in the phrase *before* "recycle" because it's more effective.  
Recycling plastic degrades it til after a few times it is not recyclable at 
all. At least a flash drive can be used hundreds of times before you get to the 
part where you try to recycle the much smaller amount of plastic casing it 
has. 

Yes, it's harder to recycle electronics than plain plastic, and so a lot of 
municipalities skimp on it and just throw that stuff out -- but they do the 
same with plastic resin code 7, which is what CDs would qualify as since 
they're polycarbonate.  Most municipalities (and DC is an exception to this, 
but only if you live in a house; contracted recyclers for apartment buildings 
don't count) will only take plastic resin codes 1 and 2 (think milk jugs and 
wide-mouth jars).

http://www.all-recycling-facts.com/recycling-codes.html

-- 
Mackenzie Morgan
http://ubuntulinuxtipstricks.blogspot.com
apt-get moo