Plastics

In a nutshell, plastics are made from oil (well, OK, really natural gas); oil is made from dinosaurs; we aren’t making any new dinosaurs.  That’s what we call a non-renewable resource.  Also, they essentially never go away.  From resource extraction to marine litter, the problems are well documented, and we aren’t going to try to write our own summaries of the issues here, but we will share some of our favorite resources. Check out the links below and feel free to let us know of other links you think we should add.

Note:  for all that many of us criticize the lack of plastics recycling and plastics recyclability overall, please realize that correct container plastics put into our recycling boxes, carts, and bins, DO get recycled and turned into new materials.  Our recycling programs are not where the problem lies, despite what one may read (or even hear on NPR which has not to date aired a correction, argh!).  Here are the materials to recycle in your curbside container in most of Massachusetts, but HERE is what to recycle in Greenfield, now that we are sending our “single stream” materials to the private Materials Recovery Facility (MRF) in Berlin, CT instead of our state-owned, member-managed MRF in Springfield, MA.  Use the section called Can I Recycle It? for specifics, and realize there are a of couple differences from our rules of the last many years, like that this facility does accept black plastic.

Be a skeptical consumer.

Per Wikipedia, “Greenwashing: is a form of marketing spin in which green PR (green values) and green marketing are deceptively used to persuade the public that an organization’s products, aims and policies are environmentally friendly and therefore ‘better’; appeal to nature.”  For an example of trying to greenwash an oh-so-jolly plastic bag, see here.  For an example of trying to pretend a bag is biodegradable, see here.  For a discussion of the newer ” green hushing” phenomenon, see here.

Sometimes falling into the category of Greenwashing is the topic of Chemical Recycling, also called “Advanced Recycling”.  It is the opposite of Mechanical Recycling, which is the way most items in your recycling box or cart are separated from each other by hand and machine. If it turns plastic into new plastic, perhaps it is recycling, but at what cost?  If it creates just fuel, that is not recycling.  See NERC position paper from May 2025, and more under Definitions.

Watch this space as we add new links from time to time.  Following these links will cause you to leave our Greening Greenfield site.  We do not necessarily endorse everything said by others mentioned here, but some of our members have found the information here to be valuable.