October 20, 2011

There is real value in some of the garbage that ends up in landfills. A new study says if all of the plastic sent to the dump was instead turned into energy, it could power more than 5 million homes every year. The Columbia University study found that while plastics recycling is on the rise, 85 percent of plastic waste ends up in landfills. The study also found if petroleum-based plastics were sent to a plant that converts plastics into fuel oil, enough fuel would be produced to power six million cars for a year.

Authors of the study say capturing energy from plastics and other waste makes sense because it provides a good domestic source of energy with minimal impact on the environment. In the U.S., plastics are primarily made from natural gas but the study says new technologies in other countries are turning non-recycled plastics into crude oil, electricity and other fuels.

The study also broke down how much plastic is being recycled and how much is being sent to the landfill in each state. Connecticut has the best record with a recovery rate of 65 percent that includes both recycling and waste-to-energy conversion. Columbia researchers say as the U.S. looks for alternative fuel sources, research like this is crucial to helping identify alternative energy for policy makers.