Plastic Bottles are Banned in North Carolina

Plastic Bottles are Banned in North Carolina.

Really? That actually might be a good thing but, no, not quite. Plastic bottles are however, banned from landfills in the state.

What’s being banned? All rigid plastic containers. This includes any bottles with a neck smaller than the container itself.

The goal of the ban is to keep our 288 million pounds per year of soda containers, milk jugs and detergent bottles out of the landfills and into recycle centers. Another goal? The creation of jobs. We already have companies that recycle plastics such as Envision Plastics & Plastic Revolutions here in Reidsville.

Clear Path Recycling is building another facility in Fayetteville to recycle more than 280 million pounds annually, or about 5 billion bottles. When completed, the operation will have a capacity of 280 million pounds making it the largest recycling operation in North America.

Recycled plastic bottles become many things including new bottles, plastic shopping bags, carpet, fabrics and clothing. Right now, China buys up to 1/2 of the plastic bottles the US recycles.

So, are you going to have to worry about the plastic bottle police? No, state inspectors will be mostly watching landfills and trash haulers.

Also banned are oil filters and wooden pallets, both in demand by recyclers. A lot of items are already banned from North Carolina landfills such as aluminum cans which have been banned since the 1990’s.

What's happening in your state?  Did you know that it takes 17 million barrels of oil per year to make all the plastic water bottles used in the U.S. alone. That's enough oil to fuel 1.3 million cars for a year.

How can you stop using plastic bottles?  Don't forget, April 22nd is Earth Day!