Study Finds Nonrecycled Plastics Can Fuel Alternative Energy Industry

A new study conducted by the Earth Engineering Center (EEC) of Columbia University, New York, and sponsored by the American Chemistry Council (ACC), Washington, D.C., has found that converting the nonrecycled plastics that are currently landfilled each year in the United States to energy using currently available technologies could provide at least enough energy to fuel 6 million cars annually.   

The full study, Energy and Economic Value of Non-Recycled Plastics (NRP) and Municipal Solid Wastes (MSW) that are Currently Landfilled in the Fifty States, summarizes information on nonrecycled plastics and total municipal solid waste in each of the 50 states and quantifies the potential energy and economic value of recovering this material.

While the study looks exclusively at municipal solid waste, the actual amount of recoverable materials in the United States and the energy values associated with them are likely greater, according to a press release issued b the ACC.

“Plastics have a significantly higher energy value than coal,” says Marco Castaldi of the Earth and Environmental Engineering department of Columbia University and associate director of the EEC. “Capturing the energy value of nonrecycled plastics—and [of] municipal solid waste in general—makes good sense because it provides a good domestic form of energy, while minimizing impacts on the environment.”

The study also estimates that if all the nonrecycled plastics discarded in the United States each year were diverted to modern waste-to-energy facilities, they could produce 52 million megawatt hours of electricity, enough energy to power 5.2 million households per year. Similarly, if all the municipal solid waste produced in the United States was diverted from landfills to waste-to-energy facilities, it could produce 162 megawatt hours of electricity, enough to power 16.2 million households annually.

“As the United States seeks alternative fuel sources, research like this is crucial to helping identify alternative fuel sources for policy makers,” says Dr. Nickolas Themelis, director of the EEC.

“Even after use, plastics continue to be a valuable resource,” says Steve Russell, the ACC’s vice president of plastics. “Whenever possible, plastics should be recycled,” Russell says. “But when plastics aren’t recycled, there is still a tremendous opportunity to recover this abundant energy source to power our homes, vehicles and businesses.”