Recycling: Closed Loop or Open Loop

When we recycle our goods there are two different paths which they may fall under; Closed Loop or Open Loop. These two different paths represent how the material will be used once it is recycled.

Some products become what they once were, i.e paper gets turned back into paper, an aluminum can becomes an aluminum can, this is a Closed Loop Path.

Other products become different products; plastic becomes fleece, old tires become an material used in playground equipment and the flooring of these areas, this is a Open Loop Path.

But there are many materials that have the chance of taking either of these paths, glass is a good example. Glass can be used as a glass bottle again, but needs to be source separated. This is because companies use a particular type of glass; green, brown, clear and if glass is all mixed, it has little value to these companies. So a lot of time glass is used as an aggregate or broken down into tiny pieces and placed back into the ground.

So a goal of recycling should be to develop more closed loop systems, which will give a longer lifespan to these materials. We could begin to classify materials like glass, paper, aluminum and others by there generation number, meaning how many times has it been recycled.

But there may be changes to the current system required in the collection and manufacturing processes of recyclables in order to achieve this. We may need to go to a model that source separates more, like in other countries and states. By doing this individual items may be returned back the maker or user like glass or possible electronics. Only the future will tell.