Why doesn't everyone use recycled materials? In many areas,
recycling is a relatively new technology, and the companies that
use the technology tend to be fairly small. Many people don't
know about the full range of products made with recycled
material, and education is costly. This is especially the case
with plastics. The basic problem is one that is common to many
new technologiesthe world as we know it came to be in an earlier
time, before current recycling opportunities became commonplace.
Where recycling technology is relatively new, it has to overcome
many institutionalized barriers to change. Part of the problem
is that potential end-users rely on industry standard-setting
organizations, like the American Society for Testing and
Materials (ASTM) or the American Association of State Highway
and Transportation Officials (AASHTO), which write standards
that sometimes shut out recycled materials. - Plastic lumber, a
promising construction material, isn't generally being
purchasedin part because the ASTM h