By MARK DEVOLDER
Los Alamos
For years I have been picking up discarded nylon zip ties. Zip ties don’t cost much and are considered a “throw-away” item. Typically, zip ties are cut in two and are then discarded. I find many opportunities to reuse both short and long pieces of zip ties.
Some time ago, I began experimenting with zip ties. Zip ties have a little plastic or metal prong (tooth) that holds the zip tie together. I found that I can use a small jeweler’s screwdriver or a 1/16-inch wide piece of tin can stock inserted into the square portion of the zip tie to hold the prong away from the mating ridges on the zip tie. In this way, a zip tie can be disassembled and reused. I have also performed plastic fusion welds to take short zip ties and lengthen them.
Today, I was talking with a neighbor about the plethora of plastic items discarded in the environment. I asked him if he knew anything about microplastics. He was aware that microplastics are present in the environment and inside humans. Then we started talking about zip ties and how they can be disassembled for reuse. During our discussion, he suggested that zip ties could be provided with a “button” or “button-like” feature (maybe a loop feature) that releases the prong so that a zip tie can be easily disassembled and reused. Genius!
If zip ties could be reused, there would be less plastic contamination and fewer microplastics going into the environment. As you might suspect, plastic manufacturers producing nylon and the industry making zip ties might not like this idea because it would decrease the amount of plastic and the number of zip ties sold. To this I respond, “tough darts.” Industry created our “throw-away” society and industry can fix the problem. Besides, industry has decided to raise the price on everything in recent times; therefore, industry can charge more for button- or loop-fitted fitted zip ties.
Then there is electrical tape made from polyvinyl chloride (PVC). PVC shows up in the environment and inside humans, too. Electrical tape is typically marketed in 3/4-inch wide rolls. However, there are many applications (for example, wrapping small diameter wires) which might call for 3/8-, 1/2- or 5/8-inch wide rolls of electrical tape. Thinner rolls of tape could be marketed at the same price as 3/4-inch wide rolls of tape. The benefit would be less discarded plastic going into the environment. I often use a pair of scissors to cut a piece of electrical tape in two lengthwise because I want pieces of tape which are 1/8-or 1/4-inch wide. Some manufacturers provide various types of tape in different widths. For example, 3M markets different widths of Scotch-Brand tape. Packing tape also comes in smaller widths than 2-inches. Packing tape in smaller widths costs less to purchase and packages assembled with smaller-width tape cost a little less to ship.
This proposal is consistent with the long-term sustainability philosophy of reduce, reuse and recycle.
