Preconsumer recycling

There are two types of recycling processes. One is preconsumer recycling and the other is postconsumer recycling. The preconsumer recycling involves raw materials, products, and by-products that have not reached a consumer for an intended end-use but they are typically reused within an original process. The postconsumer-recycled materials are those that have served their intended end-use and have been separated from solid waste for the purpose of recycling. 

At the student farm we make compost both from agricultural wastes and preconsumer kitchen waste from the coffee house and some of the dining commons on campus. Organic waste, which once went into the landfill, is now composted and recycled back into the farm to provide nutrients for crops. 

The term postuse plastic is sometimes used to cover both postconsumer or preconsumer plastics. The above definitions are in line with the recycling industry s position that scrap destined for recycling is not waste. 

According to the Secondary Materials and Recycled Textiles Association (SMART) and the Council for Textile Recycling [9, 10], more than 1000 businesses and organizations employing many tens of thousands of workers divert some 2 million tons of textile waste from the solid waste stream. Textile waste can be classified as either preconsumer or postconsumer. Preconsumer textile waste consists of by-product materials from the textile, fiber, and cotton industries. Each year 750,000 tons of this waste is recycled into raw materials for the automotive, furniture, mattress, coarse yam, home furnishings, paper, and other industries. Approximately 75% of the preconsumer textile waste is recycled. 

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