Plastic is one of the most popular and useful materials of modern times: we now use about 20 times more plastic than we did 50 years ago. Its popularity and widespread use is why handling it responsibly and correctly once it becomes waste is so vitally important. We can optimize the lifespan of plastics by re-using and recycling items as many times as possible.
How is it recycled!
- Sorted by polymer type
- Shredded
- Washed
- Melted
- Pelletized
- Made into new products.
It is a two-stage process:
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- Sorting is mainly done automatically with a manual sort to ensure all contaminants have been removed
- Once sorted and cleaned, plastic can either be shredded into flakes or melt processed to form pellets before finally being moulded into new products
Environmental impact
Plastic is a popular and highly versatile material, and we use a lot of it. Optimizing the lifespan of plastics by re-using and recycling items as many times as possible, for example, by recycling used plastic bottles into new ones, we can therefore reduce our need to create new plastic.
This means we can:
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- conserve non-renewable fossil fuels (oil)
- reduce the consumption of energy used in the production of new plastic
- reduce the amount of solid waste going to landfill
Made from recycled
There is a wide range of products made from recycled plastic including:
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- Refuse sacks and carrier bags
- Underground drainage systems for homes and national infrastructure
- Flower pots, seed trays, watering cans and water butts
- Wheel arch liners and bumpers on cars
- Damp proof membranes, guttering and window profiles used in construction
- Reusable crates and pallets
- Wheel bins and food caddies
- Composters and wormeries
- Drinks bottles and food trays
- Polyester fabric for clothing.