Plastic is a versatile product. Plastic can be flexible or rigid; transparent or opaque. It can look like leather, wood, or silk. It can be made into toys or heart valves. Altogether there are more than 10,000 different kinds of plastics. The basic raw materials for plastic are petroleum and/or natural gas. These fossil fuels are sometimes combined with other elements, such as oxygen or chlorine, to make different types of plastic.
Plastics are not the waste and energy culprits that some people think they are. Plastics are really very energy efficient. It takes less energy to manufacture a plastic ketchup bottle than a glass ketchup bottle. And since plastics are lightweight, it takes less energy to transport a lorry load of plastic ketchup bottles than a lorry load of glass ketchup bottles.
Why should we recycle plastic?
There are many good reasons why we should recycle plastic, some are listed below.
- It reduces the amount of plastic going to landfill. Plastic going to landfill is a problem as it doesn't decompose easily. Even some of the biodegradable plastics do not rot as they need the sunlight.
- Recycling plastic reduces the need to use oil.
What type of plastic can we recycle?
There are many different sorts of plastic including:
- PET - fizzy drinks bottles and oven ready meals.
- HDPE - milk and washing-up liquid bottles.
- PVC - food trays and squash, mineral water and shampoo bottles.
- LDPE - some carrier bags and bin liners.
- PP - margarine tubs and microwaveable meal trays.
- PS - yoghurt pots, meat trays, burger boxes and egg boxes.
Not all of these are recycled; this is because there are some problems connected to recycling them. For example a lot of plastic carrier bags need to be collected to make money. Bottles are the main products collected.
How is it recycled?
The first step in recycling plastic is to separate the different types of plastic. This is then cleaned and made into granules. What happens next depends upon what type of product is going to be produced.
What can be made from recycled plastic?
There are lots of products made that include some recycled plastics; the list below does not contain them all.
Fleece jackets, Duvets, Park benches, Fences, Kerb-side boxes, Nail brushes, Combs, Bin liners, PVC Sewer pipes, Rulers, Pens and Pencils.
But first...Think before you throw.
- Instead of throwing away old toys, containers and plastic bags give them to people who can use them such as scrap stores, play resource centre’s and charity shops.
- Use plastic carrier bags again as bags or to store things in. Please do not place in the brown caddie or green food waste bin.
- Use yoghurt pots, margarine tubs and other plastic food trays to plant seedlings.
- If you buy products in plastic bottles try to buy them from a shop where you can get the bottle refilled.
- Plastic containers with lids can make good storage boxes.
As well as reducing our plastic waste we should also try to buy products that are made from recycled plastic. Try to buy products that are in containers that contain recycled plastic.
Before you recycle please remember....
Make sure the plastic is clean, wash out plastic bottles!
Where can you dispose of plastics?
Hard plastic items such as old toys, garden furniture, flower pots and containers etc., should be taken to HWRC’s.
Plastic bottles, yoghurt cartons, small plastic tubs etc.,can all be included in your blue bag for kerbside collection. Please put plastic lids back on plastic bottles.
DECODING PLASTICS
PETE Polyethylene Terephthalate
Two-litre beverage bottles, mouthwash bottles, boil-in-bag pouches.
HDPE High Density Polyethylene
Milk jugs, detergent bottles.
V Vinyl (sometimes seen as PVC, for polyvinyl chloride).
Cooking oil bottles, packaging around meat.
LDPE Low Density Polyethylene
Produce bags, food wrap, bread bags.
PP Polypropylene
Yogurt containers, shampoo bottles, straws, margarine tubs.
PS Polystyrene
Hot beverage cups, take-home boxes, egg cartons, meat trays.
OTHER
All other types of plastics or packaging made from more than one type of plastic.
HOW IS PLASTIC RECYCLED?
A recycling plant uses seven steps to turn plastic trash into recycled plastic:
1. Inspection
Workers inspect the plastic trash for contaminants like rock and glass, and for plastics that the plant cannot recycle.
2. Chopping and Washing
The plastic is washed and chopped into flakes.
3. Flotation Tank
If mixed plastics are being recycled, they are sorted in a flotation tank, where some types of plastic sink and others float.
4. Drying
The plastic flakes are dried in a tumble dryer.
5. Melting
The dried flakes are fed into an extruder, where heat and pressure melt the plastic. Different types of plastics melt at different temperatures.
6. Filtering
The molten plastic is forced through a fine screen to remove any contaminants that slipped through the washing process. The molten plastic is then formed into strands.
7. Pelletizing
The strands are cooled in water, then chopped into uniform pellets. Manufacturing companies buy the plastic pellets from recyclers to make new products. Recycled plastics also can be made into flowerpots and carpeting.
