There are many different types of plastics, all with very different chemical and physical properties. The 7 broad categories of plastics can be further modified by numerous additives, such as plasticisers, flame retardants and blowing agents, to tailor the plastic to specific applications. This variety can make plastics hard to recycle into a consistent end product.
All plastics tend to be recycled in similar ways. The cleaner the plastic grade is the more valuable it is in environmental and financial terms. Sophisticated machinery is now available to automatically sort plastic polymers, but hand sorting will still often be used as a lower cost option.
Once sorted, the plastic will be washed and normally flaked before being sold by the recycling facility to a plastic manufacturer.
Recycled flake will be used in a wide variety of applications, depending on its quality. High quality, consistent flake will be able to be used instead of virgin material to make items such as plastic bottles. Each tonne of plastic used in this way will save two tonnes of carbon dioxide. Increasingly household names like Coca Cola, M&S, Boots, The Body Shop, Innocent and Halfords are using recycled plastic in selected product lines.
Lower quality flake will not replace virgin material, but will be made into items such as drainage pipes and ‘plaswood’ – a wood substitute used to make outdoor furniture and decking.
Plastic bottles
Paper Round collects both PET and HDPE plastic bottles. These are separated by specialist equipment to enable them to be recycled separately.
PET plastic bottles are washed and flaked. High quality flakes have a variety of applications. Some are spun into fibres which are used in clothing or carpets. Patagonia for instance market high quality fleece jackets made from recycled bottles. Increasingly recycled PET is also being used to make bottles, closing the recycling loop.
HDPE plastic is also increasingly being made back into plastic containers.
Other remaining sundry plastics tend to go into a mixed plastic grade. This is converted into things like drainage pipes and ‘Plaswood’.
Plastic film
Plastic bags are typically made from low density polyethylene (LDPE). Film is difficult to recycle economically because it is so light and bulky. Small quantities of film can be mixed in with plastic bottles. It is separated in the recycling plant and baled. This allows it to be easily and cost effectively transported to specialist recycling plants, where it is washed and extruded back into plastic film.
VHS Tapes
In some cases these can be reused. The polystyrene hard case is difficult to recycle as it contains a number of additives. Sony has devised an experimental procedure to reuse these polystyrenes in the form of a water-soluble polymer that can be used to condense pollutants contained in industrial wastewater.
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