Maya Ellison
Plastic is everywhere, from food packaging to furniture and children's toys, and it is a defining material of the modern world. Plastic recycling is the process of converting plastic waste into other products. While recycling can help reduce dependence on landfills, conserve resources, and protect the environment from plastic pollution and greenhouse gas emissions, it is challenging due to the complexity of recycling different types of plastics and inefficient systems. The process of plastic recycling involves sorting, washing, shredding, and processing the plastic into new items. However, not all plastics are recyclable, and contamination can occur when non-recyclable plastics or plastics with food residue, chemicals, or adhesives are mixed with recyclable ones, disrupting the recycling process.
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What You'll Learn
Plastic recycling methods
Plastic recycling is a complex process that involves multiple steps and various methods. The first step in the recycling process is the collection of plastic waste, which can be done through curbside recycling bins, public recycling bins, or community recycling centres. The next step is sorting, where the collected materials are separated into different categories such as plastic type, colour, size, and thickness. This can be done manually or through optical sorting machines and sink-float separators.
Once the plastics are sorted, they undergo a washing process to remove any contaminants such as food residue, chemicals, or adhesives. This can be done using friction washers, which are the most common form due to their low operation cost and effectiveness, or rotary washers, which use a heated caustic solution to remove oils and food residue.
After washing, the plastic is then shredded or ground into smaller flakes or pieces. This can be achieved through various methods, such as hammer mills or shear shredders. The shredded plastic is then melted down and forced through an extruder to form pellets, which are then sold to manufacturers.
One of the most prevalent recycling methods for plastic is mechanical recycling, which involves grinding, washing, sorting, and reprocessing plastic material without significantly altering its chemical structure. This method has been used for decades and is responsible for the majority of plastic recycling worldwide. Mechanical recycling can handle a wide range of thermoplastics with little to no impact on quality.
Another method is chemical recycling, which involves changing the chemical structure of plastic waste to create a raw material that can be used to manufacture new products. This process can be done through pyrolysis, gasification, hydro-cracking, or depolymerisation, depending on the type of plastic. Chemical recycling can handle plastics that may not be suitable for mechanical recycling.
Organic recycling is another method that involves the controlled treatment of biodegradable plastics waste under aerobic (composting) or anaerobic (biogasification) conditions. This process converts specific polymers into stabilised organic residues, carbon dioxide, methane, and water.
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Plastic recycling history
The history of plastic recycling is relatively recent. The first plastic recycling mill in the world was created in Conshohocken, Pennsylvania in 1972. However, the idea of recycling itself dates back to the 9th century in Japan, and it became mainstream in the US in the 1930s during the Great Depression.
The industrial revolution in the 18th century brought about a population boom and with it, a waste problem. As plastic production increased post-World War II, the proliferation of plastic trash began to alarm municipal waste management agencies. By the 1960s, the environmental impact of plastic waste was becoming noticeable, and the groundwork for future recycling efforts began.
In the 1970s, the first Earth Day brought attention to the issue, and the first plastic recycling mill was established. However, plastic recycling did not gain traction until the late 1980s due to economic and technical challenges. During this decade, the adoption of PETE and HDPE plastic, designed with recycling in mind, and the closed-loop triangular symbol to identify plastic resin in packaging, marked a significant step forward.
In the 1980s and 1990s, government programs and eco-friendly communities played a crucial role in educating people about recycling and encouraging manufacturers to produce more easily recyclable plastic. By 1984, an astonishing 100 million pounds of plastic was gathered nationwide in the US, a milestone in the history of plastic recycling.
Despite these advancements, plastic recycling has faced challenges. The process is often complicated and expensive, and the degradation of plastic during reuse limits its lifespan. Additionally, the plastics industry has been criticised for promoting plastic recycling while knowing it may not be economically viable on a large scale.
Today, plastic recycling continues to evolve, with new initiatives and technologies aiming to reduce plastic waste and give it a new life. While challenges remain, the future of plastic recycling looks bright, with increasing awareness and commitment from various sectors to address this global issue.
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Plastic recycling challenges
Plastic recycling rates are low due to a variety of challenges, which can be broadly categorised as technological, economic, and social behaviour issues.
Technological challenges include the complexity of plastics as a material. Plastic is a collective name for several hundred different kinds of material, each with unique properties that affect its colour, shape, structure, and melting point. This makes sorting and recycling difficult. Different types of plastic are often combined in manufacturing processes, which makes recycling them much more difficult. For example, different plastic types may be bonded with other materials such as glue and metal screws, or some plastics may be mixed with other substances such as food waste, which hinders recycling. Some plastics, such as thermoset plastics, have very limited recycling possibilities as they cannot be re-melted and re-formed.
Economic challenges include the high costs of collecting and sorting plastic waste. The recycling sector needs to invest in large-scale, locally appropriate technology to prevent plastics from entering waterways, but funding shortages can pose a key obstacle. In some cases, virgin raw materials are cheaper than recycled plastic, so the added value of plastic recycling must be demonstrated to manufacturers.
Finally, social behaviour issues include the lack of complete waste management systems in some countries, and the problem of waste collection being private in others, which means that households must pay for their waste to be collected. In many cases, people refuse to pay, and the waste gets dumped or burned. Even when plastic is placed in recycling bins, a Greenpeace report found that almost none of it is actually recycled, and instead ends up in landfills. This is due to a lack of knowledge about which plastics can be recycled, and the challenge of managing the growing amount of plastic waste.
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Plastic recycling rates
The recycling rates for some specific types of plastic containers are more significant. For example, the recycling rate of PET bottles and jars was 29.1% in 2018, while the rate for HDPE natural bottles was 29.3% in the same year. However, it is important to note that the overall amount of recycled plastics is relatively small, with a recycling rate of 8.7% in 2018 in the United States. This rate dropped to around 5% in 2021, possibly due to the global pandemic. The UK, in comparison, recycles about 17% of its annual plastic waste.
The difficulty in recycling plastic economically has contributed to the low recycling rates. Plastic recycling often involves melting and reforming plastic into other items, which can cause polymer degradation and requires sorting by colour and polymer type, making the process complicated and expensive. In addition, the measurement of plastic recycling rates varies across the world, making it challenging to determine which regions recycle the most plastic.
The low recycling rates have significant environmental impacts, as plastic pollution spreads across the environment, damaging ecosystems and forming ocean garbage patches. Efforts to curb plastic pollution and increase recycling rates are growing, but more needs to be done to address this issue effectively.
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Plastic recycling products
Plastic recycling is the process of converting plastic waste into other products. It can help reduce dependence on landfills, conserve resources, and protect the environment from plastic pollution and greenhouse gas emissions. While plastic recycling has been advocated since the early 1970s, it did not gain significant traction until the late 1980s due to economic and technical challenges. Despite these challenges, plastic recycling has improved over the years, and communities, businesses, and governments are working together to address the issue and develop better methods.
The plastic recycling process can be broken down into several steps: collection, sorting, washing, shredding, testing, and processing. Collectors from the government or private companies gather post-consumer plastic waste from various sources, such as homes, schools, and institutions. The collected plastic waste is then sorted into different types, colours, thicknesses, and usage. This can be done manually or by machines at recycling plants. The sorting process is crucial, as errors can lead to material with inconsistent properties, making it less desirable for industrial use.
After sorting, the plastic waste is washed to remove impurities such as food residue, adhesives, and labels. The clean plastic is then shredded into smaller pieces, which can be used as additives or sold as raw material. Shredding also helps remove additional impurities, such as metals. The shredded plastic is then tested for its class and quality through floatation on water, followed by air classification based on thickness.
Finally, the processed plastic can be melted and reformed into new items or converted into its starting chemicals to create fresh plastic. This feedstock recycling method involves higher energy and capital costs. Alternatively, plastic can be used as an energy source by burning it in place of fossil fuels or biochemically converting it into useful chemicals for industrial applications.
Some examples of plastic recycling products include outdoor furniture, landscaping items, construction materials, and children's toys. These products are durable, sustainable, and made from 100% recycled plastic, often with a long guarantee. For instance, British Recycled Plastic offers a range of recycled plastic products, including benches, raised garden beds, and picnic tables, which are highly reviewed for their quality, ease of assembly, and sturdiness.
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Frequently asked questions
Plastic recycling is the processing of plastic waste into other products. It involves melting and reforming plastic into other items, or converting waste plastic into its starting chemicals to create fresh plastic.
Plastic bottles and containers are the most commonly recycled plastics. Items made from a single type of plastic, such as PETE, are easier to recycle. However, many products are made from a combination of plastics or a mix of plastics and other materials, which cannot be processed in most recycling facilities.
Recycled plastic is used to make outdoor furniture, landscaping and construction products, and children's toys.
