Plastic Recycling Is The Process of Recovering Scrap or Waste Plastics

Plastic recycling is the process of recovering scrap or waste plastics and reprocessing the material into useful products, sometimes completely different in form from their original state. For instance, this could mean melting down soft drink bottles and then casting them as plastic chairs and tables. Typically a plastic is not recycled into the same type of plastic, and products made from recycled plastics are often not recyclable. Applications PET Post-consumer polyethylene terephthalate (PET) containers are sorted into different colour fractions, and baled for onward sale. PET recyclers further sort the baled bottles and they are washed and flaked (or flaked and then washed). Non PET fractions such as caps and labels are removed during this process. The clean flake is dried. Further treatment can take place e.g. melt filtering and pelletising or various treatments to produce food contact approved recycled PET (RPET). RPET has been widely used to produce polyester fibres. This sorted post-consumer PET waste is crushed, chopped into flakes, pressed into bales, and offered for sale. One use for this recycled PET that has recently started to become popular is to create fabrics to be used in the clothing industry. The fabrics are created by spinning the PET flakes into thread and yarn. This is done just as easily as creating polyester from brand new PET. The recycled PET thread or yarn can be used either alone or together with other fibers to create a very wide variety of fabrics. Traditionally these fabrics were used to create strong, durable, rough, products, such as jackets, coat, shoes, bags, hats, and accessories. However, these fabrics are usually too rough on the skin and could cause irritation. Therefore, they usually are not used on any clothing that may irritate the skin, or where comfort is required. But in today's new eco-friendly world there has been more of a demand for “green” products. As a result, many clothing companies have started looking for ways to take advantage of this new market and new innovations in the use of recycled PET fabric are beginning to develop. These innovations included different ways to process the fabric, to use the fabric, or blend the fabric with other materials. Some of the fabrics that are leading the industry in these innovations include Billabong's Eco-Supreme Suede, Livity's Rip-Tide III, Wellman Inc's Eco-fi(formerly known as EcoSpun), and Reware's Rewoven. Some additional companies that take pride in using recycled PET in their products are Crazy Shirts and Playback. Other major outlets for RPET are new containers (food contact or non food contact) produced either by (injection stretch blow) moulding into bottles and jars or by thermoforming APET sheet to produce clam shells, blister packs and collation trays. These applciations used 46% of all RPET produced in Europe in 2010. Other applications, such as strapping tape, injection moulded engineering components and even building materials account for 13% of the 2010 RPET production. PVC PVC- or Vinyl Recycling has historically been difficult to perfect on the industrial scale. But within the last decade several viable methods for recycling or upcycling PVC plastic have been developed. HDPE The most-often recycled plastic, HDPE (high-density polyethylene) or number 2, is downcycled into plastic lumber, tables, roadside curbs, benches, truck cargo liners, trash receptacles, stationery (e.g. rulers) and other durable plastic products and is usually in demand. Source: en.wikipedia.org