The Process of Recycling Plastic Bottles

Americans use 60 million plastic bottles a day, many of which end up in the dump rather than the recycling bin. Recycling plastic, however, uses less energy than incinerating it or creating a new plastic bottle from scratch.

Collection

After being transported to a material recovery facility, the plastic bottles are sorted, by machine or by hand, according to the type of plastic resin they were made of.

Bottle types

Many food containers, such as those used for ketchup and yogurt, are made of polypropylene. High-density polyethylene is used for milk jugs and detergent bottles. Soda and water bottles are made of polyethylene teraphthalate.

Baling

After the bottles have been sorted, they are crushed into large bales, which can weigh up to half a ton. These bales are trucked to a plastics reclaimer, where the actual recycling process takes place.

Shredding

At the reclaiming facility, a machine shreds the contents of the bales, screens out any remaining debris and further breaks down the plastic until it is the size and shape of flakes.

Pelletization

Flotation tanks decontaminate the flakes before machines dry and melt them. Finally, the flakes are compressed into pellets that are sold to businesses for re-use.

Re-use

Recycled plastic is used for everything from new bottles and containers to rakes, thread-like material for clothing, lumber-like construction products and pipes.

References

• TheEnvironmentalProtectionAgency: The Process of Recycling Plastic Bottles
• Earth911: How Plastic Bottles Are Recycled
• ChristianScienceMonitor: Where Does Your Recycled Bottle Go?
• Earth911: Recycling Plastic Bottles
• RecyclingRevolution: Recycling Facts
• EarthOdyssey: Recycled PP