How Is Plastic Recycled Into Clothing?

Why Recycled Plastic Clothing is a Good Idea

Plastic has not been around long enough for us to know for sure for sure how long it takes for oil-based PET plastic to biodegrade. Scientists disagree whether PET plastic bottles will biodegrade in 450 years, 1000 years or never. What we do know for sure is that plastics are filling our landfills and polluting our oceans. According to the American Plastics Council, over 2.5 million plastic bottles are used each hour in America. The United Nations Environment Programme estimates that plastic is responsible for the deaths of 100,000 marine animals a year. Alternatives to plastic and recycling programs are necessary to save the environment from the damages of plastic. Recycled plastic clothing is one way to limit the amount of plastics in the world. Approximately five plastic bottles are reused to make just one short-sleeved t-shirt.

Shredding and Cleaning

Manufacturing companies purchase large bales of compressed plastic soda bottles from recycling plants. The manufacturing company puts the large plastic soda bottle bales through a machine that shreds the plastic into small pieces. The shredded pieces of plastic are then cleaned under high pressure hot water to remove dirt and debris. Once the shredded plastic dries, it is ready for the next step in the manufacturing process.

Melting and Spinning

The clean plastic shreds are melted under high temperatures in large mixing vats. The melted plastic is mixed and spun at high speeds until it turns into a foam. The mixture stretches and mixes the melted plastic until the plastic develops a thick rubbery consistency. The thick foam is pushed through a spinneret, which is a tube with small openings. Out of the spinneret, the plastic comes out as fine textured fibers called filaments. The size of the spinneret holes determines the thickness of the filaments.

Recycled Polyester Fibers

The fine textured recycled plastic filaments make polyester. A machine twists the plastic filaments together to make long strands of recycled polyester yarn. The thickness of the yarn is determined by the size of the filaments extruded from the spinneret and the amount of filaments woven together. The more filaments woven together, the thicker the finished yarn. The recycled polyester yarn is sold as yarn or woven in machines to create fabrics.

Finished Product

Polyester made from recycled plastic bottles creates a soft and durable fabric, which is virtually identical in appearance to non-recycled fabrics. The fabric is stain resistant, wrinkle resistant and shrink resistant.

Resources

• United Nations Environment Programme
• Recycled Plastic Clothing
• Caron International Simply Soft Eco Yarn