Plastic Recycling Facts

Plastic goods form a considerably large proportion of household waste. The chemical bonds between the molecules that make up plastic goods are so strong that they can't be broken down by micro-organisms in the environment. All this has made plastic recycling very important. Read on to know more about plastic recycling facts...

The word plastic has been derived from the Greek word plastikos, which means 'fit for molding'. It is this property that has made plastic being used to make a large variety of products. The popularity of plastic goods has also increased because they are light weight, easily portable and impermeable to water. Plastic goods can be easily stored and they require very little maintenance. They are specially important for packaging food. From milk bottles to toys and also furniture, plastic products occupy an important place in our lives as well as homes. However, plastic is toxic and they are non-biodegradable. This makes their disposal an environmental issue of great concern. This is the reason that plastic recycling is being seriously considered by most nations. Moreover, plastic recycling facts like recycling one ton of plastic helps in saving 7.4 cubic yards of landfill space would obviously make one vouch for recycling plastic goods.
How is Plastic Recycled?
Plastic recycling refers to collecting plastic objects that are of no use to people and using them to make fresh re-usable objects. Plastic wastes that are collected from municipal solid waste are sent to the material recovery facilities where they are separated from other recyclable goods. The plastic goods are then sorted according to their plastic type. Then they are baled and sent to a reclamation facility. Here trash and dirt is removed from the scrap plastic. The scrap plastic is then washed and ground to smaller flakes. A flotation tank further separates contaminants according to the densities. The flakes are then dried, melted and formed into pellets that are sent to manufacturing plants where new products are made from them.
Plastic Recycling Facts

• Every 1 ton of plastic that is recycled saves the amount of water used by one person in two months and almost 2000 pounds of oil.
• The number of processing facilities in the post-consumer plastics recycling industry grew by 81% from 1990 to 1999 in the US.
• In the year 2007, more than 325 million pounds of wide-mouthed plastic containers were collected for recycling. The same year more than 2.3 billion pounds of plastic bottles were recycled.
• In recent years, the plastic recycling business in America has tripled.
• In 2005, there were 8550 curbside programs in the United States that covered about 48% of the total population of the country.
• As of 2005, 504 material recovery facilities were processing 50,180 tons of recyclable collected materials per day.
• Around 11.8% of municipal solid waste generation all over the US in 2005 was contributed by plastic material by weight. Out of this, durable plastic appliances accounted for about 3.5% by weight, while non-durable plastic items contributed to 2.7% of the total weight. Plastic packaging formed 5.5% of all the municipal solid waste generated in 2005.
• Domestic capacity to use recycled PET and HDPE plastic bottles exceed the current recycling capacity. This indicates a need to improve plastic recycling collection programs.
• As per 2006 data, 22% of the recycled HDPE is consumed by the plastic pipe industry. 54% of the recycled PET is used in the manufacture of fiber that is mainly used to make clothes and carpets.
• Plastic recycling has a couple of drawbacks. One of them is that plastic polymers require greater processing in order to be recycled. Also, the dyes, fillers and other additives that are present in plastic goods can't be removed easily during plastic recycling.
• Beverage containers and plastic bags are one of the most commonly recycled plastic commodities, as these generally don't have too many additives.
• Textiles, carpets, insulation, flower pots and recycling bins are a few of the objects made by recycling plastic.

Plastic recycling facts indicate that as compared to other materials like glass or paper, plastic recycling lags much behind. The reason is the complexity associated with the process and its high cost as compared to the benefits. Ways in which environmental pollution due to plastic can be minimized by us at our homes, is by reducing the use of plastic goods and reusing the plastic containers that we have with us.