What Is Plastic Recycling?

Recycling is the process of sorting and reprocessing materials that have been used and discarded to create new products, usually with lower environmental impacts. Plastics are one of the most commonly recycled materials because they can be reformed into new products such as bags, bottles, boxes, and other goods. If you’re looking for more information about plastic recycling, visit https://www.growingcity.com/service/recycling-services.

assorted clothes hanging on rack

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Plastic recycling starts by sorting plastics into different types based on their chemical makeup. The most common types of plastic are polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP), PVC, and ABS. Once the plastics are sorted, they are cut into small pieces and heated up until they melt. This melted plastic is then poured into a large vat and mixed with a binder to form pellets. Pellets are about the size of a BB and are made up of recycled plastics mixed with organic matter like paper pulp.

The pellets are then allowed to cool down so they can be formed into blocks. Blocks are about the size of a quarter and are made up of several pellets glued together. Blocks are then cut into smaller pieces and melted down again to create pellets. This process is repeated until the plastic pellets have no usable content left.

Once the pellets have no usable content left, they are ground down into a fine powder and stored in a warehouse. Companies that recycle plastic use this powder to create new products, such as injection molding materials and pellets for 3D printing.

Recycling is an important step in reducing the amount of plastic waste that ends up in landfills. By recycling plastic, companies are able to create products that are safe to use and have a lower environmental impact than products made from virgin plastic.