Plastic Recycling

As 2009 opens the spotlight will continue to shine firmly on plastic packaging recycling and all those involved in the process from specification and design of packaging, the retail journey, collection, sorting and reprocessing.

Plastic recycling is the process of recovering scrap or waste plastics and reprocessing the material into useful products, sometimes completely different from their original state. For instance, this could mean melting down soft drink bottles then casting them as plastic chairs and tables.

• There are about 50 different types of plastic. The main types include:
  • HDPE ? Opaque bottles
  • PVC ? Transparent bottles, with a seam running across the base
  • PET ? Transparent bottles, with a hard moulded spot in the centre of the base
• If your home recycling bin doesn?t take plastic bottles, then deposit them at your local recycling bank.
• Clean bottles before recycling them.
• Buy plastic bottles in bulk whenever possible to reduce packaging waste.
• Carriers can be reused next time you’re at the shops, or deposit used ones at collection points provided by some supermarkets.

Statistics
Some interesting information and statistics about recycling plastic can be found on the British Plastics Federation website.

Reverse Vending Machines
A growing recycling option which will hopefully become more and more widespread in the UK are Reverse Vending Machines (RVMs), which collect plastics for recycling. The Reverse Vending Corporation provide fully automated Reverse Vending Machines which utilise advanced technology to identify, sort, collect, process and recycle used beverage containers including cans, glass bottles, PET (plastic) bottles and vending cups. These machines have been used in Europe for many years, often as part of a ‘refund for your empties’ scheme, encouraging people to put their bottles in to get money back. The RVC hope to have over 300 RVMs operating in schools by the end of this year. Placed in offices, shops and schools, these machines could make recycling a lot easier.

Other Current Environmental News:

1. Plastic Bottle Recycling Accessible to 94 Percent of Americans June 3,2011 FB Tweet Temp 3 03 June 2011 A recently published study by recycling consultants, Moore Recycling Associates Inc. (MRA) has found that a much larger portion of the U.S. population has ready access to plastic recycling schemes...
2. Plastic Recycling chemistry's project :) "quick" video describing why recycle platic (what, where, how, etc) Here are the videos I used: "Britain's Next Top Model Plastic Bag Fashion" "Earth - Disney Nature Series - 2009 HD Movie Trailer" "Inside the recycling process"...
3. Recycling : Plastic Bottle Recycling It's important to recycle plastic bottles because plastic will last forever in a landfill, and plastic bottles are easily recycled. Discover how most plastic bottles used to drink soda or water are made from recycled plastic with help from a...
4. Recycling- materials recovery Up to 60% of the rubbish and waste that ends up in the dustbin could be recycled. The unreleased energy contained in the average dustbin each year could power a television for 5,000 hours. The largest lake in Britain could...
5. Possible Plastics recycling in Kingston Plastic tubs, pots and trays could be added to doorstep recycling in Kingston, Surrey...