How is polyethylene recycled

Contaminated HDPE must go through a rigorous cleaning process before being recycled, to make sure that the material quality is processed at a high level. Common recycling machinery can process HDPE bottles, but HDPE film must go through a different process, as it is liable to get caught up in the teeth of machines.

HDPE film recycling machinery chews the plastic in small pieces that are then formed into pellets. The pellets can be turned into a variety of things, and are combined with a percentage of virgin HDPE to improve the strength and reliability. The pellets are blown using a variety of machinery and techniques to achieve different results.

Recycled HDPE is often used to make things like piping , plastic lumber, recycling bins , and rope. Recycled HDPE will often be a dark colour, such as brown or black because it is easy to dye a clear plastic black than the other way around. Machinery used in the HDPE plastic recycling process. The HDPE Recycling process is vastly improved by the availability of high-quality recycling machinery, which allows businesses of any size to tackle their waste. The potential for profit, the ease and the increase in understanding, is helping recycling to accelerate and avoid landfill.

Machines come in a variety of sizes, depending on the waste needs of the business. Some businesses will have more HDPE to separate from their waste stream than others, so a larger machine may be beneficial. The machines create bales of HDPE in different sizes, and the different sizes are worth different amounts. HDPE Recycling for your business. Does your company have HDPE plastic for recycling?

Recycling is a complicated system dictated by market demand, price determinations, local regulations, the success of which is contingent upon everyone, from the product-designer, to the trash-thrower, to the waste collector, to the recycling factory worker.

We consumers play a much more critical role than we might imagine-- depending on how we use our products and in what shape we throw them away, determines their value and quality post-use For many, environmentalism begins with the recycling symbol and ends at the recycling bin.

Similarly, our faith in the magic of the recycling bin makes purchasing and using plastic products a little more guilt-free. But recycling is a lot more complicated, and the process of recycling plastics is significantly less transparent than the much-Googled recipe for baking cookies.

We consumers play a much more critical role than we might imagine— depending on how we use our products and in what shape we throw them away, determines their value and quality post-use. Think about it. Recycled goods have to compete with new products in the market; who wants to buy something of lower quality?

My hope is to bring more transparency to a system inseparable from our very existence, but whose visibility often starts and stops at the trash can. Your local government also plays an essential role.

Government regulations create market opportunities for companies to recycle legally-mandated products. But every municipality is different. Before you throw something away, check what your city actually recycles. Public investment in recycling systems, moreover, is integral to their long-term sustainability and success. Subsidies, investments and public support go a long way. High-density polyethylene , or HDPE, came on the scene a few decades after the invention of its low-density cousin.

Also made from petroleum, HDPE is marked by a molecular structure devoid of polymer branching. It is both non-toxic and non-staining. In some ways, low-density and high-density polyethylene are quite similar. Both substances are marked by a high degree of scratch resistance; both are suitable as food containers or wrappings; both are sterilizable.

Despite the contrast implied by their respective names, the two substances are actually very similar in density, with HDPE only slightly higher in this category. High-density polyethylene also provides superior resistance to heat and chemicals. In addition, it tends to be more opaque than LDPE. LDPE has the edge in a few other categories, though. For one thing, it retains its pliability better in cold environs. It also provides better impact resistance.

The flexibility of LDPE, combined with its chemical resistance, makes it useful in a wide variety of applications, as we will see below. A large number of commercial products use low-density polyethylene. The following is only a partial list of the kinds of products commonly made from LDPE.

Clear PET plastics are generally considered safe, but can absorb odors and flavors from foods and liquids stored in them. They can also be d angerous if exposed to heat, such as if a water bottle is left in a hot car. Over time, this can cause Antimony to leach out of the plastic and into the liquid. Luckily, these plastics are easily recyclable, and most recycling plants accept them, so properly disposing them is easy.

PET plastics are recycled into carpet, furniture, and fiber for winter garments. It can also be used for items that will be stored or used outdoors, because it does well in both high and freezing temperatures. HDPE products have a very low risk of leaching into foods or liquids. Recycled HDPE is made into pens, plastic lumber, plastic fencing, picnic tables and bottles. Also known as Vinyl, PVC is a common plastic that starts out rigid, but becomes flexible when plasticizers are added.

Found in credit cards, food wrap, plumbing pipes, tiles, windows and medical equipment, PVC is seldom recycled. PVC plastics contain harmful chemicals linked to a variety of ailments, including bone and liver diseases and developmental issues in children and infants.