PLASTICS

Recycling plastic is still difficult and only some areas offer this service for specific types of plastic. There are a number of reasons for this:

• there are hundreds of varieties of plastic, which cannot necessarily be mixed in together for recycling

• many plastic products may be made of several different types, combined with other materials.  This makes it very difficult to separate the plastic for recycling  

• it is difficult to collect and store plastic for recycling and is expensive to transport due to the large volume of the material but low weight

What types of plastic can be recycled

The most common types of plastic collected for recycling are:

• clear plastic water or soft drinks bottles

• opaque plastic bottles  such as milk containers

Some areas are able to recycle more types of plastic than this so check with your local collector what types of plastic you are able to recycle.

Some supermarkets also provide recycling banks for plastic bags and sometimes plastic bottles

How to recycle plastic?

• Find out the type of plastic that can be recycled in your local area.

• Clean and dry the plastic bottle and put it into your collection bag/box/bin for recycling or before they go into the plastic recycling bank. You do not have to remove the label.

• Remove lids of bottles as these are made of a different type of plastic to the bottle itself.

If recycling plastic waste is difficult in your area, to reduce the amount of plastic waste you generate.

What plastic can’t be recycled

Combinations of plastic and other materials are difficult to recycle.  Because there are so many different types it is often easier to look at what can be recycled, as this will eliminate all other types of plastic. 

How plastic is recycled

Once the plastic has been collected it is often squashed and baled before being transported to a re-processor for recycling. Once at the re-processors the plastic is sorted, often by trained staff, into the different types and colour.  The plastic recycling process can be a complicated and there are a number of ways to reprocess plastic.  In general it will go through various stages of heating, shaping and cooling.  Heating softens or melts the plastic, where it can then be re-shaped and then it is cooled to retain its new form.  It may also be shredded or melted down to produce granules which will be used to make other products.

Check that number

What happens to the supermarket shopping bags?

One example is CHRISTCHURCH CITY COUNCIL NZ

The collected bags are sorted at Recovered Material Foundation paper depot and packed into bales. The bales are sent to Christchurch company Range Industries, which has devised a process called thermo-fusion™ which turns the supermarket bags into durable plastic planks suitable for boxing, pallets and fence posts.

A bale can contain up to 25,000 bags and weigh around 800kg. At Range Industries, that bale makes up to 1000m of plastic planking (approx. 100mm x 18mm).

This is common around the world with plastic bags from supermarkets. So if you think that your bags are used to make more carrier bags I'm afraid you are wrong. As a rule most recycling processes degrade the material after processing to a lesser quality material which is why you should if you can use less in the first place, such as Bag for Life schemes in most supermarkets.