Recycling Update: Part 2, Plastic

Probably the most significant fact about the process of plastic recycling is that one plastic product may end up being recycled into something completely different. One process is commonly referred to as "downcycling". This is when a material is recycled into something of lesser quality and/or reduced functionality.

Plastic bottles, the trade term is PET (polyethylene terephthalate), are crushed, chopped into flakes, and pressed into bales for resale. One very common and popular use for PET is the fabric industry. PET is spun into yarn and thread and woven into new polyester cloth. Uses are normally durable, strong products such as jackets, coat, shoes, bags, hats, and accessories. It is not usually used with anything that touches the skin because of irritation. But many new processes and innovations are pushing this growing industry. More and more companies are taking advantage of the growing demand for "green products", and are trying to incorporate these new fabrics into their product.

High-density polyethylene (HDPE) is used for telecom ducts, thicker bottles such as for laundry detergent, plastic lumber, chairs, and many other durable products. PVC has been more difficult to recycle, but recent technologies have been developed in the last decade that involve something called "up-cycling". This is when a product is recycled into something of more value than the original.

What makes plastic recycling difficult is that recycled material has to be sorted according to the plastic identification code, or PIC. Once that is done, there are other obstacles such as the dyes, fillers and additives that are used in plastics.

Sources:

Wikipedia: Plastic Recycling

Recycling Point.com

Recycling Update: Part 1, Paper

Because we are in the business of supplying recycled products, we thought it might be interesting to take a look at the current state of paper recycling in the U.S.

In 1690, the Rittenhouse family established the first paper mill in the colonies to use recycled linen. This isn't all that big of a development because paper really has always been made of some type of recycled material. But in 1896, in NYC, the first major recycling center was started by the Benedetto family. They collected rags, newspaper and trash for paper making.

In the 1970s and 80s, it was very in vogue to use "recycled" paper and many corporations and businesses who specified "recycled" paper for their company literature, such as annual reports, wanted everyone to know about it. But there has been some confusion about exactly what "recycled" means. Virtually 100% of all paper is recycled. What matters most is how much "post-consumer waste" is in the content. In that period of the 70s and 80s paper mills even purposely came out with paper that even had little chips in it to demonstrate that it was recycled.

Recycled paper material comes in three types. The first is "mill broke". This is waste material recovered inside the paper mill during the paper making process. The second is "pre-consumer waste". This refers to paper that already made and may or may not have printing on it. It consists of printer's make-ready sheets, cut-offs, and rejected stocks. The last is actual "post-consumer waste". A large portion of this category are old newspapers, office and home waste, and used packaging.

In our current culture of climate change awareness and conservation in general, businesses around the world are "going green" and demanding some level of compliance to environmental concerns. 1993 marked the first year that more paper was recycled than was put in landfills. This was a historic milestone.