Recycling plastic overview
Plastic is one of the most popular and useful materials of modern times: we now use about 20 times more plastic than we did 50 years ago. Its popularity and widespread use is why handling it responsibly and correctly once it becomes waste is so vitally important. We can optimise the lifespan of plastics by re-using and recycling items as many times as possible.
How is plastic recycled?
KS Plastics sort by polymer type, shredded, washed, melted and pelletised.
Sorting is mainly done automatically with a manual sort to ensure all contaminants have been removed
Once sorted and cleaned, plastic can either be shredded into flakes or melt processed to form pellets before finally being moulded into new products.
There are many different types of plastic in use, some of which we can recycle in the UK and other types – including that used to make flexible pouches and black microwaveable trays – which will require new technology before we are able to recycle it effectively. This means that some plastic still goes to landfill, some is incinerated and some shipped abroad for recycling.
There are currently large investments being made in Britain including by KS Plastic amongst others to help our domestic plastic recycling sector cope with the variety of plastics in use and it won’t be long before we operate a more efficient recycling system for all different types of plastic packaging.
In the meantime we can all do our bit to improve things now. Recycling plastic bottles is one easy way to help. They are usually made from two easily recyclable plastics – PET and HDPE – and can be recycled by most of us via our household recycling collections or local recycling centres.
There is a wide range of products made from recycled plastic including:
- refuse sacks and carrier bags
- underground drainage systems for homes and national infrastructure
- flower pots, seed trays, watering cans and water butts
- wheel arch liners and bumpers on cars
- damp proof membranes, guttering and window profiles used in construction
- reusable crates and pallets
- wheel bins and food caddies
- composters and wormeries
- drinks bottles and food trays
- polyester fabric for clothing.
Plastic can be made from fossil-based or bio-based materials. Both can be used to make highly durable, non-biogradable plastics, or plastics which either biodegrade or compost.
Fact: Just because a plastic is made from bio-based sources, does not automatically mean it will biodegrade!
Only non-biodegradable plastic can be recycled, regardless of whether it is fossil-based or bio-based. Enter your postcode into our Recycling Locator tool to find out which plastics your council collects.
Compostable plastics can be composted at industrial scale composting facilities, so you can put these in with your green waste but only if it goes to one of these facilities – your council will be able to tell you where your green waste goes.
Some compostable plastics can also be home composted and should be clearly labelled if this is the case. Compostable plastics should not go in with your dry recycling as they cannot be recycled in the same way as non-biodegradable plastic.
Biodegradable plastics also cannot be recycled in the same way as non-biodegradable plastics. Some can be composted, but not all, and should be clearly labelled if this is the case.
Biodegradable packaging should be clearly labelled as such, and should not go in with your dry recycling.