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Melt & Press Recycled Plastic

by Posted in 1.51 Reusing & Recycling Plastic Tagged , 4 Comments

One of the most innovative plastic recycling companies I have come across is the Wales based Smileplastics. They make the most wonderful plastic sheeting out of old wellies, C.D.ds, banknotes and everything else.

Here’s how

“The material we buy often looks like multi-coloured cornflakes which we lay out by hand in our moulds and then press in our hydraulic presses. Through heat and thousands of tons, the material fuses and takes the shape of the mould before we cool it and take out a solid sheet of recycled plastic – our product.

Most of our sheets are made from 100% waste plastic – we don’t add any binding agents or resins, so it is simply the combination of heat and pressure that transforms the individual chunks or flakes into a complete board.”

These are not just recycled plastics but works of art with the main ingredient determining how the end product looks. The children’s rubber welly sheet is large blobs of colour and rubbery. The banknote features shredded banknote in clear plastic for the rolling in millions feel

The plastic sheets can be used for anything from furniture to work surfaces.

More on recycling here

Other ways to recycle and reuse plastic trash here

Recycling and  waste plastic – a discussion

 

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plastic recycling process

by Posted in 1.51 Reusing & Recycling Plastic Tagged 3 Comments

Some years ago I went to visit a plastic recycling plant near my home. Since then there have been many innovations  but this is how your basic mechanical ( as oppose to chemical) plastic recycling plant works.

Those of you who read my blog  may think I am anti plastic recycling – not at all. Infact only the other day I was down at the plastic recycling plant, Home of Lynwood Plastics, in Halifax for a visit.

Here they recycle plastic into amongst other things
buckets
paint trays
grasscrete (mesh to grow reinforced grass in)
plastic lumber (plastic planks that can be used in place of wood)

The plastic for recycling is mixed according to type. The number found on some plastic products indicates what kind of plastic it is.

Up to 5% of the mix can be unknown plastic

The plastic for recycling goes into a big grinding machine where it is broken down into plastic grains.

The grains are melted and the resulting black plastic goo is poured into moulds or formed into products.

The goo smells quite plasticky but not unduly so. The machine is closed but not sealed – you can open the door and look at the goo glooping into the mould.

They can pretty much recycle any kind of plastic – from wrappers to traffic cones – as long as they know what kind of plastic it is.

The plastic needs to be fairly clean but not completely so – they can recycle empty paint cans with dried paint inside or plant pots with dust in.

They get their plastic for recycling from businesses. It is not domestic waste.

However they could recycle food wrappers and yogurt pots if they were cleaned before hand. They don’t want festering food waste on the premises for obvious reasons.

Plastic can be recycled pretty much indefinitely.

Polystyrene can be compressed and recycled

It takes a lot of plastic wrappers to make one plank.

Black plastic products with a kind of marbled finish are recycled.

You can find out more about plastic recycling here.

 

 

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Plastic codes and UK recycling

by Posted in 1.51 Reusing & Recycling Plastic Tagged , 12 Comments

Resin identification code 2 ♴ for high density...

Plastic codes are the numbers you find on the base of your shampoo bottle and the like.

They  identify the type of plastic used to make the product.

Only the most common types of plastic are numbered – there are many more plastics than numbers and new plastics are being made all the time.

This symbol DOES not mean the product has been recycled.

For recycling purposes, (for now at least), it is essential to know which plastic is which.

All plastics should be properly identified.

Here are the current plastic codes and what they refer to.

PET or PETE (Polyethylene terephthalate) plastic code 1
Clear drinks bottles, food packaging such as fruit punnets, textile fibres (polyester).

UK Collection Rates
PET bottles are collected by 92% of councils. Recycled PET is generally used in fabrics such as fleece, strapping and carpets. New technology allows PET to be recycled into new food packaging.

HDPE (High-density polyethylene) plastic code 2
Milk bottles, shampoo and cleaning product bottles. HDPE bottles are collected by 92% of councils.They are recycled into garden furniture, litter bins and pipes.

UK Collection Rates
New technology allows HDPE to be recycled into new milk bottles.

PVC (Polyvinyl chloride) plastic code 3
Window frames, drainage pipes, shower curtains, clothing, toys, large squash bottles.

UK Collection Rates
Not generally collected from households for recycling. PVC use in packaging is in decline.

LDPE (Low density polyethylene) plastic code 4
Carrier bags, some bottles and containers, yokes holding four or six-packs of cans together, lining or laminating cardboard containers.
Carrier bags are collected by some supermarkets and recycled into low-grade uses such as bin bags.

UK Collection Rates
Not generally collected from households for recycling. However, mixed plastic recycling is expected to be under way within five years.

PP (Polypropylene) plastic code 5
Soup pots, margarine tubs, most bottle tops, waterproof clothing, carrier bags.
Not generally collected for household recycling, although it has good potential.

UK Collection Rates
However, mixed plastic recycling is expected to be under way within five years.

PS (Polystyrene) plastic code 6
Take away cups, yoghurt pots, cushioning of breakable objects in packaging.

UK Collection Rates
Not generally collected from households for recycling. Some commercial polystyrene is recycled.

Everything else plastic code 7
Other Includes acrylic glass (perspex), nylon and polycarbonate. Items made from a blend of plastics also fall into this category.

UK Collection Rates

Not currently collected

The collection rates are taken from this BBC article

To know more about the above plastics go to everything you ever wanted to know about plastic

To find out where you can recycle each kind of plastic, contact your waste disposal authority, or check the internet. Some recycling plants will accept plastics from the public and are interested in bulk supply from anywhere.

But better still don’t create any plastic trash…..