Why recycle plastic in the first place?
Capturing waste plastic and channelling it into efficient recycling and recovery routes is widely recognized as a key way to reduce costs and environmental impact across the construction, manufacturing and retail sectors in particular. The recyclability of plastic is also one of its key strengths as an extremely resource-efficient material and used plastic should ideally be regarded as a valuable resource rather than ‘waste’.
Recycling plastic:
- Provides a sustainable source of raw materials to the industry.
- Greatly reduces the environmental (especially CO2) impact of plastic-rich products
- Minimizes the amount of plastic being sent to the Turkiye's landfill sites
- Avoids the consumption of the Earth's oil stocks
- Consumes less energy than producing new, virgin polymers
- Embeds the right values and behavior to reduce human impact on the environment.
Every type of plastic can be recycled… technically. But the extent to which they are recycled depends upon economic and logistical factors. The most widely recycled plastics are the two used to make soft drinks bottles and milk bottles: PET and HDPE. As well as plastic packaging most durable plastic can also be recycled. Traditional recycling is known as ‘mechanical recycling’ which physically breakdowns the plastic but does not alter the chemical structure. There is also ‘chemical recycling’ whose application is relatively new which does alter the chemical structure of the plastic. This technology means mixed batches of all types of plastic can be recycled – even back into food-grade packaging.
How do I know what plastic I can recycle at home?
The On-Pack Recycling Label (OPRL) provides information to consumers about whether a plastic product can be recycled. Retailers and brand owners are encouraged to use this help communicate with the public on what can and cannot be recycled.
How many times can you recycle plastic?
There is no simple answer to this. It depends on the type of plastic, how it is being recycled and what it is being recycled for. Polymers do slightly break down as they are recycled — but this minor degradation is easily countered by mixing in calculated amounts of ‘virgin’ (new) plastic.