Plastic Recycling
Importance of Plastic Recycling
Many organizations, from waste management providers to governments, have a zero waste to landfill policy, reinforcing the use of alternative, eco-friendly disposal methods as listed by The Waste Hierarchy.
The Waste Hierarchy
The waste hierarchy is the foundation for the way waste should be treated. It provides a guide on Geha Polimer’s approach to managing waste. Under the revised Waste Framework Directive, all businesses and public bodies have to demonstrate how they have considered the waste hierarchy when disposing of waste.
Identifying ways to reduce waste initially, the ‘prevention’ step, offers the most wide-reaching benefits in terms of resource efficiency, sustainability and cost saving. There is also great potential in re-using and recycling materials, which can provide resources to the manufacturing sector and have a reduced overall environmental impact due to less water and energy usage.
A declaration is included on waste transfer or hazardous waste consignment notes to demonstrate the waste hierarchy has been followed when choosing specific waste options. This includes showing how ‘minimization’, ‘recycling’ or ‘recovery’ was considered prior to final disposal, often aided by Geha Polimer waste management and consultancy.
Recycling any material, where possible, is fundamental to the environment, however recycling plastic has specific benefits. Plastic can take hundreds of years to biodegrade, between 500-1000 years for some types , meaning it takes up landfill space and pollutes the environment for longer. Also, recycling plastic can conserve limited natural resources and energy; as plastic is made from oil, the more plastic that is recycled and the less that is made from raw materials, the more oil is conserved.
Unfortunately, plastic does not suit all eco-friendly disposal solutions. For example, not all plastic is widely recyclable and energy from incineration is not possible as burning plastics releases harmful gases.
How is Plastic Recycled?
Before being recycled, plastics are sorted according to their resin type, either manually or using mechanized automated processes, or even by color. Following sorting, there are two main ways to recycle plastic; mechanical recycling, where plastic is washed, ground and melted, or chemical recycling, whereby plastic is broken down into monomers to form new polymers to be reused.
Here at Geha Polimer, we process thousands of tonnes of plastic each year, processing waste and supplying plastic granules to our partners for an effective and sustainable production. Because of our efficient recycling, we can supply plastic raw materials as well as a range of recycled plastics.