As you might know, there are seven different types of plastic being used around the world - they differ in size, color, usage and disposal (if you didn&#;t know you can check our previous article where we explain the difference between these types). But, as a conscious (and curious) consumer, you might wonder: what types of plastic are recyclable? And what products can be obtained by recycling plastic? Well, if you are interested in discovering which plastic can be recycled and are curious about the second life of plastic waste, keep reading!
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THE BARRIERS TO RECYCLING
In principle, almost all plastic can be recycled. However, in practice, there are a variety of different barriers that can undermine this process. Unfortunately, it does not always make environmental, economic, or technical sense to do so. Here are some reasons why recycling cannot always happen:
Many times, items can include multiple types of plastic and different layers which are hard to separate and make recyclability difficult and costly.
Plastics can often be contaminated by food and other substances, making the resins not clean enough to be reused.
Recycling facilities cost millions of dollars to build and operate can only be profitable when a huge amount of plastic is treated every day. Small quantities of plastics can therefore make recycling non-economical and non-beneficial, due to low efficiencies and high costs.
But don&#;t get discouraged! Despite these barriers, recycling still does happen and incredible products come out of this process. The majority of recycled plastic comes from post-consumer sources. This means that the milk jugs, bottles, packaging films that you throw away in the recycling bin, after undergoing the right process, will become post-consumer recycled material!
At Plastics for Change, for example, we use post-consumer recycled plastic to produce shampoo bottles, cosmetic caps, packaging films among other products. But let&#;s take this step by step.
WHICH PLASTIC CAN BE RECYCLED
1-PET
The most widely recycled plastic in the world is PET. Nonetheless, despite being a relatively easy plastic to recycle, some countries are still struggling to reach decent recycling rates. India, Europe and South Korea all have rates higher than 50% but countries like the US and China are yet to scale up those numbers.
The latest global statistics tell us that, in , approximately 7.5 million tons of PET were collected worldwide. But what were they transformed into? Well, as crazy as it might seem, a substantial part of PET plastic (mostly found in plastic bottles) is usually recycled into fashion items! Among the items that can be obtained we find polar fleece clothes, backpacks, and carpets. That&#;s right, the plastic bottle you recycle today can become a cool t-shirt you will wear in a few months! Indeed, this recycling process involves transforming PET into flakes which can then be spun as a yarn. And these yarn are then used to manufacture clothes and other textile garments.
Alternatively, PET bottles can be recycled into... PET bottles! In fact, they are made of one of the few polymers that can be recycled into the same form &#; a new beverage bottle &#; again and again. During the process the PET is generally blended in a ratio of virgin to recycled, to give strength to the material for use in a new product.
What does it mean when products are made from post-consumer recycled content? Learn how your brand can stay sustainable and give used materials another life!
In spite of worldwide recycling efforts, landfill disposal remains the leading waste disposal technique (50%). And as such, the world's largest landfill site alone receives 3.8 million tons of waste annually.
As sustainability leaders explore innovative methods and materials to lower this number, one of the most highly pursued interests is post-consumer recycled content (PCR).
PCR-based products help reduce the need for landfill waste disposal, owing to their multiple life cycles. Manufacturers can recycle and reintroduce them into the supply chain once they&#;ve reached the end of their useful life.
But this process isn&#;t as simple as sorting our trash into different bins and taking it to the curb on recycling day. Recycling abounds in jargon and acronyms. Businesses transitioning to PCR packaging should take the time to learn these terms. In this article, we&#;ll review the basics.
Here's the kicker: Post-consumer recycled content isn&#;t always present in recycled products. Find out the truth about recycled content to avoid being misled.
Recycled content refers to materials recovered from the waste stream during production or after consumer use. It's the sum of pre-consumer and post-consumer recycled materials used in a product. The greater the sum, the fewer virgin materials are used in the product.
Some products come with labels indicating the recycled content used. A kraft mailer made from 20% manufacturing scrap trimmings (pre-consumer) and 45% curbside recycling bins (post-consumer) would disclose a total recycled content of 65%.
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The following example illustrates how this works in practice: Footwear company Barbara Bennett uses noissue&#;s Custom Tissue Paper packaging that&#;s made from 30% recycled material and 70% new acid-free virgin pulp. In this case, 30% represents the combination of pre-consumer and post-consumer recycled content. Here&#;s what the packaging material looks like:
noissue Custom Compostable Tissue Paper by @barbarabennett__
Post-consumer recycled content comes from products that have reached their life cycle and would have otherwise ended up in landfills. These include items you typically toss in garbage bins, such as plastic bottles, food containers, aluminum cans, and shipping boxes.
Municipal recycling programs collect and transport this solid waste to recycling facilities. The recycled content then becomes raw materials for new production cycles.
Production > Consumption > End of life > Recycling > Reproduction
Note: Production waste that doesn&#;t enter the consumer market isn&#;t accounted for as post-consumer recycled content.
noissue Recycled Mailers are made from 100% recycled LDPE and HDPE and come in a variety of sizes
Pre-consumer content consists of discarded materials during production, including rejects and offcuts. But as per ISO , it doesn&#;t include rework, regrind, or scrap generated on-site and reused in the same or another manufacturing process.
So if a paper mill worker picks up some paperboard cuttings and feeds it back into the pulping process, it doesn&#;t count as pre-consumer content. That&#;s because the goal here is efficient production, not recycling. But if the company uses the cuttings to make new low-grade paperboard instead of discarding them, the material is considered pre-consumer content
Note: Pre-consumer content, a.k.a. post-industrial waste, never makes it to the final goods distributed to consumers. But the material can be recycled, becoming post-industrial recycled content.
Post-industrial recycled refers to recovered or reclaimed materials from manufacturing waste. Piggybacking off our paper mill example above: Imagine cutting up paperboard and bleaching it to produce kraft boxes, that&#;s PIR. The same applies if the company sells the reclaimed materials to a third-party manufacturer or donates them to recycling programs.
Whether it's a legal mandate or a cost-cutting strategy, companies now recognize the value of repurposing post-industrial waste. This saves them a significant chunk of money on waste collection and disposal. They also don&#;t have to outsource recycled materials as they already have them on hand.
Post-consumer waste (PCW) includes cardboard boxes, magazines, and toilet paper. PCW is one of the most recommended packaging materials because it supplies roughly 50% of the fiber used to make paper.
In terms of sustainability, PCW has greater contributions than other recycled materials. The latest EPA data shows paper and paperboard have the highest recycling rate (68%) compared to other municipal solid waste.
Furthermore, every ton of recycled PCW reduces greenhouse gas emissions by one metric ton of carbon equivalent. That&#;s like saving 7,000 gallons of water, 3.3 cubic yards of landfill space, and energy to power the average American home for six months.
Be it PCR or PCW, recycling post-consumer materials is a simple yet effective way to help the environment. Anyone, especially SMB owners, can contribute to this environmental cause with PCR packaging.
Packaging accounts for about 36% of all plastic produced, of which 85% end up in landfills. What&#;s worse is that 98% of single-use plastics are made from virgin materials.
Post-consumer recycled content closes the loop on sustainable packaging by reducing virgin material consumption and end-consumer waste. Business-wise, it&#;s also an effective way to reduce costs while helping you achieve your sustainability goals. The following reasons may persuade you:
PCR, compostable, and other recyclable packaging are all sustainable. Consumers can reuse, recycle, or compost them instead of dumping them after a single use. However, their manufacturing process and life cycle differ.
For compostable packaging, either a home compost pile or a commercial facility will do. Otherwise, the packaging might not degrade and reach landfills.
Meanwhile, PCR packaging raw material degrades with each recycling loop. It's also why most packaging companies don't use 100% post-consumer recycled content. To ensure eco-efficiency and quality, they use a combination of PCR content and virgin materials.
The waste cycle is complete after the PCR packaging fully degrades. Customers only need to separate and dispose of it properly, and recycling facilities will take care of the rest.
Now that you're familiar with the terminologies and benefits of recycling, it's time to take action and outsource your packaging. List your options and speak with prospective suppliers to see what's out there.
Your packaging should reflect your brand identity. Along with recyclable materials, prioritize factors such as quality, functionality, and aesthetics. Run a cost-and-benefit analysis before making a decision.
If you haven't compiled a list yet, noissue has circular packaging options you can choose from. Express your brand and take an eco-stand with our circular packaging solutions today. Sell sustainably and help reduce landfill pollution.
Are you interested in learning more about Is PCR Plastic Recyclable? Contact us today to secure an expert consultation!