How is plastic recycled

Recycling of plastic

• A large quantity of used plastic is collected at certain areas.
  
• Once the plastic is collected,it is sorted and separated according to the type of polymer it is made of.
  Plastic products are given certain codes to help the sorting and separating process.
  
• Then the plastic is reprocessed. The reprocessing of polymers includes the melting process, the melting process is possible if the polymers have not been widely cross-linked with any synthetics. Otherwise, it is difficult to stretch and less pliable.
  
• The final step is the manufacturing of the melted plastic into new products.

See also

• Category:Plastics recovery manual - detailed manual (under construction)
• Distributed recycling of post-consumer plastic waste in rural areas‎
• Recyclebot

References

Texas Society of Professional Engineers, 1997

http://www.lotfi.net/recycle/plastic.html#1