A Brief On Different Types of Plastic & Their Recycling Structures

A Brief On Different Types of Plastic & Their Recycling Structures

Plastic is a versatile material that can be shaped and molded into various characteristics and capacities. Recycling, upscaling, or reprocessing this plastic can mitigate the impact it creates on the environment and help businesses save tons of money. 

One type of polymer is plastic, which consists of numerous long carbon molecular chains connected in numerous ways. Different plastics with various physical properties can be created depending on the structure of the polymers. There are 7 distinct types of plastic:

• Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET): Despite being lightweight, it is shatterproof and extremely strong, used for a variety of purposes, including packaging (beverage containers, cooking oils). They are the most easily recyclable plastic of all and are most commonly made into fiber, yarns and even recycled PET bottles.
• High-Density Polyethylene (HDPE): durable and impervious to chemicals and moisture. It can be used for buckets, park seats, packaging (milk cartons, detergent bottles, etc). They are recyclable and products like pipes, lawn goods and non-food application bottles are produced. 
• Low-Density Polyethylene (LDPE): HDPE that is softer, clearer, and more flexible. It is frequently employed in the lining of beverage cartons, as well as in corrosion-resistant work surfaces and other products. There are several ways to use it, such as with bubble wrap, plastic wrap, and sandwich and bread bags and are partially recyclable.
• Polypropylene (PP) is the second most common plastic in terms of synthetic plastic production. One of the least expensive plastics, polypropylene is versatile, resilient, resistant to acid, and heat. It has many applications, including packaging (jars, caps, and containers), sports, and the garment sector (tote bags, clothing). PP are too like LDPE, partially recyclable. 
• Polyvinyl chloride (PVC) is the third-most-produced synthetic plastic in the world. In contrast to other plastics, it can be flexible or hard and blends nicely with other materials. It is utilized in a variety of applications, including construction (fittings, pipelines, floors), healthcare, and more (blood bags, gloves). However, such kinds of plastic are not recyclable
• Polystyrene (PS or Styrofoam) is a hard plastic that is inexpensive and excellent at insulating. However, it can easily leak toxic substances like the neurotoxic styrene, which can then be quickly absorbed by food. Cups, egg cartons, cutlery, and other packaging materials all use it. Like PVC, they are not recyclable.
• Other: This category includes all polymer structures other than the six forms of plastic mentioned above which are not recyclable. 

Plastics recycling rates in India and the US

During 2019–20, India produced about 34.7 lakh metric tons of plastic trash per year (TPA). Of the plastic trash, 15.8 lakh TPA was recycled, and 1.67 lakh TPA was co-processed. It means that it accounts for 50% of all recovered plastic garbage produced.

In the United States, 2.5 million plastic bottles are discarded every hour. The US Interior Department announced that single-use plastic products would be phased out on public lands, including national parks, by 2032. This move was made in an effort to address a major source of US plastic trash as recycling operations sputter.

Final thoughts:

While recycling rates have risen over the past few years in practically every nation, there is still a long way to go before plastic recycling reaches the same levels of material reuse as glass and aluminum. But with a little help from everyone, recycling will hopefully overtake disposal of plastic as the preferred option.

Post consumer plastic waste can be utilized for the production of several products, like laying roads, pavement blocks, tiles, bricks, clothes, and cement kilns. PET water bottles are turned into eco-friendly T-shirts, napkins, and packaging products. 

At Go Rewise, we address environmental protection meticulously and produce premium quality products, including food safe packaging equivalent to virgin PET for greener tomorrow.