What Plastics Cannot Be Recycled
A weaker and lower quality plastic either won t meet the standard of performance it needs to or won t have as much economic value.
What plastics cannot be recycled. Most centers cannot recycle these plastic but do check it is difficult to recycle plastics 3 6 and 7 into other products. This interactive explores some of the plastics the recycling system was designed to handle and explains why other plastic. 2025 is a long way off when plastics are in. 3 pvc polyvinyl chloride 6 ps polystyrene 7 other.
Numbers 3 6 and 7 generally cannot be recycled though some recycling centers have the technological capability. Nearly every product we consume is packaged with plastic. On the other hand the following types of plastics cannot be recycled. Or in some cases it is just not economically feasible to do so.
Thermosets are plastics that can not be simply melted back into a. This includes packing peanuts used in moving boxes styrofoam coffee cups or food containers coolers etc. The most common plastic products that are prime candidates for recycling are those used as containers for food and drinks. In the event that your recycling center has the capability to recycle these generally non recyclable plastics they can be transformed into useful items like egg cartons vents speed bumps cables paneling and more.
Different plastics lose durability and quality as they are recycled this is due to the shortening and weakening of the fibres that make up the plastic. Top items that people wrongly think can be. About a third of all kinds of plastic bottles get recycled into new products. Thin plastic film cannot.
To help uk households get it right the industry has compiled a list of some of the most common misconceptions about what can and cannot be recycled. There are so many plastics out there that i was confused about which ones can be recycled and which ones cannot. From a technical point of view the only plastics that physically cannot be recycled are the plastics known as thermosets and the cured cross linked relatives paint and tires. But there are solutions consumers can take their own reusable containers to shops and retailers can use more recycled and recyclable materials.
Styrofoam can neither be recycled nor does it biodegrade and you should be careful to limit your use of these types of products see references 2. Some sacks and carrier bags can also be recycled as can clothes made from polyester. Plastics are one of the most widely used consumer materials in the world.