06.14.08
Recycling
Recycling plastic bottles: Did you know that a water bottle and a milk jug have different recycling paths? At the recycling facility, plastic bottles are sorted and separated based on the plastic bottle’s Plastic Identification Code (PIC). The PIC is the assigned number that is stamped on the bottom of the plastic container and surrounded by the universal recycling symbol.
There are only two economically practical plastics to be recycled, one being PETE (Polyethylene Terephthalate) plastics; these plastics have a PIC code of 1. PETE plastics include ketchup bottles and yogurt containers, soft drinks, water bottles, salad dressing bottles and even shampoo bottles. There is one other economical plastic and that is called HDPE (High-density Polyethylene) plastics. These have a PIC code of 2 and it includes milk jugs, juice bottles, and laundry detergent.
The bottles are then sorted by color and their Plastic Identification Code, and then the bottles are squashed together and made into big bales. These bales of plastic bottles are bought by reclamation facilities, which wash and grind the plastic into smaller pieces. These small pieces of plastic are dried and then go through a process called melt filtration which filters through a screen that creates resin pellets or blow-molded bottles which are ready for the remanufacturing into new plastic material.
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