Why aren’t all types of plastics recyclable?
In: Other
ELI5. Plastics are a product that are “too good” in a sense. It is cheap, light, durable, inert, easily formed/molded, tough and easy to color. There are also many varieties which can be made for specific properties by using different materials and additives. All of these make plastics fantastically useful in a wide variety of applications.
The problem is that these very characteristics makes it very difficult to recycle economically. Many varieties means they can’t be mixed and have to be sorted. Cheap and light means that recycling has to be low cost to compete with new material. Durable and inert means that recycling is going to be difficult and expensive – needing high temperatures, pressures and/or chemicals.
Latest Answers