how is plastic recycled?
Dec. 26th, 2008 11:28 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
topazHow does plastic get recycled?
Specifically, how likely is it that dropping a nonrecyclable plastic container in a plastic recycling bin will cause problems for the recycling process.
This stems from an argument I've been having with my family, some of whom contend that the plastic gets sorted by machine at the plant, and that inappropriate containers are discarded automatically. I think that only applies to single-stream recycling, and that if you don't know for sure that your community uses single-stream recycling, adding nonrecyclables to a recycling bin may cause contamination farther down the line. But I don't know for sure. Maybe I'm the one who's behind the times.
I tried to find out more about this on the intarwebz but was not able to find enough detail to feel confident of the answer. But I know some of you smart people are more up to date on this stuff than I am. What's going on here?
Specifically, how likely is it that dropping a nonrecyclable plastic container in a plastic recycling bin will cause problems for the recycling process.
This stems from an argument I've been having with my family, some of whom contend that the plastic gets sorted by machine at the plant, and that inappropriate containers are discarded automatically. I think that only applies to single-stream recycling, and that if you don't know for sure that your community uses single-stream recycling, adding nonrecyclables to a recycling bin may cause contamination farther down the line. But I don't know for sure. Maybe I'm the one who's behind the times.
I tried to find out more about this on the intarwebz but was not able to find enough detail to feel confident of the answer. But I know some of you smart people are more up to date on this stuff than I am. What's going on here?
