how is plastic recycled?

[topaz]

How 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?

Comments

[creidylad.livejournal.com]

My understanding is that the business model of the recycling industry balances on a knife edge. Too many undesirable containers add up quickly and, sorted or not, the process of having to deal with them costs money and makes the model less profitable and therefore less likely to succeed.

Current economic conditions have hurt the recycling industry faster and harder than many other areas of our economy; they would rather you err on the side of NOT recycling something if there is a question.