How Plastic Bottles are Recycled

Plastic bottles go through a series of steps to become new plastic products.

1. Baling

Collected bottles are condensed for shipping.

After bottles are collected, they are taken to a materials recovery facility (MRF) where they are condensed into large bales for shipping. Each bale weighs 800 to 1,200 pounds and can contain anywhere from 6,400 to 9,600 beverage, food and/or non-food bottles.

2. Sorting

Reclaimers rip apart the bales, then sort and shred the bottles.

Bales are shipped to a plastics reclaimer where a machine called a bale breaker rips apart the bales. The bottles and containers are then optically sorted by resin and sometimes color. The pieces then go through a machine where they are shredded into tiny flakes.

3. Melting

The flakes are then washed, dried and melted.

The flakes are washed to remove any impurities, like pieces of labels or leftover contents. They are then dried and melted.

4. Flaking

The melted plastic is formed into flakes.

The melted plastic is processed into flakes, which are sold to end markets, and can be made into a wide variety of plastic products.

5. Next applications

Flakes are spun into fine, thread-like material to make textiles.

In many PET and HPDE applications the flakes are often spun into a very fine, thread-like material through a process similar to making cotton candy. This can be used to make carpets, clothing or filling for jackets and quilts because the thin plastic has good insulation properties.