Plastic is an incredibly versatile and useful material that can be recycled multiple times. Many plastics can be recycled between seven and nine times. Plastic can be made using oil as the source material or using recycled plastic as the source material. At Coda Plastics Ltd, we don’t like to see a valuable resource like used plastic go to landfill. We recycle our own waste plastic and we also take in plastic from other manufacturing firms and recycle it.
Step One: Sorting
In order for plastic to be recycled it first has to be sorted into the different kinds of polymers. Different types of plastic need to be separated out in order to be recycled. This used to be done by hand (and still is sometimes) but modern techniques enable reclaimers to sort large amounts of plastic using complex spectrophotometric distribution technology.
Step Two: Shredding
The sorted plastics are then shredded and ‘cleaned’. Cleaning involves the removal of all impurities, things like the residue of paper labels that have been glued on to the side of a plastic drink bottle. Some plastics are separated by colour at this stage.
Step three: Pelleting
The shredded plastic is heated to a liquid and then extruded into pellets. The liquid polymer is forced through a hole and the resulting strands are cut into pellets. Once plastic is in this clean pelleted form, it is suitable for re-use in our factory.
Working with these different polymers every day to create innovative and useful products, we see the value in plastic. We are aware, of course, of the problem of plastic pollution, but we see this as a problem of appropriate disposal rather than a problem with plastic itself. We are as cross as anyone about plastic going into landfill or winding up in the oceans – it’s a valuable resource, fully recyclable, and should not be wasted!
If you have an idea for a product or packaging design that you think could be realised in plastic, please get in touch. We ae an ethical company with a responsible approach to plastic disposal. You can call us on +44 1692 501020 or email sales@coda-plastics.co.uk.
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