By Robert Grigg
People are well aware that you should recycle more often than not, but many don’t quite know the process in which their recyclables are repurposed. Let’s explore what happens after we take your paper, glass, and plastic waste to the proper facilities.
PAPER and CARDBOARD:
- Collection and separation of papers
- Pulping (paper fibers are ground up and gradually cleaned into raw material)
- De-inking (dissolve the paper in water, aerate it, and bleach it)
GLASS:
- Collection, delivery, and separation of various containers
- Sorting by color and washing
- Glass is crushed and melted together into molds to for further use
PLASTIC
- Collection and delivery
- Sorting by different color and plastic compositions (7 different types of compounds)
- Ground and shredded to small flakes, then washed
- Melt flakes into pellets (raw material for production process)
Of course, this list is a more simplified and streamlined explanation of the whole processes involved, but hopefully this article provides a better understanding of what repurposing centers actually do with your recyclable waste after companies like Vixster deliver it. Feel free to look up more information about these processes on your own!