Does the recycling plastic process produce more pollution?

Question

Someone told me that the machinery that is used causes more pollution then making new plastic, is that true. Does the recycling plastic process cause more damage. I have yet to find out any solid information about that. Does anyone have and tips?

Answer 1

It does not create any more pollution than virgin plastic. The process is simple...the plastics are predominately sorted by hand as to the type of plastic and then it is fed into a very large grinder which shreds/chews it up into pieces about the size of a pinky fingernail then it is it is ran through a pelletizer which turns it into uniform size pellets and if a colorant is needed to gain a certain color it is done during this process and then it goes to whomever the customer who ordered it.

Answer 2

Hi. I don't know about the specific machines that make plastic , but I can tell you that using recycled materials to make products such as glass, metal or plastic bottles, uses way less resources and energy. Visy claim that recycling plastic bottles saves 98% in raw materials. Then there is also the reduction of waste to landfill - landfills are a problem for many reasons, one of which is the production of methane, which is 20x more potent than carbon dioxide, and secondly, leachate from landfills, polluting our water ways etc.

Manufacturing plastic of any kind produces pollution and uses our precious resources - my advice is to reduce the amount of packaging you use in the first place. Hope this helps!