Nine amazing facts about plastic recycling

Plastic as far back as the 1950s was the future. It was highly regarded as the
original wonder material, low cost, adaptable, quickly produced, and an essential
tool in increasing the post-war global economy. Despite the long-time presence of
other materials like rubber and Bakelite, the reality for the many uses of plastic
encircled on the utopian, as the second surge of plastics was developed during the
war, ensuring the ubiquity of most multi-purpose polymers.
However, it didn't take long before the loopholes showed up, opening the eyes of
manufacturers and consumers to the downside of the attributes that made plastic
attractive. Not long, plastics were just about on every corner on earth with the
durable quality of this material, making plastic products outlive their utility.

Presently, The cases around our mingling with plastics are well recorded. Still,
there's an advancement in work to manage the waste created even as the production
of plastic continues to grow. Today, expanding recycling industries now make
visible changes in the pile-up of plastic consumed, and the word "recycling" now
holds more meaning to eco-conscious citizens. Here, we look at nine amazing facts
on plastic recycling that drives industries prepared to deal with the ever-rising
piles of plastic.

Plastic Recycling Facts

Just 9% of the plastics ever produced has been recycled – Recycling is surely
topping its game with the rate of recycling now estimated to be around 20% around
the world. But there has been a slow catch up for industries and consumers since
the first plastic recycling processes began in the 70s. Just 9% has been recycled
out of the 8.3 billion metric tons estimate produced since 1950, and the remnant is
sent to landfill or incineration.

The plastic recycling business is expected to be worth $56 billion come 2026 – As
it stands, the global plastic recycling market is about $34 billion. With the
current rise in customer awareness and the steps taken in making plastic industries
take greater responsibility will see an increase in the estimated worth over the
next 5-10 years.

Recycled plastics conserve energy — Lower energy of about 88% is required for the
manufacture of recycled plastic products, in comparison to new plastic products.
This is as a result of the much energy put into the creation of new plastic from
raw resources such as petroleum or natural gas, during manufacture.

A million plastic bottles are sold every minute — Every minute, an estimate of
about one million plastic bottles are sold worldwide, resulting to about 480
billion bottles in 2016. There is a chance for this number to increase to 20% by
2020. Most bottles are recyclable; still, reusable bottles offer a much more
sustainable option than one-time-use bottles.

Products may require many materials that make recycling difficult — During the
recycling process, there would be the need for separation of materials of many
products that bear the universal recycling symbol, because they may contain many
other materials. For instance, it is nearly impossible to separate blister packs
used for pills, which contains recyclable plastic and aluminum, both of which are
hard to separate.

Recycled plastics drop in quality — Plastics lose quality during their recycling
process in contrast to aluminum and glass. It could take one time or two times the
recycling of most plastics before they become useless. Also, recycling of products
is never as plain as "a bottle for a bottle" since most recycled plastics find
usage in non-food grade products.

Plastic could be dispatched abroad for recycling — China imported two-thirds of the
world's plastic waste, not until 2018, when they banned the importation of any more
plastics, and this exterminated a significant exit for the world's recyclable
waste. However, this is a call for the countries that generate the most plastics
waste to improve on their recycling measures, own up to their problems instead of
relegating it to some other people, and in turn, the recycling industries will
match the challenge.

Recycled plastic can be applied in a wide range of products — Currently, there are
limitless uses and applications to recycled plastics, ranging from fabric materials
used in clothing to insulation used in construction. Also, there would be a spread
of innovative means to the application of recycled plastics used in industries
globally, as the availability of recycled materials continues to rise.

Scientists are developing bacteria that eats plastic — There is an evolution of

other environmentally friendly ways to separate plastics into reusable products,
even as there are the traditional recycling processes which involve, separating,
shredding and melting plastics. There is an excellent hope In the exploration of
the newly found method of plastic recycling, a bacteria that naturally dissolved
plastics, as was discovered by scientists in 2018.

The Future of Plastic Recycling

Recycling, although it is on the rise, is the only answer to the recent spread of
plastic waste. There must be an added effort to plastic recycling in the way we
consume and also in the way companies package their products. Thankfully, consumers
avoid using single-use packaging as they are more conscious of their role in the
environment when they can. On the other hand, industries are urged to imbibe more
environmentally and friendly options, in place of plastic, especially single-use
plastic packaging.

In summary, we cannot underrate the need for cradle-to-cradle thinking, as it would

also go a long way to lighten the burden on recycling sites and give them better
chances to work more adequately and process plastic waste effectively, if we can
keep packaging and containers in reuse for a more extended period, as much as
possible.