Collection and Processing

Collecting plastic is the first step in the recycling process. It may seem straightforward, but this step is repeatedly overlooked by people and businesses especially when the culture of single-use and fast rewards favors easy, often thoughtless, disposal. Other times people try to do the right thing by recycling their waste, but actually end up wish-cycling. This term refers to recycling something that you "wish" or think is recyclable but in reality cannot be recycled by your local MRF. Some common items that are wish-cycled include; plastic bags, food pouches, shredded paper, loose bottle caps, plastic containers, greasy pizza boxes, electronics and batteries, garden hoses, and PS #6 known as polystyrene. 

The problem with wish-cycling, or just improperly recycling, is that MRF's are designed to recycle specific items and when plastic bags or garden hoses enter the mix their machines can get damaged or stop entirely. 

Once plastic is collected, the next step is to process it for recycling. This step is usually labor intensive requiring hands-on sorting of plastic from other waste and other plastic types. Additionally, the plastic must be cleaned of any food residue or other organic compounds like oils or dirt before being melted into a new product.