PLASTIC
RECYCLES SCRAPS
The language of Plastic Recycling; Common Plastic Scrap Terms
- Rigid Plastic Container: A package (formed or molded container) which maintains its shape when empty and unsupported.
- Plastic Bottle: A rigid container which is designed with a neck that
is smaller than the body. Normally used to hold liquids and emptied by
pouring.
- Plastic Film: A thin flexible sheet which does not hold a particular shape when unsupported.
- Recycled Plastic: Plastics composed of either post-consumer or recovered material or both.
- Recovered Plastic: Plastic materials which have been recovered or
diverted from the solid waste stream. Does not include materials
generated from and commonly reused within an original manufacturing
process.
- Post-Consumer: Products generated by a business or consumer that
have served their intended end use and have been separated or diverted
from the solid waste stream for the purpose of recycling.
- Natural: Plastics that have no color and are clear or slightly
opaque such as milk jugs, and the typical clear uncolored water bottles.
Natural is different from White.
- Pigmented/Dyed: Plastics that may be clear or opaque and are colored
white, black or any other color. A clear water bottle that is green is
considered pigmented. Additionally, white plastics are considered
pigmented.
Key Elements of Plastic Value;
1. Market Demand – As with any commodity, prices
rise and fall based on demand for the type of commodity being traded.
With plastics, there are two big demand drivers:
- Resin Prices – Since most plastic resin is made from refined crude
oil byproducts, the price of oil significantly affects the raw material
costs for plastics
- Demand – Plastic manufacturing processes usually require very
specific raw materials. As manufacturers find more uses for certain
types of plastics and set up their process to use recycled resin, the
consumer demand for their products will drive the manufacturing
consumption of the material. For example, in the middle of the winter,
most people living in the northern part of the country will not be
installing a recycled plastic lumber patio deck. The demand in that
region may decrease as companies like TREX reduce their consumption to
adjust for sales projections. These demand fluctuations may influence
the plastic pricing.
2. Color/Pigmentation – Since clear plastic can have pigment added to
turn it into any color, natural plastic is the most valuable because it
can be used for the widest range of recycled plastic products. If you
want a lawn chair made from black recycled plastic, the only color that
the chair will be is black. If you use natural or even white plastic,
then the manufacturer has greater flexibility.
3. Contamination – Most recovered plastic bales only allow a 2%
contamination of Non-specified plastic or non-plastic material. Under no
circumstances do the end users want any free liquids in the plastic
containers. In particular paper labels are a big source of contamination
on plastic film since there is no automated process for removing them.
In some applications such as plastic lumber manufacturing, they may
allow some labels.
4. Quantity / Weight / Volume – Since it takes an extremely large
volume of plastic containers to make a ton, the single greatest
impediment to recycling plastic containers is the logistical challenge
of being able to collect and process the material at a lower cost than
the value of the material itself. When gathering information to complete
a proposal, it is very important that you get accurate information from
the customer regarding how much they generate per period and whether
the volumes are constant or significantly fluctuate.
5. Sorting – Plastics that have been sorted into one specific grade
are more valuable than a mixture of different grades of plastic. Most
polymers cannot and should not be mixed in the recycling/manufacturing
process.
Plastic Identification; What do you have and how much does the account generate?
- Look for the recycling symbol stamped on product / usually found on the bottom of the container.
- Visually inspect the color/pigmentation.
- Resin codes are usually associated with post- consumer, so if you
are dealing with a pre-consumer manufacturers byproduct then ask for the
Material Specification Data Sheet (MSDS).
- When in doubt, get samples.
Plastic Family Groups (resin types);
Over the years, thousands of types of plastics have been developed
for different applications and products. Some have special fillers or
other properties that were developed specifically for their applications
such as being fire retardant, scratch resistant, chemical resistant,
etc.. There are over 10,000 types of Polypropylene alone. Just because a
grade of plastic exists, there may not be a market for that type of
material. The good news is that there are only a handful of different
plastics that you will encounter in the Commercial Recycling Program and
that you will be able to address. Plastics are grouped by families
based on the type of resin they contain. The plastic families are:
1. PET – Polyethylene
- Beverage containers – soft drinks, beer and water, ketchup &
salad dressing, peanut butter, pickles, jelly/jams and edible oils.
- Ovenable films and trays
- Carpet fiber and other fibers
- X ray and label stock
- Bottles, Bottle Flakes, Rigid Applications & Films
2. HDPE / High Density Polyethylene
- Milk, water, cosmetic, shampoo, dish and laundry detergents.
- Yogurt & margarine tubs, cereal box liners, grocery, trash & retail shopping bags
- Milk crates, totes, recycle bins, 90 gal garbage carts and pallets
- Bottles, Bottle Flakes, Film & Bags, PC/HDPE.
3. PVC Polyvinylchloride
Clear food & non-food packaging, medical tubing, wire & cable
insulation, film, & sheets, construction products such as pipe,
fittings, siding, floor tile, carpet backing, windows & door frames,
shower curtains & swimming pool liners. Bottles, Film.
4. LDPE Low Density PE / Linear LDPE / Polyethylene Medium Density /
MDPE Dry cleaner bags, bread and frozen food bags, squeezable bottles
like ketchup, mustard, mayo and etc. Stretch wrap, shrink films and etc…
Agricultural Films, Film, Bottles, Rigid Applications, Stretch/Shrink,
Bags.
5. PP Polypropylene Ketchup bottles, yogurt and margarine tubs,
medicine bottles, VCR jackets, carpet fiber and carpet backing, yarn
carriers / cones, tubes and spools. Fabric Webbing, Vehicle Battery
Casing, Rigid Packaging.
6. PS Polystyrene Compact disc cases, Styrofoam*, Expanded
Polystyrene, jewel boxes, food services, grocery store meat trays, egg
cartons, aspirin bottles, foam cups, cups, plates and cutlery and
packaging.
7. Other Mixed Plastics/ Bottles / Coatings Engineering grades of
plastics or resins, film with one or more layers. Also any mixture of
the grades of 1-6 where the plastics have not been separated by grade.
8. ABS / Acrylics / Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene Impact resistant,
chemical resistant, can be made flame retardant. Automobile hub caps,
wheel covers, pipe, appliances-refrigerator inside door panels.
Plexiglass – great clarity and lens quality. Automobile taillight
assemblies, room lighting fixtures, housewares, cosmetic packaging and
signage.
9 Nylon High strength, can be made flame retardant, may contain filler or additives.
10. Polycarbonate / Makrolon, Lexan 5 gallon water bottles / blue and
reels for ribbons / CD or DVD metalized and non-metalized. Baby
bottles. Can be made flame retardant, best in clear applications.
Automotive- taillight, appliance clear or tinted parts like crisper
drawers, and medical devices.
Chart of Common Plastic Film Types:
|
PLASTIC GRADE
|
TYPICALLY FILM TYPES
|
CONTAMINATION
|
|
#4 LDPE
|
Commercial
bags & liners, T-shirt bags, packaging durable goods, construction
/agriculture films bubble wrap/blister pack trash & garment bags
|
Labels,
tape, fiber, moisture, dirt, grit, strapping, food residue typically
non-recoverable after used
|
|
#4 LLDPE
|
Stretch
wrap, merchandise bags, flat bags, trash bags
|
Labels,
tape, strapping, fiber and typically non-recoverable after used
|
|
#2 HDPE
|
T-shirt,
grocery bags, shopping bags, box & can liners, trash bags, patch handle
& drawstring bags
|
Fiber
and food residue typically non-recoverable after used
|
|
#5 PP
|
Woven bags (feed/seed) & tarping, lumber wrap & garment bags
|
Labels,
tape, dirt, food residue, moisture, wood fiber, staples and fiber
|
|
Multi-ply poly films
|
Woven
film sheets & tarping, lumber wrap, food packaging, bubble wrap &
blister pack
|
Labels,
tape, moisture, wood fiber, staples, other resins and food residue
|
Film Type Characteristics & Identification:
|
RESIN TYPE
|
VISUAL
|
BURN TEST
|
STRENGTH/STRETCH
|
|
#4
LLDPE stretch wrap
|
Translucent,
semi-shiny, usually clear, has no slip, stretch wrap is sticky to the touch
|
Smells
like a blown out candle, white smoke, clear flame, linear low density strands
in molten state
|
Extremely
hard to tear, very good stretch and strength, hard to push through, wraps
around objects
|
|
#4
LDPE commercial bags
|
High
clarity, semi-shiny, many colors, has high slip
|
Smells
like a blown out candle, white smoke, clear flame, low density strands in
molten state
|
Irregular
tear/curly edge moderate stretch & strength, makes popping sound when
puncture
|
|
#4
MDPE paper towel/tissue packaging
|
Moderate
clarity, semi-shiny, many colors
|
Smells
like a blown out candle, white smoke, clear flame, medium density strands in
molten state
|
Irregular
tear, poor stretch & strength, tears while puncturing
|
|
#2
HDPE grocery sacks, natural milk jugs, shopping bags
|
Translucent,
semi-shiny, many colors
|
Smells
like a blown out candle, white smoke, clear flame / not in molten state
|
Low
stretch, high strength hard to puncture
|
|
#5
PP garment bags
|
Shiny,
crinkly, high clarity and clear
|
Clear
flame, white smoke, sweet rosewood smells
|
No
stretch, tends to rip in a straight line, medium strength
|
|
#5
PP woven / non woven
|
Interlocking
flat, strands, many colors
|
Same
as above
|
Does
not rip / tear, high strength
|
|
