Ever wondered what happens to the recycled plastic bottles that you’ve put in your recycling bins? We’ve all heard how important recycling is, in order to do your bit to save the planet and protect our oceans from the scourge of single-use plastic items. When you’ve spent time and effort sorting all your waste into their designated bins, you’ll want to know that your recyclable products are being turned into something useful! However a recent report from the BBC has thrown some doubt on the UK’s recycling processes, as it has emerged that half of our recycling waste is sent abroad to be processed, giving us very little overview of what happens to it from then on. Whilst this is slightly worrying, there is no proof as of yet that this waste isn’t being recycled and the UK public has dramatically increased their recycling rates from 31% in 1998 up to 64% in 2017! We’re heading in the right direction.
But what can our recycled plastic bottles be turned into?
According to Recycle Your Plastics, your recycled plastic bottles can be turned into many different types of products that you might not even think of, including fibres for use in making clothes, sleeping bags, carpets and, of course, they can be turned into more plastic bottles. It actually takes 75% less energy to make a plastic bottle using recycled plastic bottles, than it does to make a plastic bottle from scratch! You could even upcycle your old plastic bottles – instead of throwing them in your recycling bins, turn them into something functional or decorative for your home, like this clever little fish below!
Things you probably didn’t know about recycling plastic:
- PET and HDPE are the two easiest plastics to recycle. (Luckily we stock lots of them!)
- Each year enough plastic is thrown away to circle the earth four times. Source.
- Recycling 1 tonne of plastic bottles can save 1.5 tonnes of carbon! Source.
- It takes around 25 two-litre plastic bottles to make a recycled fleece jacket. Source.
- In less than 2 hours, the UK produces enough waste to fill the Albert Hall. Source.
- 79% of the plastic waste ever created is still in our environment. Source.
- Plastic bottles are accepted for recycling by 99% of local councils in the UK. Source.
- Plastic items such as carrier bags and bottles that end up in our oceans kill around 1,000,000 sea creatures every year. Source.
Some of these facts are truly shocking and makes you think twice about throwing your recyclable items into general waste. Our ranges of plastic juice bottles are made mainly from HDPE and PET plastic, which are both recyclable by almost every single council in Britain, giving you and your end users no excuse not to recycle them!