A Plastic Bottle Is Only the Beginning…

Most people are very much aware of recycling aluminum cans, but have you ever given much thought about the  plastic bottles that many beverages now come in?  The U. S. alone produces approximately 40 billion plastic bottles annually.  Of that number less than 30% are recycled.  The other 70% end up in landfills, or as randomly scattered trash.  The ones that end up in a landfill take up a significant portion of landfill space.  It takes    approximately 700 years for one of these bottles to completely decompose.

The question is: what can be done to reduce/eliminate this?  The obvious answer is to recycle them into new plastic bottles, which is being done.  However, there are other applications with which these recycled plastic bottles can be used.

One of the more interesting applications is to convert them into textile fibers.  Basically the process is:

l Bottles are collected by recycling centers.

l The bottles are sorted by style or color, and de-capped.

l The labels are removed and the containers are washed.

l Clean containers are sent to a plastic recycling facility.

l The bottles are compressed and ground into fine flakes.

l The flakes are melted, and then formed into strands.

l These strands are crimped, stretched to desired length, cut, and baled.

l Finally these strands, or fibers, are spun into yarn and woven into fabric.

What can be done with these fibers?

l Ten bottles equals approximately one pound of fiber.

l Fiber from twenty-five two-liter bottles can be woven into one medium sized fleece pullover.

l Approximately eighty-five plastic soft drink bottles can insulate one large sleeping bag.

l One square foot of carpeting can be made from approximately fourteen plastic bottles.

Recycled plastic bottles have also been used to make:

l Decking material

l Fencing.

l Railroad ties

Recycling plastic containers results in tremendous savings of other resources such as water and fuel.  Using recycled plastics creates reduced amounts of air emissions. Approximately 1,000 pounds of toxic emissions and forty-two gallons of fuel are saved for every 150 jackets made from recycled plastic bottles.

This summer as you sit by the beach, your local pool, or relax on your deck with a refreshing drink, do not look at the empty plastic bottle as trash.  It could end up being that new fleece jacket that keeps you warm next winter!