Introduction : In the financial year of 2023, it is recorded that India processed more than 75% waste generated. But despite that the recycling rates of our country, for different types of waste, hardly surpasses 30%. Which means a lot just gets deposited in the landfills. So let’s discover a step by step process about what happens with those items that are sent for recycling.
Trucks bring items to the facility : 1 of the wrong ways in which recycling happens in our country is when the truck picks up both trash and recyclables. And when this practice takes place, it’s hard to imagine recycling being done properly. So once a truck gets picked up by the recycler, they go to a mixed waste facility where they are separated by employees. But this becomes problematic on a major scale as it can cause fluids from trash to get in recyclables which further create contamination. As a result, some recyclable materials end in trash cans.
Items are sorted and separated : In different parts of the country there are separate trucks for recycling and trash. Now in this case, trash trucks bring the trash bags to a waste processing facility where waste gets processed and is either brought to incinerators where it’s burnt and used for energy or placed in landfill to break down over time. After this recycling trucks bring items to a recycling facility where items get sorted into different categories such as cardboard/paper, glass, metal and plastic. In an automated facility, all recycles go into a conveyor where large magnets pick up metals and deposit them into metal areas.
Recycling Different Items : So once the pallets of plastic, glass, cardboard/paper and metal have been collected they are each recycled appropriately following these general practices.
Cardboard/paper : There are a couple of things which can be done with cardboard and paper. They can be soaked and broken down to make recycled paper items.
Glass : Not all glass can be recycled. Pyrex, canning jars and colored glass (red, blue, etc. ) are often excluded from recycling. The rest of the glass that is recycled is crushed, melted down or used for things like tiles, concrete pavers and paving jobs. It’s also used in making fiberglass insulation and beads for crafting and jewelry making.
Metal : Metal foods cans and aluminum drink bottles and cans which can be melted down and reused. Recycled scrap metal is often used in making metal in the appliance and building material. It can also be used in automobiles, train tracks and planes. The actual use then depends if it was steel or aluminum.
Plastic : Plastic does require additional separation into the type of plastic. Now the different types of plastics are used for different things.
- PETE/PET : Used for storing bottles of water and other carbonated beverages.
- HDPE/PE : Bottles for detergent, milk juicers, cleaners and plastic bags.
- V/PVC : PVC piping, cling wrap, toys, medical tubing, three ring binders and a digital printer.
- PP : Baby bottles, reusable drink bottles, disposable diapers and food containers.
Plastic can be melted down and turned into plastic pellets which can be used to make new plastic items.
Conclusion : For recycling, it’s important for not just the people to be aware about, but also it does require an advanced technology to be able to tackle the challenges and come up with appropriate solutions. And Endeavor recyclers fill that void with their state of the art recycling facilities and sustainable logistics.
