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Segregation as a means of managing waste has become a huge deal globally over the past couple of decades. Companies, organisations, and institutions are now heavily engaged in sorting, organising, and recycling waste products in observance of a more environment-friendly and responsible practice.
However, it’s surprising to know how many of us have quite a limited knowledge in dealing with certain waste materials – particularly plastics.
We here at Lake Macquarie Skips aim to minimise hazardous waste products infiltrating our landfills. Our experience with plastic has given us some knowledge about the types of plastic waste will help you make your waste management more efficient.
There is more to plastic that you may have known
The term ‘plastic’ is such a generic term, covering a wide range of material. When, in fact, there are several types and if your goal is to segregate properly, you must first be aware of some of the basic properties of these waste products before we start disposing them.
Plastic materials can be classified according to these types:
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Polyethylene Terephthalate or PET is commonly used in making oven-ready meal trays as well as bottled beverage containers.
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High-Density Polyethylene or HDPE, on the other hand, is something we normally encounter in liquid detergent containers or in milk bottles.
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Polyvinyl Chloride or PVC is the one in which most food trays, food wrapping films, and water or shampoo bottles are made of.
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The Low-Density Polyethylene or LDPE is notably found in black bin liners/bags which we often use in collecting trash or even your common plastic shopping and grocery bags.
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Polypropylene or PP is used for plastic ropes, textiles, and labelling materials, or even for margarine containers.
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Polystyrene or PS is used for fish trays, egg cartons, plastic cups, and some take-out food containers.
Others, like melamine, do not fit into any of these types are classified as ‘other plastics’. Do we need to segregate and have a specific skip bin for each type of plastic waste? We’ll get into that shortly.
Implications of having different types of plastic waste
To understand the recycling process as a whole, you need to know what companies such as Lake Macquarie Skips, who are experts in assisting clients in managing their waste products, have to go through. It’s not just a simple segregation method, it involves some strict sorting as to which materials can be recycled and reused – resulting in less waste products going to our landfills. These processes of compartmentalisation and categorisation are highly determined by the type of product. And you might as well start dealing with waste products by having different types of skip bins according to the kind of plastic waste.
With Lake Macquarie Skip Bins, you can contribute to more environment-friendly community
Companies like Lake Macquarie Skips, who specialise in recycling, employ quite a variety of methods in sorting plastic waste. For instance, PVC types should go through machine inspection so as to remove all pieces of iron or metal that might have attached to it. While for PET types such as bottles, it is important to segregate them based on density. Some use flotation while grinding (including underwater grinding) turns plastic waste into flakes.
Just imagine how helpful it would be if you started using designated skip bins just for plastics according to these properties. Lake Macquarie Skip Bins come in different sizes and types to suit your needs be it at home, school, canteen, or at work.
What other plastic waste can we start recycling?
Most of these plastic wastes slowly pile up without getting noticed. And the thing is, they are composed of materials that we use every day! From disposable plates, cups, and plastic utensils, to batteries and ink cartridges, you can actually contribute to the growing culture of reuse, recycle, and reduce.
If you want to know more about how the types of plastic waste, modes of segregation, or simply recycling as a whole, call Lake Macquarie Skips now!
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