Plastic waste has become one of the biggest environmental problems facing our planet. Despite efforts to reduce and reuse plastics, millions of tonnes of plastic end up in landfills and oceans every year causing immense damage. Recycling plastics into reusable plastic granules provides a sustainable solution to this growing problem. This article discusses how plastic granules made from recycled plastics can help alleviate the plastic waste crisis and promote a circular plastics economy.

The plastic waste problem

Plastic production has increased exponentially over the past few decades to meet growing consumer demand. However, most plastics are designed for single-use applications and lack recyclability. It is estimated that only around 9% of all plastics ever produced have been recycled, with the rest ending up as waste. Each year, more than 300 million tonnes of plastic waste is generated globally out of which less than 20% is collected for recycling. The rest pollutes land and water bodies polluting soil and oceans. Plastic waste in oceans is a severe threat and it is estimated that by 2050 oceans will contain more plastics than fish. This growing plastic burden has made effective plastic waste management an urgent global priority.

The process of recycling plastics into granules

Recycling plastic waste into plastic granules involves collecting discarded plastics from different waste streams like household, industrial and commercial waste. The plastics are then sorted and cleaned to remove any contaminants. Different types of plastics like PET, HDPE, PVC etc. are separated as they require different recycling processes. The cleaned plastic flakes or bundles are melted and processed in an extruder machine to form plastic pellets or granules. During extrusion, additives may be blended to provide properties required in subsequent molding or thermoforming applications. The recycled plastic granules can then be reused as raw material inputs by various plastic product manufacturers.

Advantages of recycled plastic granules

Using recycled plastic granules provides multiple economic and environmental advantages:

- Reduced plastic waste: Recycling plastics into granules diverts huge quantities of plastic waste from landfills and oceans, helping solve the global plastic waste problem.

- Resource conservation: recycled plastic granules help conserve valuable resources like crude oil and natural gas used for primary plastic production. It reduces reliance on virgin plastics.

- Lower carbon footprint: Recycling plastics is significantly less energy intensive than producing virgin plastics. It lowers greenhouse gas emissions and carbon footprint of plastic products.

- Cost savings: Recycled plastic granules are usually cheaper than virgin plastic pellets. It reduces production costs for plastic product manufacturers.

- Sustainable solution: Recycling plastics promotes the circular economy model where plastic materials are reused repeatedly instead of becoming waste. It ensures plastics are used sustainably.

- Job creation: The plastic recycling industry provides many jobs in collection, sorting, processing and manufacture of value-added products from recycled plastic granules.

End uses of recycled plastic granules

Recycled plastic granules find numerous applications as feedstock in plastic product manufacturing:

- Packaging: Granules are used to make flexible and rigid plastic packaging like carrier bags, trash bins, containers etc.

- Construction: They are used in making drainage pipes, fence posts, parking curbs, flooring tiles etc. for the construction industry.

- Automotive: Car parts like seating, dashboards, door trims etc. use recycled plastic feedstock.

- Textiles: Synthetic fabrics, rugs and carpets contain recycled polyester and nylon.

- Appliances: Major home appliances contain recycled plastic resins in housings and other components.

- Consumer goods: Recycled plastic granules go into making toys, frames, storage containers and various consumer products.

Challenges in plastic recycling

Despite the advantages, plastic recycling still faces some challenges that need to be addressed:

- Limited collection infrastructure in many regions leads to low plastic waste collection rates.

- Presence of multiple polymer types and contamination hinder effective sorting at waste recovery facilities.

- Limited end markets and demand for recycled plastics due to quality issues compared to virgin resins.

- Lack of extended producer responsibility laws in many countries leads to improper waste management.

- Absence of design for recyclability in plastic products further hinders collection and recycling efforts.

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