How To Recycle Plastic Bottles & Jugs
Plastic Bottle and Jug Recycling Preparation
Most recycling programs ask that you rinse your bottles and jugs before recycling. The remnants often contain sugar, which will attract insects and generate odors.
You’ll want to check with your local program whether to keep caps on the bottles, or whether caps are accepted at all. Some programs want the cap on to prevent loose caps from falling out during transportation. Others want the cap off to ensure the bottle is empty and because their recycling machinery may be damaged when trying to crush a capped bottle.
You should be OK leaving the label on the bottle, but it’s unlikely to be recycled since it’s a low-grade quality of paper or plastic.
Why Recycle Plastic Bottles and Jugs
Plastic bottles are among the most common sources of marine debris, where they can be mistaken as food by birds and fish
Plastic bottles don’t biodegrade, meaning it will take hundreds of years for them to decompose in a landfill
In America, we use 2.5 million plastic bottles each hour, and they are all designed for one use
Using recycled plastic to make new products saves 66 percent of the energy over using virgin material
Plastic Bottle and Jug Recycling Process
Recycling centers use optical scanners to identify the type of plastic resin, so #1 and #2 plastics are separated from each other and other materials (such as paper and glass). Bottles are then crushed (where caps are removed if you haven’t already done so) and baled to be sent to a plastic recycler.
Recyclers will shred the #1 or #2 plastic into flakes, which are washed, rinsed and dried. Flakes are then melted into pellets, then transported to a manufacturer to make new plastic bottles/jugs or other products, such as lining for sleeping bags, T-shirts, carpet or playground equipmen