Can we recycle plastic bags? Definitely yes. Discarded plastic bags need not go to waste.These old plastic bags are getting a new lease of life in a recycling factory in Malaysia. They are transformed into recycled plastic pellets which are used to make stretch films for packaging purposes.
Here's how plastic bag waste is recycled:
Step 1: Plastic bag waste is sorted out according to type as different plastics melt at different temperature. Foreign materials such as paper labels are removed.
Step 2: The plastic bags go through a crusher to be cut into tiny bits. Shredded plastic is conveyed to the washing tank.
Step 3: There are two cycles of washing in water containing detergent and soda. The waste water is filtered, treated and reused so as to conserve water. Remaining residues are sent for disposal.
Step 4: Dried shredded plastic rains down from the 150m-long drying pipe, which has warm air flowing through.
Step 5: The plastic bits are conveyed to a machine to be melted. Molten plastic is of a grey shade due to oxidation.
Step 6: The molten plastic is moulded into noodle-like strings. As they pass through a water bath, the plastic noodles harden.
Step 7: A machine cuts the plastic noodles into tiny pellets of recycled plastic resin.
Test Your Science
1. What can we use in place of plastic bags when we do our shopping?
Discover the difference between the plastic bag and the environmental-friendly bag in the Young Scientists Issue 110 Level 2.
No comments:
Post a Comment