Some plastics can be recycled. However, if you want to recycle this waste, you have to find the best way to do it. Extrusion is a common plastic recycling process. How does extrusion recycling work? What are its benefits?
How Does Plastic Extrusion Recycling Work?
At the start of the extrusion process, you sort plastic waste into different types. You typically need to recycle the same types of plastic in every load. Then you cut the plastic up into smaller pieces to make the recycling process easier. You might also wash your waste at this stage if it isn't completely clean.
Once your waste is ready, you put it into an extrusion machine. This machine melts the plastic down until it becomes semi-liquid. At this stage, the plastic is malleable enough to be forced through dies. These dies form the liquid plastic into new shapes to make new products.
Once cooled, your old plastic waste has a new use. If necessary, you can then finish it to improve its quality.
What Are the Benefits of Extrusion Recycling?
Any plastic recycling is good for the environment. If you can reduce the amount of new materials you have to use to make plastic products, then your production becomes more sustainable. You don't put pressure on stretched natural resources. Plus, the less plastic waste that goes into landfill, the better. If you use extrusion, you reuse waste that could otherwise harm the planet. Plastic is not easily biodegradable; it pollutes the environment.
Extrusion is a particularly good recycling option because it is a versatile process. It can handle many different types of plastic, including polyethylenes, polystyrenes, and polypropylenes. You can recycle just about all your waste. This process is also one of the more energy-efficient ways to recycle plastic waste. Extrusion doesn't use much energy. Your recycling costs will be lower, and you won't add to environmental burdens by creating more carbon emissions.
From a new product perspective, extrusion is also useful. Once plastic waste turns into a liquid, you can form and shape it into a variety of different configurations. You simply need a die that can turn the liquid into the shape you need. Your production costs will also be lower if you extrude waste than if you work with new materials.
To find out more about how extrusion recycling works and its benefits, talk to plastic processing solution providers near you.
