We all have heard about recycling at some point in our lives. Have you wondered what happens once your plastic waste is sent for recycling? It either goes to a recycling facility or a landfill. The former destination has its own challenges due to the lack of segregation.

Though there is a rise in recycling rates, the amount of plastic being recycled is still far behind the amount that goes to landfills.

India alone generates more than 2600 truckloads of plastic waste each day, with recycling rates rising, yet more than 40% of the waste generated ends up in our landfills.

Lack of segregation of plastic is a significant bottleneck in the recycling process.

Once the plastic waste reaches the sorting facility, it is manually sorted by workers to ensure plastics of a kind are sorted.

Your shampoo or soda bottle and its cap are made of different plastic, which needs to be separated to ensure efficient recycling or further treatment of the waste. On the other hand, the deodorant or spray cans are trickier to sort due to their distinctive manufacturing.

With 7 labeled plastics being used to manufacture our everyday products, except for PET and HDPE type of plastic, the rest require additional sorting and treatment process.

Segregation is crucial since recycling a combined mix of various plastics results in a poor and brittle product which reduces the efficiency of the process.

Type, colour, make, and more are essential in ensuring the plastic waste is recycled and reused to its optimal value.

If you are an organisation, brand, community, school, or a producer, Team Recykal’s tailor-made programs in waste management, especially segregation of waste is your solution.