The diagram illustrates the nine-stage process through which discarded plastic bottles are recycled and transformed into new products.
Overall, plastic recycling is a cyclical process that begins with the collection of used bottles and ends with the manufacture of new plastic goods. The main stages involve sorting, compressing, crushing and processing the waste into reusable raw materials.
Initially, used plastic bottles are deposited in designated recycling bins, which are subsequently emptied by collection trucks. The waste is then transported to a recycling facility, where workers manually separate recyclable bottles from unsuitable materials. Once selected, the bottles are compressed into compact blocks before being crushed into small fragments. These fragments are subsequently washed to remove impurities.
Following this, the cleaned plastic pieces are fed into a machine that converts them into small pellets. The pellets are then heated to produce raw plastic material, which is formed into solid blocks. In the final stage, this recycled material is used to manufacture a variety of products, including bottles, clothing, shopping bags and stationery. Some of these items can eventually be recycled again, completing the cycle.