The diagram illustrates a cycle of glass and plastic products with recycling. The graph consists of a short mutual path of both materials, and also two separated processes distinguished by products’ type.
The cycle starts with a new product regardless of material. The typical period of a product on the market is between three and eight weeks, ending in a trash bin collection. After a short time (5-10 days), garbage is transported to a recycling centre, where items are sorted by their type.
The first phase of glass recycling begins with sorting by colour, followed by crushing into small pieces. Next, everything is properly washed and then melted and reshaped to a new form. The latter stages have to be performed on two separate machines.
Similarly, plastic bottles are also sorted by their thickness and quality. The following stages involve bundling into blocks and shredding into small particles. Ultimately, in the same machine, the mixture is cleaned from dirt, melted and reshaped into a new product.