A Simple Guide to Polypropylene Recycling for Businesses

Polypropylene recycling offers a unique opportunity to give one of the most versatile plastic materials a new and extended life. Abbreviated as PP, polypropylene is a recyclable thermoplastic polymer that is extremely rugged, versatile, and resistant to a range of bases, acids, and chemical solvents. 

For more information, please visit EcoPlas.

The high melting point of polypropylene makes it undoubtedly the most popular plastic packaging material. In fact, around 5 billion pounds of polypropylene plastics are produced every year. However, the American Chemistry Council reports that polypropylene recycling occurs at a rate less than 1% for post-consumer recovery, which is the lowest recycling rate for plastic.  Let’s take a closer look at the importance of polypropylene recycling for businesses. 

A Deeper Look at Polypropylene

Polypropylene is the second-most commonly used plastic and one of the most versatile types of plastics. It was discovered in the mid-1950s by Italian scientists. Today, it’s only surpassed in production volume by polyethylene, which was created a couple decades earlier. Here are a few attributes that make polypropylene such a unique and valuable plastic material:

• Polypropylene is resistant to stress and cracking — even when flexed — which makes it suitable for a range of different hinges.

• This material doesn’t react with bases, acids, detergents, or water, which means it will not easily degrade.

• Polypropylene has a very high melting point, which makes it suitable for a vast range of microwave containers.
  

• This material is extremely durable, which allows it to withstand daily wear and tear.

Why Is Polypropylene Recycling Important?  

As we previously mentioned, the polypropylene recycling rate is nothing short of dismal. Due to the short lifespan of PP packaging, most of polypropylene materials end up in landfills as garbage. The US Environmental Protection Agency estimates that around 20% of solid waste created can be sourced back to some type of plastics.

Once in landfills, polypropylene slowly degrades and can take anywhere from 20-30 years to totally breakdown. This characteristic poses massive environmental concerns because the additives used in the manufacturing may include toxins like cadmium and lead. 

Much of the research suggests cadmium from plastic products can percolate and have dangerous consequences for several biosystems. 

And when these types of thermoplastics are burned, it can discharge harmful vinyl chloride and dioxins. As a result, it’s imperative for businesses to engage in polypropylene recycling — a more cost-effective and eco-friendly solution. 

What Is the Polypropylene Recycling Process?

The recycling process for polypropylene includes five different steps:

1. Polypropylene plastics are collected.
2. The polypropylene material must be separated from other types of plastic polymers. This is regularly achieved through a “sink-float’ separation technique where polypropylene is separated based on its ability to float when other polymers will sink. Other methods of separation can also be used. 
3. The chunks of polypropylene or flakes are then washed with specialized detergents to completely remove contaminants. After being cleaned, the polypropylene chunks or flakes are dried with moderate heat. 
4. In the reprocessing and melting phase, all collected polypropylene products are fed into an extruder. Because of the extremely high melting point of polypropylene, temperatures have to exceed 400 °F to melt the material. Thermal degradation works to compromise the structural intensity of the plastic bonds by weakening the hydrogen and carbon. Once it’s melted, it's cut into granules. 
5. The pellets are then ready to be used in the production of new products. 

What Are the Environmental Benefits of Recycling Polypropylene 

Recycling polypropylene is truly emerging as an economically viable, important option on a very large scale. The top benefit of recycling PP is the reduction of finite, raw resources, such as propane gas and oil. 

It’s estimated that a stunning 8% of all of the oil used in the world (approximately 400 million tons) is used in the manufacturing of traditional plastic. Considering the inherent flexibility of polypropylene, it can be recycled back into a myriad of products, such as:

• Dishware,

• Clothing fibers,

• Food containers,
  

• Contact us to discuss your requirements of recycled polypropylene plastic granules. Our experienced sales team can help you identify the options that best suit your needs.

  Industrial fibers,
  

• Speed humps,
  

• Compost bins, and
  

• Gardening equipment.

Contact AAA Polymer for Assistance with Polypropylene Recycling

As leaders in the recycling industry, the experts at AAA Polymer can help you get the most from polypropylene recycling. Contact AAA Polymer today to learn how we can help you with polypropylene recycling

I have two choices. I can toss the container into the trash can and forget about it. Or I can be responsible. And by responsible I mean wash out what I’d aptly called “The Thing”—because if Stephen King could see what my lunch had turned into, he would have written about it—so I can recycle the plastic container. At that time, I believed all dogs go to heaven and everything we put into recycling bins gets recycled.

I was wrong. Well, wrong about the second part, not the first part (that will forever be indisputable, incontrovertible truth). Though perhaps wrong isn’t the right word, as it’s complicated. Turns out, plastic isn’t that easily recyclable. As I very recently found out, only about 9 percent of plastic waste is recycled, according to 2018 data from the Environmental Protection Agency.

Why such a low percentage?

Before I dive into this, it’s worth noting first that some consumer plastics, such as soda and water bottles and milk jugs, do have a recycling rate that’s close to 30 percent, which is higher but still far from ideal.

The problem stems, in part, from the design. Overall, plastic is “not designed with circularity in mind,” says Jeremy Walters, sustainability ambassador for waste collection and management company Republic Services. “These products are intended to be used one time and then discarded.” 

The many additives and colorants used in the production of plastic products make the recycling process difficult, says Judith Enck, a former regional administrator at the EPA and president of Beyond Plastics, a group committed to ending plastic pollution.

Plastics as a category is also very diverse, says Patrick Krieger, the vice president of sustainability at Plastics Industry Association, an organization that represents plastics makers. There are many different applications, forms, and sizes when it comes to plastics, which makes the recycling process a bit more challenging, though currently, there are new technologies aimed at converting some of the plastics that are difficult to recycle into new plastic products. More than $7.5 billion has been invested in projects and facilities that use these advanced technologies, although more infrastructure still needs to be built to grow these technologies to a larger, more commercial scale, according to American Chemistry Council, a trade association for American chemical companies.

At this stage, these advanced technologies are still not economically viable because it’s still cheaper to make plastic from new materials than it is to reuse old plastic, according to reporting by Kevin Loria, my CR co-worker who has written extensively about plastic waste and recycling. There are, however, a few types of plastic that are easier to recycle than others. 

Which types of plastic are they?

PET plastic bottles (the bottles that water and soda are usually sold in and are labeled as number 1 in the recycling triangle) and HDPE milk jugs (the plastic jugs milk is sold in that are labeled as number 2) are recycled most consistently among the different categories of plastic due to their economic viability.

There are reliable markets for both that transform their plastics into new products. Soda and water bottles can be recycled back into more soda and water bottles, as well as fiber products such as carpets and sweaters, says Chaz Miller, who has worked for the National Waste & Recycling Association and is a member of the Maryland Recycling Network Board. HDPE milk jugs, Miller says, can be recycled into HDPE products such as detergent and shampoo bottles. 

Plastics labeled number 3 through 7 in the recycling triangle are the least recyclable, Loria says. The same thing goes for the majority of plastic bags and packaging film.

In the meantime, how should we recycle?

If not all plastics are actually easily recyclable, should we still be throwing everything into the recycling bin, as I did with that takeout container, which if I recall now was very likely not a number 1 or 2 product?

The answer is no. In fact, the act of chucking every kind of plastic into the recycling bin actually decreases the amount of plastic that gets recycled because it makes separating out the easily recyclable materials more difficult. You might think you’re helping, but you’re actually hurting the whole process.

Instead of doing that, the safest rule to stick to is recycling only number 1 and 2 plastics. But you should also check with your local recycling program to see which types of plastics it accepts, as some facilities recycle, for example, polypropylene (number 5), the plastic commonly used in yogurt containers.

If you want to learn more, please visit our website recycled abs plastic granules supplier.