Plastic recycling

Plastic recycling is the processing of plastic waste into other products. Recycling can reduce dependence on landfills, conserve resources and protect the environment from plastic pollution and greenhouse gas emissions. Recycling rates lag behind those of other recoverable materials, such as aluminium, glass and paper.

From the start of plastic production through to 2015, the world produced around 6.
3 billion tonnes of plastic waste, only 9% of which has been recycled and only ~1% has been recycled more than once.
Of the remaining waste, 12% was incinerated and 79% was either sent to landfills or released into the environment as pollution.

Back to Water & Waste →

Source: Wikipedia · Image: Wikimedia Commons · Public domain

GREENLIFEDIARY

Live lighter at home — free calculators for household energy, water, waste, and carbon, plus plain-English guides to eco swaps, recycling, and low-impact living you can actually stick to.

Get new guides by emailOccasional emails. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.

InformationAbout Contact Privacy Policy Terms of Service Disclaimer Affiliate Disclosure Cookie Policy

Every species, image, fact, and figure is drawn from Wikipedia and Wikimedia Commons, used under public-domain and Creative Commons licenses. No content is AI-generated.