Nearly all

household

plastic bottles

can recycled!

STAGE 1 - Deposited

STAGE 2 - Collected

STAGE 7 - Used

STAGE 3 - Sorted

STAGE 4 - Squashed

STAGE 6 - Granulated

STAGE 5 – Squashed

again!

Click on

each stage

to find out

more!

Plastic bottles are deposited in the recycling banks.

What is

happening

here?

They are collected from the recycling banks and transported to a MATERIALS RECLAMATION FACILITY (MRF).

What is

happening

here?

The bottles are sorted into different types of plastic.

What is

happening

here?

Bottles are squashed into tightly packed blocks.

What is

happening

here?

Powerful bailing machines squash the air out of the bottles to make them easier to transport.

What is

happening

here?

The plastic is then transported to a reprocessing factory where it is granulated (made into small pieces or flakes).

What is

happening

here?

The granulated flakes of plastic are then made into new products such as garden furniture, fleece jackets, pipes and coat hangers.