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Plastic Recycling

Where can I recycle plastic in Warwickshire?

Plastic recycling facilities are available at all of the household waste recycling centres in Warwickshire. Before visiting the site please remove any lids from bottles, and wash and squash the plastic to reduce odours and increase the loads collected. Your district or borough council is responsible for the kerbside collection of plastic.

Recycle Which plastic can be recycled?

The household waste recycling centres in Warwickshire collect PET (No1 e.g. soft drinks) and HDPE (No2 e.g. milk) plastic bottles only. The majority of plastic bottles produced are made from one of the above plastics, however there are certain exceptions.

Whilst there is well established market for plastic bottles in this country, other plastics are not so easily recycled. Mixed plastic can often be destined for export to countries where it is more difficult to ensure that they are being handled in the correct manner.

Warwickshire County Council are continually seeking new outlets for plastic recycling and we will strive to offer new services if sustainable outlets can be secured.

Why recycle plastic?

According to the Environment Agency, nearly 3 million tonnes of waste plastic are produced in the UK each year, only 7% of which is recycled. There are a number of reasons why we should recycle our plastic:

It accounts for 11% of the waste stream which, if recycled, would result in a vast reduction in the amount of rubbish going to landfill.
Plastic is believed to take around 500 years to decompose.
A more serious problem with plastic is the additives contained in them. Additives such as colorants, stabilisers and plasticisers which may contain toxic components such as cadmium and lead.
Conservation of non-renewable fuels and energy.
The energy savings are sufficient to power a 60W lightbulb for six hours, for each bottle recycled! (Recoup)
Reduced emissions of CO₂ and nitrogen oxide.
What is the plastic recycled into?

The plastic collected in the recycling containers at household waste recycling centres are stored and sorted for delivery to various local outlets. Each type of plastic has different properties, which lends itself to different end products.

Milk bottles (HDPE)
Firstly, the bottles are washed and all labels are removed. The paper from the labels is eventually dried and this is then recycled into low grade cardboard for packaging.

The washed bottles are then chopped into small pieces and fed into the melting vessel. During the melting process, all the plastic is coloured black. This is done by mixing the plastic with the residues from recycled printer cartridges.

The black molten plastic then falls through a sieve and is rapidly cooled. The plastic has now taken to appearance of small black beads. Some of this material is bagged and sold on to other plastic factories, where it may be turned into such diverse items as plant pots, car parts and toys.

The remaining plastic beads are melted again and made into black drainage pipes used for land drains and highway drains.

Soft drinks bottles (PET)
The PET bottles are subject to the same initial process. However, the molten material is not coloured and is either formed into the beads, which may then be used for more bottles or it is made into very fine thread like material. This may eventually find its way into carpets and fleeces. It can also be spun into a very fine fibre with an appearance like candy floss. This is used as a filling for quilts or jackets, since it has very good insulation properties.

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Plastic Recycling

Where can I recycle plastic in Warwickshire? Plastic recycling facilities are available at all of the household waste recycling centres in Warwickshire. Before visiting the site please remove any lids from bottles, and wash and squash the plastic to reduce odours and increase the loads collected. Your district or borough council is responsible for the kerbside collection of plastic.

		Which plastic can be recycled? The household waste recycling centres in Warwickshire collect PET (No1 e.g. soft drinks) and HDPE (No2 e.g. milk) plastic bottles only. The majority of plastic bottles produced are made from one of the above plastics, however there are certain exceptions. Whilst there is well established market for plastic bottles in this country, other plastics are not so easily recycled. Mixed plastic can often be destined for export to countries where it is more difficult to ensure that they are being handled in the correct manner. Warwickshire County Council are continually seeking new outlets for plastic recycling and we will strive to offer new services if sustainable outlets can be secured.

Why recycle plastic? According to the Environment Agency, nearly 3 million tonnes of waste plastic are produced in the UK each year, only 7% of which is recycled. There are a number of reasons why we should recycle our plastic: It accounts for 11% of the waste stream which, if recycled, would result in a vast reduction in the amount of rubbish going to landfill. Plastic is believed to take around 500 years to decompose. A more serious problem with plastic is the additives contained in them. Additives such as colorants, stabilisers and plasticisers which may contain toxic components such as cadmium and lead. Conservation of non-renewable fuels and energy. The energy savings are sufficient to power a 60W lightbulb for six hours, for each bottle recycled! (Recoup) Reduced emissions of CO₂ and nitrogen oxide. What is the plastic recycled into? The plastic collected in the recycling containers at household waste recycling centres are stored and sorted for delivery to various local outlets. Each type of plastic has different properties, which lends itself to different end products. Milk bottles (HDPE) Firstly, the bottles are washed and all labels are removed. The paper from the labels is eventually dried and this is then recycled into low grade cardboard for packaging. The washed bottles are then chopped into small pieces and fed into the melting vessel. During the melting process, all the plastic is coloured black. This is done by mixing the plastic with the residues from recycled printer cartridges. The black molten plastic then falls through a sieve and is rapidly cooled. The plastic has now taken to appearance of small black beads. Some of this material is bagged and sold on to other plastic factories, where it may be turned into such diverse items as plant pots, car parts and toys. The remaining plastic beads are melted again and made into black drainage pipes used for land drains and highway drains. Soft drinks bottles (PET) The PET bottles are subject to the same initial process. However, the molten material is not coloured and is either formed into the beads, which may then be used for more bottles or it is made into very fine thread like material. This may eventually find its way into carpets and fleeces. It can also be spun into a very fine fibre with an appearance like candy floss. This is used as a filling for quilts or jackets, since it has very good insulation properties.