How Does a Recycling Plant Work?

Several steps must to be followed before recyclable goods such as paper, plastic, and glass get to the plants. By the time these products arrive at the recycling plant, they are separated and ready to be made into whatever their new uses will be.

Collecting and Sorting of Recyclable Items

Consumers place their recycled products in bins around their city, or they have it picked up along with their trash. This includes such products as plastics, paper, glass bottles, and soda cans. The trucks that pick up the recyclable items take them to a facility within the city where all of these pieces have to be sorted.

Automation Process 

The process of sorting is almost completely automated so that what is in the truck is placed on a huge conveyor belt and items such as fiberboard are removed and then everything it weighed. Items on the conveyor belt go under a section at some point that has a magnetic field in order to remove steel, tin cans, and ferrous metals. Glass cannot be sorted with machines and has to be removed separately.

Arrival at the Recycling Plant

The items are then sorted into the type that they are, for instance plastics in one bin, glass in another, paper in another, and so forth. These are packed tightly and sent to the actual recycling plant. Once at the plant, these are ready to be processed into their new items. Plastics are melted, paper is normally placed in water and will made into new paper products, glass is broken down, and so forth.