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An Eye-Opening Look at How Plastic Bottles are Recycled Into Clothing

By Rain Noe - April 9, 2012

in Materials | Sustainable Design

It's awesome to think we can recycle plastic bottles into polyester thread that can be used to make clothes. But when you actually see this process in action, you have to wonder—between the shipping and the factory machinery, what's the carbon balance here? Not to mention the human health cost? We think you'll be surprised to see what goes into the process:

It also makes you realize that if we could do the impossible and get people to pre-separate their recycleables, we could probably save a lot of trouble down the line. For example, if all drinks bottles were separated from their caps, and further separated by color. But that would be a massive design problem requiring multiple containers in each household, and a level of vigilance I just don't think our society is ready to undertake.

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Scott

12 years ago

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Nermal-

It would undoubtedly be quicker, but they are only shredding them first to save on shipping volume. The scrap gets put on a container and sent to China, where some poor bastard has to sort the little shreds by color. When you're paying that person a dollar an hour, his efficiency his not very important. It's cheaper to throw Chinese people at it than it is to buy an expensive sorting machine on the US side.
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Lawrence Whiting

12 years ago

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Simply dictate that all plastic bottles must be made of clear plastic - it would simplify the recycling process!
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Maria

12 years ago

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Fascinating! I love stuff like this.
Nermal - I went to a recycling plant in the Chicago suburbs that was a little more high tech than this one. It automatically sorted colors by light beams. That way, the green Mountain Dew shreds could be turned into Mountain Dew bottles again quicker and easier. It was awesome!
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Nermal

12 years ago

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It's strange that they shred it, then sort it. Wouldn't it be quicker to sort for color first?
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Tom Mc

12 years ago

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That's why I laugh when all the greenies misinform the masses that paper is more economical than plastic, or that plastic recycling is always more energy efficient than creating new plastic. Look at a lifecycle analysis of pretty much any product to determine if it's worth recycling or not. Some cases yes - in many, no. Not in a rational sense anyway. Recycling makes people feel good even if it's energy-intensive.

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