Why You Need to Keep the Cap on When Recycling Plastic Bottles

We’ve all heard that recycling is important and that we need to do our part to take care of the planet. And while this is true, recycling is not quite as straightforward as it sounds. Take plastics, for example. There are many different kinds of plastics that need to be recycled in different ways. Plastic bottles are often made up of at least two kinds! Whether you collect your bottles to take to a center or just toss them into the blue bin, you need to know the correct process for recycling plastic bottles.

How Are Recycling Materials Sorted?

According to the Association of Plastic Recyclers (APR), sorting recycling materials is a multi-step process. Once items are picked up from their bins and delivered to Material Recovery Facilities (MRFs), there’s a pre-sort process to remove any non-recyclables mixed in. Then, the items get sorted by type.

The APR explains that plastics are “sorted into types using optical sorters.” They clarify that employees still check to prevent machine error. The different types of plastic are then gathered together into bales and sold to recycling facilities. Once at a recycling facility, the APR continues, the plastics are ground down and then sorted again.

Why Does It Matter If The Cap Is On?

The APR explains that different plastics have different densities. During the sorting process at the recycling facility, separating things out in a tank of water allows dense plastics to separate from the ones that float. Once ground up and dropped into the tanks, caps “often made of HDPE plastic, float to the top of the float-sink tank.” Bottles, on the other hand, are often “made of PET, [and] sink to the bottom of the tank.”

Generally, the recycling center will utilize both types of plastic. So, keeping the caps on the bottles when you toss them into the bin allows them to travel safely together until it’s the appropriate time to separate them.

Is This Always True When Recycling Plastic Bottles?

As with most things in life, the answer is “sometimes.” If you take your bottles to a recycling center, you can ask the staff there what the best practice is. This way, you can save them time and ensure that your items are recycled as efficiently as possible. If, however, you toss things in the recycling bin and let the trash trucks handle it, you should assume that keeping the caps on when recycling plastic bottles is best.

Source

The Plastic Recycling Process, Association of Plastic Recyclers.

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