Process

Post-consumer waste

The abandoned PET packaging is alone by the customer afterwards use and becomes PET waste. In the recycling industry, this is referred to as "post-consumer PET." Many bounded governments and decay accumulating agencies accept started to aggregate post-consumer PET alone from added domiciliary waste. Besides that there is alembic drop legislation in some countries which aswell applies to PET bottles.

Reverse automat apparatus for abandoned cooler cans and PET bottles in an Aldi bazaar in Germany.

Recycling bins usually cover one for canteen and/or artificial bottles, such as this one in Singapore.

editSorting

When the PET canteen is alternate to an accustomed accretion center, or to the aboriginal agent in some jurisdictions, the drop is partly or absolutely refunded to the redeemer. In both cases the calm post-consumer PET is taken to recycling centres accepted as abstracts accretion accessories (MRF) area it is sorted and afar from added abstracts such as metal, altar fabricated out of added adamant plastics such as PVC, HDPE, polypropylene, adjustable plastics such as those acclimated for accoutrements (generally low body polyethylene), alcohol cartons, glass, and annihilation abroad which is not fabricated out of PET.

Post-consumer PET is generally sorted into altered colour fractions: cellophane or uncoloured PET, dejected and blooming coloured PET, and the butt into a alloyed colours fraction. The actualization of new colours (such as amber for artificial beer bottles) added complicates the allocation action for the recycling industry.

PET bottles are sorted out from added plastics in abstracts accretion facility.

Bales of ashamed PET bottles sorted according to the colour to blue, cellophane and blooming ones.

editProcessing for sale

Bales of ashamed PET bottles

This sorted post-consumer PET decay is crushed, apprenticed into bales and offered for auction to recycling companies. Colourless/light dejected post-consumer PET attracts college sales prices compared to the darker dejected and blooming fractions. The alloyed colour atom is the atomic valuable.

editFurther treatment

The Added analysis action includes crushing, washing, amid and drying. Recycling companies will added amusement the post-consumer PET by shredding the actual into baby fragments. These bits still accommodate residues of the aboriginal content, disconnected cardboard labels and artificial caps. These are removed by altered processes, consistent in authentic PET fragments, or "PET flakes". PET flakes are acclimated as the raw actual for a ambit of articles that would contrarily be fabricated of polyester. Examples cover polyester fibres (a abject actual for the assembly of clothing, pillows, carpets, etc.), polyester sheets, strapping, or aback into PET bottles etc.