May 14, 2025
Science

Why can’t we recycle plastics by melting and shaping them like metals? (If you read it, you say they knew something!)

  • June 8, 2024
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Polyethylene, polypropylene, PVC While the plastic varieties that are increasingly common in most of the products we use make our lives easier, they are also harmful to our

Why can’t we recycle plastics by melting and shaping them like metals?  (If you read it, you say they knew something!)

Polyethylene, polypropylene, PVC While the plastic varieties that are increasingly common in most of the products we use make our lives easier, they are also harmful to our environment.

So plastic consisting of different components It’s like a chemical puzzle with its different types. Of course, recycling is also difficult.

Why can’t we melt and combine plastics? The main reason is that not all plastics consist of the same chemical components.

different types of plastic products

PVC (polyvinyl chloride), PS (polystyrene), PET (polyethylene terephthalate) and other various plastic resins from different chemical structures is formed.

For this reason each have different melting points. Because they consist of different chemical components, each plastic is also suitable for any substance. It does not react the same as the other.

Moreover, when metals are reheated while remaining chemically stable breaking of polymer chains by heat, such as changes in physical properties The problems make it difficult for plastics to remain stable.

In addition, plastics generally break down when heated. deterioration of chemical structures It can also cause us to render them unusable as we try to recycle them.

This makes plastics resemble metals. makes it difficult to melt and reshape

Let’s say we melted different types of plastic and brought them together. What happens then?

colored plastic bottles

Due to their different structures, we heat all plastics at the same time It will not react the same to heat.

For this reason, even if you get the right temperature, structurally weak, separated into layers and you’ll probably end up with a pile of plastic that’s difficult to handle.

Source: Scientific American, The Hour

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