The 4R Principle and its implementation

Hello, everyone!

In social media handles of Recycler India, you'd have got enough knowledge about the 4R Principle. Right? Let's go little further where I would explain little more about every R. But, before we move further, it is necessary t rewind what is 4R Principle and what other stands for.

The 4R principle is nothing but the revision of 3R which are in practice since long ago to fight plastic pollution. These three Rs are Reduce, Reuse and Recycle. The fourth R comes into practice is Refuse. Let's go into little brief here.

1. Reduce -  Reduce the waste you generate. Reduce the resources you are using. By doing so, you would save the money as well nature.

2. Reuse - Reusing has its root back in history where people have used one thing or other for different purposes to get full benefits from the product instead of throwing it off.

3. Recycle -  Recycling is the process of converting waste materials into new materials and objects. It is an alternative to "conventional" waste disposal. Unlike reusing where you use old stuff for the same purpose and in the same condition, recycling is little different as it often includes the material to go through a process and make some different products. There are two different kinds of approaches are there regarding the recycling known as upcycling and downcycling. Upcycling is the process by which waste materials are used to provide new, high-quality products. Upcycling is the process by which waste materials are used to provide new, high-quality products. Downcycling is a type of recycling where the original product is broken down into parts and made into something new, but loses some of its original quality in the process and is often made into a product of lesser quality.

4. Refuse -  More often, we come across many products which we can't reuse or recycle. That's where we are said to refuse it. Many awareness campaigns and social media campaigns against some harmful products use Refuse to show their tolerance. Interestingly, this World Environment Day's theme is "Beat Plastic Pollution" and the tagline is "If you can't reuse it, refuse it". This shows the importance of this R.

How to implement this 4R in your daily routine?

 No one alone can beat plastic pollution and global warming. For that, everyone needs to contribute their part to the environment and this starts from your home, your daily routine. Follow this simple rules in your daily life:

1. Do not buy bottled water unless there is no option.

2. Do not ask for polythene bags, instead use your own cloth bag for groceries and vegetables.

3. Say no to straw. You may find it useful but when it goes to landfills/oceans, it kills others.

4. Segregate waste at home and dispose of them accordingly.

5. Stop buying things with excessive packaging.

6. Do not throw E-waste in the solid waste container.

7. Use reusable water bottle.

8. Use your own coffee mug and refuse plastic cups.

9. Buy less, choose well.

10. Ask local bodies for multiple bins for source segregation.

11. Participate actively in recycling awareness programs.

Keep recycling :)

Types of plastics and general introduction.

In the last post, we have learned about plastics and their classification based on their reaction to heat treatement. The main two types were thermoplastics and thermoetting polymers. Let's continue it further.

We use vast numbers of plastics and these plastics are often blended with each other to get desirable properties which makes them complex in structure and to identify which type of plasti it is. Still. there are some plastics which are identical in nature and their tructure and are used widely across the globe. Since, it is necessary to identify what type of plastic is, their identification should be easy. That way, it can be easily used and also to recycle used material.

The Society of the Plastics Industry introduced the Resin Identification Code (RIC) system in 1988 as a growing number of communities were implementing recycling programs. In order to address the concerns of recyclers across the U.S., the RIC system was designed to make it easier for workers in Materials Recovery and Recycling facilities to sort and separate items according to their resin type. Plastics must be recycled separately, with like materials, in order to preserve the material’s value and enable its reuse in other products after being recycled.

RIC was developed originally by the Society of the Plastics Industry (now the Plastics Industry Association) in 1988, but has been administered by ASTM International since 2008.

Following are the seven types defined by the RIC system:

♳ Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET)

♴  High-density polyethylene (HDPE)

♵  Polyvinyl chloride (PVC or V)

♶ Low-density polyethylene (LDPE)

♷  Polypropylene (PP)

♸  Polystyrene (PS)

♹ Other plastics (OTHER or O)  

Let's get the primary introduction and uses for each of them.

#1 Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET)  ♳

PET is indicated by #1 in the resin identication code system and it is used for Polyester fibres (Polar Fleece), thermoformed sheet, strapping, soft drink bottles, tote bags, furniture, carpet, paneling and (occasionally) new containers and bottles. It can be recycled easily.

#2  High-density polyethylene (HDPE) ♴

HDPE is indicated by #2 in the RIC system and is used in Bottles, grocery bags, milk jugs, recycling bins, agricultural pipe, base cups, car stops, playground equipment, and plastic lumber. HDPE is also recyled. 

 #3 Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC) ♵

PVC is indicated by #3 in the RIC system and is extensively used for pipes, window profile, siding, fencing, flooring, shower curtains, lawn chairs, non-food bottles, and children's toys. It contains Chlorine which makes it hard to recycle but still, it is extensively recycled in Europe. 

 #4 Low-density polyehtylene (LDPE) ♶

 LDPE is indicated by #4 and is used for plastic bags, six pack rings, various containers, dispensing bottles, wash bottles, tubing, and various molded laboratory equipments. Apart fron plastic bags, most of the things are accepted by the recycling centres.

#5 Polypropylene (PP) ♷

PP is indicated by #5 and is used in auto parts, industrial fibres, food containers, and dishware. Some recycling centres accept PP for recycling.

#6 Polystyrene (PS) ♸

PS is indicated by #6 and is exclusively used in desk accessories, cafeteria trays, plastic utensils, toys, video cassettes and cases, clamshell containers, packaging peanuts, and insulation board and other expanded polystyrene products (e.g., Styrofoam)

#7 Other plastics (O) ♹

 All the other plastic are indicated by #7. It can include other plastics such as acrylic, nylon, polycarbonate, and polylactic acid (a bioplastic), and multilayer combinations of different plastics. As these can be used to indicate a single plastic or mixture of different plastics, it is hard to recycle them but if manufacturer provide the plastic properties and type of plastic used, it can be recycled depending upon the type. It is used in bottles, plastic lumber applications, headlight lenses, and safety shields/glasses.

These seven types of plastics can be easily identified by checking their RIC system number and you can easily segregate different plastics. Segregation of plastics makes it easy task for the recycling centre to identify and recycle them. This way, you can save energy and time. Also, you help nature and environment from pollution and global warming.

We'll discuss these plastics in detail in next few posts.

Keep recycling :)

Introduction to Plastics

Hello folks!

As you might have seen on the social media like Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn or Twitter, Team Recycler is posting stuff about plastic and plastic waste. Their new campaign called #LearnWithRecycler is all about plastic and I am here to introduce you all to Plastic.

Everyone in the world is familiar with Plastics. If you look around yourself, you won't took more than two seconds to notice things made up plastics. From the plastic cups to drink the tea/coffee to the laptop casing, water bottles, mobile phone casings, chairs, doors and windows, most of the things around us are made up of plastics or contains part of plastics. We're highly reliable on this versatile material for our daily routine activities. From Tiffin boxes to the vehicle we use to travel contains plastic in them. Without plastic, it is hard to imagine this modern world.

Let's get into little brief about plastics. Plastics are basically synthetic or semi-synthetic carbon polymers. They are malleable, therefore, can be moulded easily in any desired shape. Synthetic plastics are often derived from petrochemicals like crude oil.

Plastic posses various amazing properties which makes it superior to the traditionally used material to manufacture things. Plastic is very easy to manufacture and can be moulded in any given shape. Unlike other materials, it is very cheap and easily available. Its molecular structure is complex and because it is available so many types, it is possible to make different types of plastics according to the need.

Plastics are primarily of two types on the basis of their behaviour when they are exposed to heat: Thermoplastics and thermosetting. Thermoplastics are the plastics which when heated, do not goes undergo any chemical change in their composition and can be recycled and moulded again and again. Examples: Polyethylene, polypropylene, polystyrene, PVC, etc.,

On the other hand, thermosets or thermosetting polymers can melt and mould only for once. The shape cannot be changed afterwards as these type of plastics do not undergo the reversible reaction when heated. Examples: vulcanization of rubber.

Another type of classification is done on the type of resin. The resin identification number can be seen on most of the plastic utensils and bottles etc., which indicates their type of resin. There are total seven such types in which primary six plastics have their own unique numbers from one to six digits while all the other plastics are included in the seventh category.

We will discuss more of these seven types in detail in the next post. Till then, keep recycling.

About us

Hello everyone!

Greetings from Recyler,

Before we start exploring the world around Recycler India, we would like to give you a brief introduction.

Recycler is a startup incubated at PDPU Innovation and Incubation Center, Pandit Deendayal Petroleum University, situated at Gandhinagar, the capital of Gujarat. Recycler is extremely focused on transforming plastic waste into valuable products like Paver blocks and 3D Printer Filaments. These pavers are of high strength and have better durability than conventional pavers. Apart from selling the paver blocks, we are also licensing our technology to other people who want to establish such plants at their location. Our team consists of graduate mechanical engineers who are the brain behind this revolutionary technology in the field of waste recycling and improving the waste value chain.

For more information, you can visit their website. You can find more about product details, the company profile and contact information there.

Back to the blog, we're going to post the news related to recycling and environment. The sole purpose of this blog is to spread awareness in the people about recycling, environment and sustainibility. We hope we would help few souls by doing so.

Keep recycling.

~Team Recycler