Your empty beverage containers have incredible potential as long as they don’t end up in a landfill.
Their journey begins as soon as you put them in a blue bin and continues to a material recovery facility where the containers are sorted by material type.
Cans are shredded melted down and cast into ingots. The ingots are then pressed into sheets and rolled into coils. These rolls are sent to manufacturers where they’re turned into new aluminum cans or used for bicycle parts car parts and more.
Cartons and juice boxes are put into giant blenders filled with water so the paper can be separated from the plastic and aluminum.
The plastic and aluminum mixture is turned into lumber lake or construction materials.
The paper pulp can now be sold to paper or tissue mills or is pressed on a wire screen and heated so it can dry and be turned into rules.
The paper is turned into things like cardboard boxes tissues and more.
Plastic bottles are sorted by color washed and chopped into flake. Then the pieces are sorted again using a flotation process.
Finally they’re melted down into pellets or squeezed into strands which are spun into fibre. The pellets or fiber is turned into new plastic bottles clothing sleeping bags and more.
Glass is broken down or crushed into tiny pieces called colics. Construction workers use these colors for road basis drainage backfill for sewer pipes and more.
So now you know which are empty bottles cans cartons and juice boxes can become as long as they start their journey in a blue bin. Remember whether you’re at home or on the go make sure you recycle everywhere