Plastic is cheap, tough and hard-wearing. No wonder so many things are made of plastic these days!
Plastic does not rot, however. So it often ends up in landfills. There are many different kinds of plastic. Some are hard to recycle.
Cloth is easier to recycle. It can be cut up and put into mattresses.
These sheets are made from recycled plastic.
A single bottle may contain several different types of plastic. So, at the recycling plant, plastics are sorted by hand or machine. The plastic is shredded into tiny flakes, which are melted and made into new things.
Your boots may contain recycled plastic.
Recycled plastic has many uses. Some is used to make garden chairs, fence posts, waterproof boots or new bottles. Other plastics provide stuffing for pillows and duvets or are made into fleecy coats.
Old clothes are cut into rags. They can be used for cleaning.
Worn-out clothes and other textiles can also be recycled. You can reuse them as cleaning cloths at home or send them for recycling.
Some old clothes are cut into rags and used to wipe machinery. Other clothes are ripped up and the threads woven to make new clothes or used to stuff seats and mattresses.
If you use cloth bags it cuts down on litter.
Most supermarkets hand out plastic bags to their customers to carry home their shopping. Because the bags are free, we often just throw them away at home.
Some supermarkets have started charging for the bags. This encourages people to reuse them or to use strong cloth or canvas bags instead. This cuts down on the litter and waste caused by old plastic bags.
Picture Credit : Google