NATURALLY REFRESHING

Bottle Recycling

Why recycle plastic?

According to the Environment Agency, nearly 3 million tonnes of waste plastic are produced in the UK each year, only 7% of which is recycled. This is approximately 11% of household waste and the rate is set to increase dramatically.

There are a number of reasons why we should recycle our plastic:

• It accounts for 11% of the waste stream which, if recycled, would result in a vast reduction in the amount of rubbish going to landfill
• Plastic is believed to take around 500 years to decompose
• A more serious problem with plastic is the additives contained in them. Additives such as colorants, stabilisers and plasticisers which may contain toxic components such as cadmium and lead.
• Conservation of non-renewable fuels and energy
• The energy savings are sufficient to power a 60W lightbulb for six hours, for each bottle recycled!
• Reduced emissions of CO2 and nitrogen oxide

How our bottles are recycled

Soft drinks bottles (PET) - The washed bottles are chopped into small pieces and fed into the melting vessel, the molten material is either formed into the beads, which may then be used for more bottles or it is made into very fine thread like material.

What our bottles are made into

This may eventually find its way into carpets and fleeces. It can also be spun into a very fine fibre with an appearance like candy floss. This is used as a filling for quilts or jackets, since it has very good insulation properties.