Which plastics cannot be recycled and what happens to it?

Answer 1

It goes to the dump.

But here's something else: even with recyclable plastics, there are many more that need to be recycled than there are facilities and manpower to do the recycling. So the extra plastic is "stored" at landfills (and guess what? They never get it out).

Answer 2

Plastics have a number on the bottom in a triangle. 1 through7. They all can be recycled but it depends on your county or agency doing the recycling which they take. That is determined by the facilities that they have and the market they have to sell the materials. Styfofoam is a problem, it can be recycled but the cost is high for working with it. If plastic is not recycled it is buried in a landfill or incinerated. We should recycle it, it does not biodegrade in the landfill. In an incinerator(resource recovery) using the heat to make electricity it can be burned at 2500degrees without air pollution. It goes down to CO2 and H2O.

Answer 3

i think PVC cannot be recycle. it just fills up landfills or is burnt.
and also they don't recycle used bottles that contained oily material and also yougurt cups are not recycle. same as PVC they end in landfills or are burnt.

Answer 4

Hi

richard_b's link is quite informative, I do not have anything to add except on the subject of recycling.

Do you know it only takes one plastic bottle top to make one adult size fleece sweater

Answer 5

if it is not burnt or trapped in a landfill then it might eventually reach the oceans or seas and end up being eaten by many turtles or fish and might kill them and then again eaten by marine life and the cycle continues

Answer 6

http://www.recycle-more.co.uk/nav/page688.aspx

Try this link