In the manufacture of all kinds of plastic containers and bags, a variety of polymer materials are used. Regarding the ability of most polymers to retrieve, plastic materials can be reused after recycling and recycling. The main issue here is the use of recycled materials in food products. It's actually about recycled materials that are not allowed to pack and store food. Different polymer materials are used in making different plastic containers, for example:
Containers made of carbonated polyethylene terephthalate (PET)
Childrens baby glasses made of polycarbonate (PC) - Due to the high cost of polycarbonates, these types of polymers are less used in food packaging and are mostly used in the manufacture of baby milk glasses.
Packing dishes made of polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP) and polystyrene (PS)
Disposable containers made of PP and PS
PE plastic bags - These bags are mistakenly known as nylon bags.
It should be noted that these plastic materials can contain color in which case the plastic pigment (masterbatch) is used.
How to recycle plastic materials
In the process of recycling plastic materials, the type of polymer that needs to be recycled is considered. All polymer types are recycled separately from other types, otherwise the recycling process will come in handy.
For example: polyethylenes are combined together, polypropylene together and polyamides are recycled, because during the recycling process, the plastic material is crushed then melt and re-use, so if a combination of different plastic materials Such as disposable containers, with different types of wisps and then melt, due to the different melting point of the heterogeneity composition.
The next issue is the lack of color in the plastic material, which is of great importance in the recycling process. Due to the fact that color polymers do not have a uniform color, they are darkened after recycling. As a result, manufacturers use a soot to obtain a solid color, then convert the polymeric material into film and convert it to a plastic bag, We use them as black waste bags.
Sometimes, because of the incorrect use of soot, the hand touches these bags to attract soot particles through the hand. So far, food industry factories are not allowed to use recycled materials for food storage and packaging. The main reason is the lack of compliance with the principles of recycling plastic materials in Iran. It is noteworthy that transparent plastic bags are used for virgin materials, while most black plastics are available on the market from recycled materials.
