‘Giving packaging a new life’ and ‘How it’s made’ provide insight
into the manufacturing and recyclability of particular packaging techniques and
materials. It is import for people to
watch this clip as awareness is created through the in-depth detailing of
various processes which forces the viewer to make conscious decisions both when
designing and in day-to-day life in the future.
Glass
The natural resources of Celica sand, soda and limestone
produce glass. Glass is relatively easy to recycle hence is a relatively sustainable
material choice. About 2.7 million tonnes of glass waste are recycled each
year. However a key component to the
recycling of glass is the removal of fragments which can be blown out by an optoelectronic
devices. Although a sustainable choice, glass is increasingly being replaced by
plastics as plastic weighs less which reduced transportation cost and is not as
hazardous as glass when broken. Many worry that plastic is not as durable as
glass however mixed plastics are heavy duty and are being increasingly used in high
strength areas eg palettes, railway parts.
Plastics
½ million tonnes of plastic is recycled a year, this is 2/3
of the quantity produced. A crucial
aspect of recycling plastics is sorting; Optical sorting machines sort plastic
into the various types before they can be recycled. This mechanical process is accurate
and reliable enhancing the end quality of the recycled plastic being produced. PET used to produce drinking bottles is the most
popular type of plastic as it is the easiest to recycle. However only 10
percent of PET bottles can be recycled and this 10 percent is made up from the scraps
of processing the new material. This low percentage is due to the material cannot
be cleaned well enough to meet health regulations.
Aluminium
Aluminium uses 120thof the energy of other goods
and it can be recycled over and over again through melting- casted and being rolled
into sheets. Water based coatings must be applied to aluminium before it can be
created into food packaging like cans. This is to prevent contamination. Further
when recycling cans the aluminium must go through a six stage of cleaning. Aluminium
‘foil’ is a key material which makes up Tertra Pac which is an ideal packaging
technique for long shelf life products. This
packaging can be made from entirely recyclable materials, while the plastic and
aluminium can be recycled to produce cement. New infrared technology has
allowed separation of the cartoon relieving manual labour.
No comments:
Post a Comment