Plastic recycling

Kunststoff–Recycling

Hello everyone

Return of plastic bottles .......

These bottles are often made of PP (polypropylene), PE (polyethylene) or PS (polystyrene).
I also throw film and other plastic items into the collection.

What is made of the plastic?
I would be interested to know exactly how the recycling process works or is it just collected and then incinerated?

It would be possible to save a lot of plastic, there is a lot of potential, especially with packaging. Ecology also means cutting back on profits and minimizing additional costs!

I look forward to many contributions.
Kind regards Martin

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All replies (15)

Guest

Hello Martin_Streitl,

Thank you for your interest in Migros' ideas on sustainability. Migros was indeed the first retailer to establish such a comprehensive take-back system for waste and recycling in Switzerland. You can also find comprehensive information on this here:
http://www.migros.ch/generation-m/de/nachhaltigkeit-bei-der-migros/umwelt/abfall-recycling.html
You can find more specific information on the recycling of plastic bottles here:
http://www.migros.ch/generation-m/de/nachhaltigkeit-bei-der-migros/unsere-versprechen/versprechen-filter/versprechen-umwelt/plastik.html
This also shows that the plastic waste is not incinerated, but processed further and is then mainly used in the construction industry.

I hope this has helped you a little.

Kind regards,
Antonia, Migipedia team

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sirio60

So foils and other plastic objects can also be thrown in if the material is right? I thought I was well informed, but I had never read about this before. If this is the case, I will of course do so in future.

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sirio60

And another thing: if PS (polystyrene) is also accepted, then Sagex from packaging can also be thrown in. I happen to have quite a lot of it in my cellar at the moment!

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Martin_Streitl

Hello Antonia

Thank you for your feedback.
It would be important to me that not only bottles but also plastic film and other plastics can be thrown in.
This should not play a role in recycling.
Migros employees are not sufficiently informed about this. It would be nice if they knew exactly how to dispose of what.

Thank you for your support
Kind regards Martin

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Frederica

Plastic bottle recycling ♲ says yes:

"What is collected?
Empty plastic bottles from dairy products, detergents and cleaning agents, shampoos, shower gels, soaps, lotions, creams, vinegar, oil, sauces, plant fertilizers

What does not belong in the collection?
PET drinks bottles, drinks cartons (e.g. Tetra Pak), plastic bottles from the DIY, garden and car sectors, bowls, cups, tubes, foils, refill bags" ♼

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sirio60

Unfortunately, there are far too few people with an attitude like ours. Otherwise, we would have long since come as far with plastic recycling in Switzerland as we have with glass or metal. The Migros project is the first one that will (hopefully) work in the long term. Over the years, I have seen pilot projects that all had to be discontinued because the quality of the collected material did not allow for economical processing (dirty, wrong materials, foreign substances, etc.). In addition, many people are simply too lazy to inform themselves and separate their waste in a targeted manner: throwing it in the garbage bag is more convenient. I myself would be an enthusiastic plastic recycler. The advantage is threefold: it's environmentally friendly and saves resources, it's also economically interesting (garbage bag charges) and - at least for me - it's even fun. Incidentally, Coop has also started collecting plastic bottles. Purely by chance, I recently saw in the parking garage of a store near me that other plastic bottles can also be thrown in with the milk bottles. As far as I know, Coop did not provide much information in advance. This may be because a large influx of plastic bottles is not wanted at all, or because it is all too obvious that the pressure to move after the Migros initiative was the decisive factor.

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sirio60

So if Migros, or Coop for that matter, only tolerate plastic bottles according to Istambul's information, they will have their reasons, and they have every right to do so. After all, it is not the task of the major distributors to operate a wide-ranging recycling service. In France and, I believe, also in Italy, there have long been public containers in which plastics of all kinds can be deposited. If these are not just token exercises, then there are obviously methods for automatically separating different types of plastic on a large scale.

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Martin_Streitl

@Frederica
Are your statements well-founded or simply parroted from Migros?
For me, the question still arises as to what the difference is that PE film and PE bottles cannot be recycled together. Both consist of macromolecules with the same structure.

It would be nice if Migros would publish a report in the magazine showing exactly what is produced from the plastic products. I know that recycling is very difficult, a lot has already been done about it! Most plastic is incinerated, unfortunately!

It would be ecologically better to do without plastic. Unfortunately, the packaging industry has not yet learned much about environmentally friendly packaging!
Unfortunately, neither has Migros.

A small example:
Ravioli is a four-pack promotion. Four cans are sealed in one foil.
With the barcode, it would be easy to credit the promotion at the checkout after four cans. Without foil!

Ecology also means a small amount of sacrifice and a little extra effort!

Looking forward to lots of ideas and good answers
Kind regards Martin

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Frederica

@martin

I found my information on Generation M:

http://w ww.migros.ch/generation-m/de/nachhaltig-leben/recycling-und-wiederverwertung/plastik-recycling.html

As I think we have one of the best waste disposal sites in our municipality, most of it goes there:

http://w ww.leplateaudediesse.ch/documents/showFile.asp?ID=2934

Greetings
Istanbul

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sirio60

One reason why only bottles are accepted is probably due to the processing. As far as I know, for example, the caps have to be removed and destroyed first, as they cannot be recycled (nevertheless, they should not be removed before throwing in, as otherwise odor emissions will occur). If films etc. are included in this processing stage, things become more complicated. As I said, mixed collection would certainly be possible, but would certainly be much more complex and correspondingly cost-intensive.

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