The life cycle of a product or material is defined in relation to the time that elapses from its manufacture to its use or the moment in which it fulfils the final objective for which it was created.
Apparently a PET plastic bottle has a few months to last and if it ends up in a landfill or landfill it will take between 450 and 700 years to decompose. The production and use time of these containers does not usually vary much and is quite short, however what would appear to be the end of their life cycle could be just the beginning.
In reality, PET plastic has the potential to live a long life if we give it the chance.
Although it seems unrealistic, the PET plastic used to make all kinds of bottles of water, soda or drinks has some characteristics that make it an environmentally friendly material.
- During production and being an extremely lightweight material, it helps to reduce the formation of packaging waste and reduces the emission of pollutants during transport.
- Due to its composition, its transport requires less fuel, which contributes to energy conservation.
- Its recyclability quality. These containers are 100% recyclable and do not generate waste at the time of transformation.
- It is considered a great ally of sustainability because for every ton of recycled plastic, around one ton of oil can be saved, keeping non-renewable resources in the soil.
- Its recycling avoids the use of virgin and fossil plastics and thus generates less CO2 emissions.
- By replacing virgin raw material, recycled raw material replaces virgin raw material and saves 89% of energy in its extraction, transport and processing.
As you can see, PET plastic bottles that are recycled have some advantages and have the ability to restart their life cycle on more than one occasion. If you give a happy ending to the containers you use, you can prevent their life from ending up in the landfill and give them the opportunity to transform beyond their first use.
- Your PET plastic bottle should ideally have as its end a transformation plant, which will return it to its pellet state, to be processed again.
- It could be transformed and used in new products such as clothes, bags or backpacks, sunglasses, curtains, containers and more.
- Or it could be converted into cleaner and more efficient fuel, and the minerals it contains could be used in cement production.
Any of these paths is possible and it is up to you that your PET plastic containers are safely reintegrated into our environment. Like you, after reading our blog, several companies have already become aware of their responsibility to recover the containers they put on the market, one of them is Fuente San Felipe, who together with ReciVeci are concerned about giving their bottles a new opportunity.
You can do it too and by delivering your PET bottles through #Reciapp you will allow them to complete their circle in a harmonious way and instead of an end they have a new beginning.
