How Plastic Recycling Actually Works

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What happens to plastic bottles when you recycle them? Do they get made into fresh bottles, or do they become something else? This week on Reactions, learn why it’s easier to turn bottles into workout shirts than it is to fully recycle the plastic.

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Credits:
Producer: Sean Parsons
Writer: George Zaidan
Scientific Consultants: Wim Thielemans, PhD;Michelle Boucher, PhD
Executive Producer: George Zaidan
Fact Checker: Alison Le

Music:
“Apero Hour,” by Kevin MacLeod

Sources:
https://www.thoughtco.com/recycling-plastics-820356
https://www.thomasnet.com/articles/plastics-rubber/plastic-recycling-equipment
https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2015/12/what-actually-happens-to-a-recycled-plastic-bottle/418326/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2873020/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24811748
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zyF9MxlcItw
https://pubs.acs.org/doi/pdf/10.1021/ie960563c
https://www.britannica.com/science/polyethylene-terephthalate
http://www.essentialchemicalindustry.org/polymers/polyesters.html

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