Question

an article on importance of recycling materials like plastic

Answer 1

Plastic recycling is the process of recovering scrap or waste plastic and reprocessing the material into useful products. Since the vast majority of plastic is non-biodegradable, recycling is a part of global efforts to reduce plastic in the waste stream, especially the approximately eight million tonnes of waste plastic that enter the Earth's ocean every year.[1][2] This helps to reduce the high rates of plastic pollution.

Plastic recycling includes taking any type of plastic, sorting it into different polymers and then chipping it and then melting it down into pellets. After this stage, it can then be used to make items of any sort such as plastic chairs and tables. Soft plastics are also recycled such as polyethylene film and bags. This closed-loop operation has taken place since the 1970s and has made the production of some plastic products amongst the most efficient operations today.[citation needed]

Compared with lucrative recycling of metal, and similar to the low value of glass, plastic polymers recycling is often more challenging because of low density and low value. There are also numerous technical hurdles to overcome when recycling plastic.