Austin’s plastic promise
Wondering what happens to your plastic after you put it in the blue cart? Austin Resource Recovery trucks pick up recycling from over 200,000 homes and take it to a local Material Recovery Facility (MRF) for processing. From there, recyclables go through sorting equipment that groups them by different materials. The bales get sold to other businesses that make them into new products. While other parts of the country may be struggling to process and sell recyclables, Austin’s processors have assured us we are fortunate enough to have steady markets. Here are some real examples from our processors of what Austin’s plastic recyclables get turned into.
- Plastic water bottles are recycled into other beverage bottles or can be used for polyester in things like clothing, carpet or backpacks.
- Milk jugs are recycled into new bottles.
- Detergent bottles are recycled into buckets, containers and flower pots.
- Shampoo bottles are recycled into flooring.
- Yogurt containers are recycled into bicycle racks and plant pots.
- Sunglasses are recycled into plastic lumber and auto parts.