How To Dispose Of Used Plastic Packaging Boxes

Currently, the concept of green environmental protection is increasingly recognized by all sectors of society, especially regarding the strict management of discarded plastic packaging products. The recycling and utilization of plastic packaging waste are considered effective means to control environmental pollution and efficiently use resources while saving energy. So, how should we deal with discarded plastic packaging boxes?

The recycling and processing technologies for plastic waste mainly fall into three categories: recycling and reuse technology, incineration to obtain energy or recover raw materials, and landfill technology. Recycling and reuse are proactive methods that promote material recirculation, protect resources, and safeguard the ecological environment. This method can be further divided into three approaches: direct reuse, mechanical recycling, and chemical recycling. Direct reuse refers to the process where there is no additional processing involved, and materials are directly reused after cleaning.

Mechanical recycling includes direct and modified regeneration. Direct recycling mainly involves the preliminary treatment and crushing of waste plastics, followed by direct plasticization and subsequent molding and granulation. This method is mainly used for edge trims and defective products produced during the manufacturing process of packaging products. They can be directly fed into the hopper and used simultaneously with new materials without any pretreatment. It can also be used for very clean, uncontaminated plastic containers. Additionally, after separating, washing, drying, and crushing, particularly for contaminated products, initial washing is necessary to remove sand, stones, metal, and other impurities to prevent machine damage. Then, the materials are centrifuged, dehydrated, sent to a crusher for further washing to remove internal impurities, and dried before direct plasticization and molding or granulation. This approach generally applies to various packaging containers, bags, films, etc.

Special pretreatment may also be necessary. For instance, PS foam plastic has a large volume and is not easily inputted into processing machines, so preliminary defoaming and volume reduction treatments are required. Different defoaming machines are used depending on the type of product. The purpose of modifying the recycled material is to enhance its basic mechanical properties to meet the requirements for specialized recycled products.