What should I put in the yellow container?
The yellow container is intended for the disposal of lightweight packaging, commonly known as plastic containers. However, due to lack of awareness, other plastic products that should not be there, such as toys, sometimes end up in it. The yellow container is designed for depositing PACKAGING made from various materials, not just plastic. In this container, you can dispose of:
- Plastic packaging: such as bottles and water jugs, wrappers, plastic bags, white corks, cleaning product containers…
- Tetra Paks: any type of carton package can be deposited in this container, including those for wine, juice, milk, food, etc.
- Metal packaging: beverage cans, trays and aluminum foil, metal caps and rings, canned foods or aerosol cans, among others.
Common Mistakes. What is often mistakenly thrown into this container?
Although it may seem simple to know what to throw or not into the yellow container, confusion can arise with certain objects, especially those that appear to be made of plastic. Some of the items that are commonly left in these containers by mistake include:
- Aluminum coffee capsules.
- Plastic-coated paper: for example, paper trays from butchers or fishmongers, or paper cups.
- Silicone molds.
- Thermos flasks.
- VHS cases.
- Lighters.
- Bottles and pacifiers.
- Pens and pencil sharpeners.
- Photographs.
- CD and DVD cases.
- Cassette tapes.
- Tupperware containers.
- Pill and medication packaging.
- Plastic toys.
- Rubber gloves.
Ultimately, the most common rule is that any type of plastic that is not part of packaging should not be deposited in the yellow container. For example, bottles and pacifiers should be thrown in the general waste container, and pill blister packs should be taken to specific recycling points, as they have been in contact with medication and need to be processed in a special way.
And can I put it in the yellow container if…?
- The plastic is stained: it's best to clean it before disposing of it, as otherwise, it may contaminate the other containers.
- The bottles are wet: plastic bottles should always be disposed of without caps and without residual liquid.
- It's a container made of both plastic and cardboard: in the case of containers that contain more than one material, it is recommended to separate the plastic part and place only the plastic portion in the yellow container.
What these waste materials are used for. What is made from what we put in the yellow container? Plastic packaging is recycled to obtain raw materials for manufacturing new products, like the ones we offer at Naeco. The use of recycled plastic is increasing in various sectors and applications, making it possible to reuse it more and extend its useful life significantly compared to just a few years ago. It's important to note, however, that not all types of plastic can be recycled in the same way, nor can the same things be made from all of them. Depending on the type of plastic and the products that can be created from them, the following uses stand out:
- Polyethylene plastic: recycled to make bottles, jugs, buckets, tables, pallets, and plastic boxes.
- PET plastic: this type of plastic is used in the textile industry to produce clothing, carpets, or tarpaulins. It's becoming increasingly common for textile brands to use fibers and threads made from recycled PET.
- Polystyrene plastic: it can be reused in trash bins, flower pots, and even thermal insulation.
- Polypropylene plastic: used in the production of plastic chairs and various garden furniture. Similar to polyethylene, at NAECO, we use this material to manufacture pallets, boxes, and plastic containers.
- Polyvinyl chloride (PVC) plastic: often used for pipes, fences, or cabinets, for example.
Plastic Recycling Process. How is it done? The plastic recycling process consists of several phases. Since different plastics are often mixed in the yellow container, it's necessary to separate and prepare them based on the type of plastic before they can be transformed.
- Separation: based on their material, and sometimes their color.
- Shredding: the plastic is shredded to achieve a manageable size for easier processing.
- Washing: to remove impurities like labels, etc.
- Drying and Centrifuging: to ensure no impurities remain and the material is dry.
- Homogenization: subjected to a transformation process to make the material consistent in appearance and texture.
- Pelletizing: finally, the material is transformed into uniform, homogeneous granules suitable for the production of new products. The resulting material is called "pellets."
At Naeco, recycling and sustainability are among our top priorities. We assure you that all our products are designed and manufactured following a circular economy approach based on the principles of Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle. Additionally, you can find all the relevant information in our new Eco Label. Are you already familiar with it?
