Most curbside recycling programs accept #1 plastics for recycling, but only certain forms of it. Bottles that hold various products—shampoo, salad dressing, water, and soda — are almost always accepted. Other types of #1 plastic containers — made by a method called thermoforming — are not accepted or used in the recycling stream. That may be about to change.
Thermoforming is a method of creating packaging by stretching a heated sheet of plastic over a mold to make a desired shape. Clamshell containers — which have a hinged side similar to clams — are one common type of thermoformed packaging. These containers are used to package salad greens, berries, cherry tomatoes, bakery items, egg cartons, and more. They cannot be recycled with PET bottles because the two types of plastic, although both categorized as #1 plastic, are chemically different and melt at different temperatures.
As far as plastic packaging goes, thermoformed packaging is:
- Is lightweight.
- Can protect food from going to waste (food waste is a major climate change culprit). It’s also used for packaging blisters, medical packaging, and many other types of packaging.
- Is recyclable.
- Can be made with recycled PET (rPET) as well as a variety of other polymers.
If we could recover more thermoform packaging and add it to the recycling stream, it would represent a positive step toward reducing waste and the need for drilling more oil to support our packaging needs. There’s a growing demand for recycled PET, especially in the textile industry, which uses it to make polyester. If we can introduce efficient recycling technology, those thermoformed #1 plastic clamshells do have value.