My research into plastic toxicity is ever continuing but I thought this was a good article with several links to books about this subject.
So I wanted to be able to recycle all plastic, but it does seem like I will be avoiding a few. Specifically I don’t think I will attempt to recycle PVC and the mysterious plastic #7.
I am hoping that we can keep recycling this plastic for just a few more years and transition into sustainable healthy plastics. But since we are still producing plastic I’v decided I’m willing to work to redirect that plastic for now.
The cool thinguy about having a small machine is that it will make it easier to sort the colors and and types of plastic which seems to restrict bigger machines in some ways. But I am concerned about melting plastics that have unlisted additives. Should I contact the manufacturer directly to try and get the chemical list? Does anyone have any good recourse for learning more about the chemical compounds of Plastics and the heating requirements for them?
Does anyone want to share their experiance with melting plastics with the extruder? Are you concerned with the smell? Do some plastics listed under the same number not mesh together sometimes once melted? Can you burn plastic in the extruder? What is your process for melting plastic? What safety precautions do you take? Does anyone have any good tips on setting up shop with safety in mind?
A List of websites about Plastic Recycling
I found a list of websites about plastic recycling. If anyone wants to help me break into this list then I would be greatful. This claims to have specific info on melting and such sooo, could be fun!
I’m glad that this post is receiving attentions. @imuh , thank you for the documents you shared, I don’t speak french but I’ll try to translate it too.
I think that it could be very useful if we organize a teamwork; we could prepare a small paper including all the relevant info about plastic toxicity during its processing. I strongly vote for this way to work, because I’m afraid that in the forum a lot of good informations are going to be lost. I’m intentioned to spend few evenings each week to discuss together about this small project within the frame of the bigger precious plastic project. What do you think?
Always work in a ventilated workspace and wear masks. Wouldn’t trust any of those lists. Plastic is toxic no matter what, the less you breathe in the better off you are. Also wouldn’t eat or drink from plastic or heat up food in plastic. Any serious academic study on the subject has been silenced by plastic industry lobbies. Keep safe
Though the document is in french; it is a VERY interesting doc (page 6 marked page 52) which shows what chemicals are released by °C temperature; plastic by plastic !
Thanks again @lamrock for the initial share !
Will try to give a translation on it if i find the time
and I am sorry for not answering the thread’s question :
I have been experiencing some HDPE which “burnt” before arriving to melting point; meaning (obviously) unlisted additives corrupted the process (bottles containing agressive liquids). Once we managed to identify what type of sourcing it was, we just stopped using it.
The further you go into experimenting & researching (i’m still a newbie…) you find out that you can’t process all plastics; it’s just impossible.
(I’ve also experienced melting some plastic cuttlery which was actually “painted”; paint that was creating insane fumes right before the plastic’s melting point.)
So sometimes eventhough you are working with different plastics from a same type; they won’t have the same chemicals properties depending on the different additives they have in them.
This type of situation leads to have a propper sourcing process
For the fumes; i DO use a gas mask + glasses; and the oven is always used in exterior
And for the types of plastic i am able to recycle, these are :
PET // HDPE // LDPE // PP // PS; but then again, not just any type of PS, a precisely sourced & tested one
