Clear Drop Soft Plastic Compressor Review: Eco Experience

Soft plastics are popular for Jamming sorting machinessliding across processing lines, and It wreaks havoc on the environment. They are also not accepted in most municipal curbside recycling programs.

Facilities exist to recycle these types of plastics, but getting the waste to these sites clean and free of what some call “wishful recycling” items (biodegradable cups, plastic utensils) is a major challenge. The majority of soft plastics, even recycled bags in grocery store windows, end up in the trash. The SPC is what Arbuzov calls a “pre-recycler,” designed to streamline that flow and deliver plastic that can be contained, tracked, and is more likely to pass through the system.

I tried to envision how the blocks would turn into patio furniture, as announced, but I didn’t know exactly how until months later, when Arbuzov sent me a video of the blocks at their final destination—a facility in Frankfort, Indiana, that specializes in processing polyethylene and polypropylene films. The blocks are shredded into crumbs that resemble, at least in the video, a handful of wet newspaper, which is then compressed into a composite deck, chairs, garden edging, and more.

“The full cycle from mailing the block to the recycling processing stage usually takes a few weeks, depending on shipping time and collection schedules,” Arbuzov said. Currently, the Frankfurt site is the only facility processing the blocks, but Arbuzov said he hopes this is only temporary.

“Our goal is to move more of this processing closer to where the materials are produced, so that blocks can be transported in bulk through regional recycling infrastructure rather than mail-based logistics,” he said. “The return mail system is essentially a bridge that allows materials to be picked up today while that larger infrastructure develops.”

Recycling, rewiring

I found that my family of three was able to produce a block every two weeks, which quickly outstripped the supply of mailers. As the clumps started piling up on my office floor, I found myself hoping that SPC would offer something useful to consumers. Spoons, straws, 3D printing filament… anything that can be used at home.

but, Greenpeace Report 2023 She found that recycling plastic can actually make it more toxic than it already is: heating it not only causes existing chemicals to leach into the air and water supplies, but may also create new chemicals, such as benzene. Do I want this in my home? Does recycled plastic really belong in the circular economy? I asked Arbuzov what he thought.