ABSTRACT
I N discussing plastics recycling, it is important to realize that different plastics are immiscible and, therefore, must be sorted by type and color prior to recycling. Discarded post-consumer plastics waste is the most difficult to recycle because of its variability, contaminants, and presence of different types of single plastics and their blends. One possible re-use of mixed plastics is making lowvalue products, such as flower pots, traffic cones, posts, and fences. The most common approach, however, involves compatibilizing dissimilar plastics by adding pre-made expensive compatibilizing agents with specifically designed functionalities. The new S3P technology provides a novel means of recycling commingled plastics without sorting and without the use of compatibilizers. The physical properties of S3P-made plastics allow them to be used as value-added materials in a variety of applications.
