Giving packaging a new life
The video has seven episodes and it is about the process of sorting and recycling paper, tetrapak, tinplate, aluminium, glass and plastic. First of all, products go through sorting methods to separate materials (ex: tin cans can be separated by using magnets, air blowing for plastic film) then grinding or melting to recycle a new life for material. I was impressed to know that tin, aluminium and glass has a really high recycle life, especially tinplate has almost no quality loss no matter how many times gone through recycle time process. Recycling plastic is more complicated as compared to others. By using automatic machines, it sorts out film, bottle, PET, extended polystyrene and mixed plastic. These recycled plastics are reproduced into pipes, window frame and toy care wheel and they are all long life used products.
I would never think too much everytime I dump my garbage into bin. I was taught that those plastic and glass bottles or cardboards are recycled but I didn’t know how the process works, so I really do not care much for my action. By now, I understand that even my daily simple product- tissue or toilet papers are all from recycle. Everything single product we throw today can be our new product for use by tomorrow. Therefore to let all products having an afterlife, we all should do recycle today and prevent products dumped into landfield for many years.
How it is made
It includes 6 episodes and show how everything is made from carton boxes, tubes, cans to glass and plastic bottle. I think this video is extremely amazing and important to watch. Material and Technology course help us to understand more about materials and how it is used to make everything but it is all theory; this video is more practical and easy to understand.
I enjoy seeing the aluminium coin is extruded and trimmed top and sharp edges to make tube packaging. They are then applied paints and printed on. Ink for using is usually 5 colours and recycled. I learn that juice/ smoothies/ milk packaging is made from Tetrapak (before I thought they are simply made from hard cardboard ) . The Tetrapak is included three layers plastic coating, paper and foil. To me, the process of making aluminium cans, glass and plastic bottle are similar because they all have a reform before the final stretching/ moulding bottle. For example, glass bottle is made up all natural materials like limestone, sand and recycled glass. All the ingredients are melted into liquid; this hot liquid is flown through a rectangle mould to make an initial shape. Then this shape is continuously pressed into the mould of final shaped bottle. Also, the speed is extremely high as it can produce up to 1800 aluminium cans/ min or 10600 plastic bottle/ hour.
By watching these two videos are important to all designers, because it helps us to understand more about materials, how it is made into product and recycled. We are all reminded so many times that our designs are useless if it can be able to produce or it is low in recycled process.
