How Is Plastic Recycled to Make Polar Fleece?
Plastic Bottles Are Sorted and Melted Disposed plastic bottles are sorted by color, sterilized and liquefied at temperatures over 480 degrees F. Liquified Plastic is Mixed With Virgin Plastic The liquefied plastic is mixed with a liquefied polymer (terephthalic acid and ethylene glycol), also called “virgin plastic.” When the mixture cools, it becomes syrupy and is ready to be made into threads. Threads are Made The syrupy mixture is forced through a spinneret (a metal disk with tiny holes). When the syrupy mixture comes into contact with air, it hardens into threads. Threads Go Through Drawing and Shrinking The threads are wound around a warm spool and put through the process of “drawing.” This makes the polyester fleece durable. The threads go through a drawing machine, which stretches them to more than double their size. The threads are then shrunk and softened, which strengthens the molecular bonds in the fabric. Threads Are Dried and Inspected Threads pass through a dryer and gain
