An Analysis of Recycling High Density Polyethylene with Limited Resources

Abstract

Since polyethylene makes up the largest percentage of plastic produced globally, and has the potential to be recycled indefinitely, it makes an excellent starting point for mitigating the severe impacts plastic waste has on the global environment. The community of Arroyo Norte in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic is a prime example of a community in need of work, jobs, and are heavily impacted by the constant stream of plastic waste due to the lack of end-use management. After three years of research and trial and error by the Practivistas Dominicana group from Humboldt State University, this manuscript provides an analysis of three of the most suitable plastic recycling methods using high-density polyethylene (#2 plastic) that can be performed with limited resources. Methods include: melting in a toaster oven with c-clamps for compression, melting in vegetable with c-clamps for compression, and melting in a modified convection oven which uses a car jack for compression. These methods were developed using a variety of online "do it yourself" tutorials and were tested in both Arroyo Norte and further developed in Arcata, California, USA. Each method was analyzed using a weighted decision matrix, regarding criteria dictated by Arroyo Norte community members. Results show that each method has the potential to create high quality recycled plastic materials for various production scales and resource availability, given further improvements on each process. This research intends to share lessons learned by Practivistas to promote and encourage further work in plastic recycling with limited resources.