Abstract
Mechanical recycling of plastic film involves subjecting plastic materials to a series of heat cycles that can potentially degrade the material, causing brittleness and increased melt viscosity. Plastic film recycling in the UK is in its infancy, in need of an increased understanding of how the physical properties of polymeric materials change before and during the process. Reliable data are required to estimate the behaviour of such film products when recycled. Measurements were made as to the changes in physical properties of four different varieties of polyethylene (PE) film products when subjected to a series of successive simulated heat cycles and evaluated after each step. Results showed that although changes in tensile properties were fairly small, changes in processing properties such as melt-flow index for highly branched or low-density PE are substantial and could be a concern during recycling operations.
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