In short, PET thermoforms behave differently than bottles as a result of some basic properties of the thermoform material. Currently, in the recycling markets across the US and Canada, there is a 5-10% thermoform threshold in place. This means that for every bale of recyclable plastic, depending on the buyer, only 5-10% of it can be thermoform plastics. If the amount of thermoforms goes beyond this number, the bale is at risk of being discarded in the trash instead of moving along in the process to continue being recycled.
In order for recycling systems to be sustainable, and recyclers to bring high quality sorted material to end markets that will purchase it and manufacture new goods, recycling facilities must meet the high quality standards of the buyers. Clamshell containers are also commonly contaminated by food residues, which makes them a lower quality grade of plastic. These containers are also ‘lightweighted’ which makes them compress flat during processing and in single-stream systems, they can be mistakenly sorted as 2-D rather than 3-D objects and contaminate the mixed paper streams.
UCRRA operates a dual stream recycling center and does not process ‘single stream recycling’. If you utilize a curbside hauling service, please contact the company directly.