Plastic Recycling Process Flow Chart Template

What this template is for

A plastic recycling process flow chart shows how plastic moves from collection to a usable raw material — the sorting steps, the wash and separation stages, the decision points, and the residue route. The exact steps depend on the polymer, the contamination level, and the equipment, which is why a template that starts from a blank page invites guesswork. This template gives you three scenes to adapt: a PET bottle mechanical recycling line from collection to remanufacture, a rigid plastic recycling line sorted by resin and color, and mixed plastic flowing through a material recovery facility with recyclable and residue routes. Every step is an editable placeholder with example tasks, and the sort decisions carry labeled Yes and No branches so the recyclable path and the residue path are visually distinct. This is a general, editable example — it is not environmental compliance, hazardous-waste, equipment, or process advice. Use it to agree on the process steps with your team and facility, then adjust each stage to your actual polymer, contamination, and equipment. Treat every decision as a material-state change: accepted or rejected, sorted or mixed, clean or contaminated, pelletized or sent to another outlet. Label inputs, outputs, rejects, and rework loops separately so the diagram can support training and process discussion without implying one universal recycling method.

When to use this template

• Map a PET bottle mechanical recycling line from collection through sorting, shredding, washing, and pelletizing to remanufacture.
• Plan a rigid plastic recycling line sorted by resin and color, with wash, separation, drying, and pelletizing steps.
• Show how mixed plastic flows through a material recovery facility, with the recyclable route and the residue route separated.
• Explain a recycling process to a new operator, a customer, or a stakeholder with a one-page flow they can follow.
• Identify where a recycling line loses material by mapping the decision points and residue streams explicitly.
• Compare your facility's process against a typical line to spot missing steps or unclear handoffs.

How to use it

1. 1Start with the input: which plastic stream — PET bottles, rigid mixed plastics, or unsorted material at an MRF.
2. 2List the collection and initial sorting steps, and where obvious contaminants are removed.
3. 3Add the transport and intake steps: baling, debaling, weighing, and recording tonnage where it matters.
4. 4Draw the sort decision as a diamond — recyclable or not — and label both branches Yes and No.
5. 5Route the No branch to the residue stream with a dashed line and a lighter color, so it never looks like part of the main process.
6. 6Chain the processing steps — shred, wash, density separate, dry, extrude, pelletize — in the order your line actually runs them.
7. 7End with the output: remanufactured products, final pellets, or bales shipped to a recycler, and note the data you record.

Quick example

Related resources

How it compares to similar tools

Common mistakes to avoid

• Assuming one process fits all plastics

  PET, HDPE, PP, and mixed streams recycle differently. A chart drawn for PET bottles misleads when applied to rigid mixed plastics. Pick the scene that matches the input, or adjust the steps to your material.

• Missing the sort decision

  A flow with no decision point implies everything collected is recyclable, which no facility assumes. Add the recyclable-or-not diamond and route the No branch explicitly.

• Residue route drawn like the main flow

  A residue stream in the same color and line style as the main process makes yield and quality impossible to read. Use a dashed, lighter line for residue and label the branch.

• No washing or contamination step

  Contamination is the main quality killer in recycling. A chart that jumps from sorting to pelletizing hides the wash and separation steps that determine output quality.

• No data recording at intake or output

  Facilities run on tonnage data — input, recyclable output, and residue. A chart with no weighing or recording steps is a diagram of a process nobody can measure.

Frequently asked questions