Flakes
Also called: Plastic flakes, washed flakes, PET flakes, HDPE flakes
Flakes are thin, flat pieces of ground and usually washed plastic, most commonly made from PET and HDPE bottles.
Flakes are thin, flat pieces of plastic produced by shredding or grinding hollow or thin-walled items, especially bottles. The term is most common for PET bottle flakes and HDPE container flakes. Flakes are usually sold after a washing line has removed labels, caps, glue and dirt.
Common grades
- Sorted by colour, such as clear, light blue, green, brown and mixed.
- Hot-washed or cold-washed, depending on the cleaning process.
- Graded by intended end use, such as fibre, strap, sheet or bottle.
Why it matters when buying recycled plastic
- For PET flakes, key specifications include intrinsic viscosity, PVC content, other plastics, glue, label residue and colour.
- Check moisture content, since washed flakes can carry water you pay for.
- Flake size and bulk density affect how they feed into an extruder.
- Inspect a sample on a light table for contaminants and colour variation.
Read our recycled PET flakes buying guide for a full specification checklist.
Agree colour and contamination limits in writing before dispatch, and keep a retained sample from each lot to resolve any later disputes.