Here are two well done videos that illustrate and explain how recyclables are actually processed. These videos also help to address many of the questions that citizens have about how to properly recycle.
The first video was produced by Boulder County, Colorado and explains the single stream recycling process.
The process in Boulder is similar that used in the City of Houston, although some components of the process can vary from region to region. The video is about 15 minutes long and explains how each material is separated out at the sorting facility.
Boulder single stream recycling:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5YaTpL8nl7c
The second video was produced by KCET in Southern California and is specifically about recycling plastic beverage containers. It focuses on the plastic recycling process after it has already been sorted and delivered to the plastic bottle recycling facility. It illustrates the process for converting the containers to new raw plastic. The video also makes a good case for the effectiveness of beverage container deposits to increase recycling rates:
KCET SoCalConnected: Inside the world's largest plastic bottle recycling plant: