Comparison image. I was able to compact 11 bottles and 10 small cartons down to the size of 2 milk cartons.

Compacting plastic waste test

This was a test to see how well plastic bottles could be compacted using a paper shredder.

I used roughly the amount of plastic I would use in 2 weeks.

I used a paper shredder to shred the bottles etc.

Shredder mechanism:

They had to be cut with scissors first so I could put through them shredder.

The only parts which could not be shredded were to tops of the bottles.

Some of the plastics shredded better than others. The milk cartons did not break up completely, but the resulting perforation meant the pieces could be rolled up or folded easily.

The shredded waste:

As a result of chopping and shredding the bottles and carton, the amount of space taken up by the waste was greatly reduced. I was able to fit it all into 2 empty milk cartons with space leftover.