Recycled plastic has different properties to virgin plastic.

This is due to the shortening of

polymer chains, the mixing of different types of plastics and the addition of additives.
However, the strength properties of plastics increase during the first recycling cycles. This is
due to the fact that additives act as a reinforcement of the structure. The increase in specific
properties is shown below:

Figure 1 Effect of recycling number on density of polymer

Source: (Jiun et al., 2016)

Figure 2 Effect of recycling number on tensile strength and yield strength

Source: (Jiun et al., 2016)
 Figure 3 Effect of recycling cycle on Young Modulus
Source: (Jiun et al., 2016)

Figure 4 Characteristics of raw materials of PP fibres

Source: (Yin et al., 2013)

As we can see in the attached graphics, the properties of polymers change positively with the
number of recycling processes. However this trend does not last forever, after about 6-7
cycles the properties start to decrease drastically and the polymer chains become so short that
the material from a crystalline form becomes amorphous. For this reason, recycled plastics are
not used in very responsible applications such as the automotive, aerospace and medical
industries. In these areas of technology constant values of physical properties are very
important. However, in most of the production of everyday items, recycled plastics are an
excellent alternative due to their low price, wide availability and good strength properties.

Sources:
Jiun, Y. L., Tze, C. T., Moosa, U., & Tawawneh, M. A. (2016). Effects of recycling cycle on
used thermoplastic polymer and thermoplastic elastomer polymer. Polymers and
Polymer Composites, 24(9), 735–740. https://doi.org/10.1177/096739111602400909
Yin, S., Tuladhar, R., Combe, M., Collister, T., Jacob, M. V, & Shanks, R. A. (2013).
Mechanical properties of recycled plastic bibres for reinforcing concrete. Fibre Concrete
2013, 1–10.