Plastic is one of the most widely used products in the U.S. We use it to package consumer products, to charge our purchases with credit cards, to carry our food and drink, to build our toys and to even make our clothing! There are over 10,000 different kinds of plastic in the world, and it is so versatile and can be mixed with so many other elements that its uses are limitless. But plastic takes up about 10% of our total waste stream, and it is composed mainly of the non-renewable resource petroleum. So the more petroleum we burn to make new plastic products, the more greenhouse gases we release into the air. Only 5% of all plastic is recycled, so we need to push for more plastic recycling practices in our daily lives. What is plastic recycling?
Plastic recycling is the process of reprocessing used scrap and waste plastic into new plastic material. Recycling old plastic products uses 20%-40% less energy than manufacturing it from new. Plastic is created by combining petroleum or natural gas with oxygen or chlorine. This process requires the burning of large amounts of oil. If we recycled all of our plastics we could reduce our oil consumption and save 25% of our landfill space. What types of plastic products can be recycled?
The American Society of Plastics has recognized seven different types of plastic and has given each category a number, which can be found on the bottom of the plastic container. The two most recyclable categories are: Marked “1”
The Term Paper on Marketing Essay – Plastic Bottle Recycling
As a result of mitigating global warming, pollution and perishing natural resource to current society, recycling can be only the best solution. Through organized recycling process, the societies round the world can be actually rebuild and preserve natural resources and environment actually or whatever is left of it to original condition (McKenzie-Mohr, Lee, Schultz & Kotler, 2012). Thus, ...
This category contains PET or PETE (Polyethylene Terephthalate) plastics. These plastics include: Soda and water bottles
Mouthwash bottles
Plastic wrap
Peanut butter and other food jars
Salad dressing bottles
Marked “2”
This category contains HDPE (high-density polyethylene) plastics. These plastics include: Milk containers
Trash bags
Yogurt containers
Liquid laundry detergent containers
Shampoo bottles
Juice containers
It’s important to always wash and rinse out your plastic containers before you take them to a recycling center. What are the benefits of plastic recycling?
Here are some benefits of recycling plastic:
Recycled plastic can be made into plastic lumber, which is more durable Reduces greenhouse gas emissions
Can be used to make toys, park benches, car parts, drainage pipes and more For every 7 trucks it takes to deliver paper bags, it only take 1 truck to deliver plastic bags Recycled soda bottles can be reused to make filling for pillows and jackets The plastic recycling business creates over 200,000 jobs in the U.S. How is plastic recycled?
The plastic recycling process requires several steps to turn discarded plastic into new products. One thing that people should be aware of when thinking about this process is that the plastics are usually down streamed. In other words, instead of turning old yogurt containers into new yogurt containers, the material from the original container is used to make a different type of product, because it cannot be used in the same way twice.
The first step is sorting out the different types of recyclable products at a recycling facility. Many regions use single stream recycling, in which all items are collected at once, so first it’s necessary to separate out basic categories like paper, plastics, and metals. Next, the plastic needs to be sorted for recycling.
During sorting, plastic is divided by type. Some facilities will only process certain types of products, which means that items they can’t handle may be sold to another facility that can handle them, or put into a landfill, depending on company policy. Consumers who are worried about whether or not their plastics will be recycled may want to ask their recycling company about what they do with items they cannot process.
The Term Paper on Plastic Recycling 3
... containers and plastic bags, allowing them to be recycled more often. The use of biodegradable plastic is increasing. 5 Stages of the Plastic Recycling ... principal option for many end-of-life PVC products. Plastics Recycling and The Need For Bio-Polymers Reference: ... products, sometimes completely different in form from their original state. For instance, this could mean melting down soft drink bottles ...
After sorting, the plastic is ground into chips or flakes. At this point, it is usually mixed with a lot of impurities, including pieces of labels, bits of the material the plastic once held, and so forth. As a result, it needs to be washed in a bath that will get the plastic clean, before it is dried and then melted. Once melted, the material is formed into pellets known as nurdles.
The nurdles can be used as feedstock for other manufacturing processes. For example, they can be turned into fibers to make products such as artificial fleece, or they can be worked into engineered wood products, used to make carpeting, and utilized in the production of products like floor mats and tiles. Companies that want to use recycled plastic can buy these pellets by the truckload for various applications.
Plastic recycling is not simple. One problem is that dyes can contaminate the material, making it difficult and sometimes impossible to recycle. Plastics can also be contaminated with impurities like heavy metals, pharmaceuticals, and pieces of biodegradable plastic that accidentally get mixed in with items made from petroleum. Recyclers attempt to identify these impurities before they contaminate an entire batch, but this is not always possible.
While recycling is definitely a good thing to do, it does not necessarily reduce the demand for virgin plastic. Products made with virgin plastic usually cannot be made from recycled materials. Recycling plastic does reduce the demand for other resources, however. For example, by making engineered lumber with plastic, it is possible to save trees.
