Plastic Age

Outline
Why “plastic age” and why plastic?
Nowadays
Future
Conclusion

Why?
Plastic is everywhere
since ~1900
production: 100 million tons / year
What is plastic?
a range of synthetic or semi-synthetic polymerization products
many are malleable, having the property of plastic ity
Properties
resistant, durable, good container & insulator
easy to produce
inexpensive

But…
manufacturing often creates large quantities of chemical pollutants
lifecycle : very short for many products
durable -> very slow degradation (hundreds of years)
burning it can release toxic fumes
plastic waste
26% * total volume
10% * total weight

Is it really cheap?
cheap while ignoring the end-of-life implications
minimal reuse
After usage solutions
burn
energy-efficient but can release toxic substances
recycle
difficult
let it be 
hundreds of years

Recycle? (1)
1. PET : soft drinks bottles, oil bottles
2. HDPE : detergent bottles, milk jugs
3. PVC : pipes, outdoor furniture, liquid detergent containers
4. LDPE: dry-cleaning bags, trash can liners, food storage containers
5. PP: bottle caps, drinking straws
6. PS: cups, plastic tableware, meat trays, take-away food clamshell containers
7. Others

Recycle? (2)
recycling is possible ; various efficiency levels
PET: 20% -> other PET, the rest: other kinds of plastic
recycling is challenging
big molecules that must be very similar to "melt" together
colors, additives, other substances
disassembling is difficult
recyclable! recycled?
collecting – many consumers
sorting – many kinds of plastic

Recycle? (3)
Developed countries
law s that force/ reward collecting & recycling
return price for PET's , cost for plastic bags
infrastructure of collecting points
supermarkets cannot offer plastic bags
history in education for reuse & recycling
being “ green ” becomes fashionable for companies
Countries under development
the environment is not a priority
no infrastructure / laws
short-term cost matters for people
commodity preferred over long term effects

Plastic waste – landfill
argued to be not harmful
“ it does not free any toxic substances”
it is not biodegradable
imagine: 20 million plastic bags used in Australia everyday
harmful to ecosystems
dead animals
long-term effects on oceans - still unknown

The future
Ongoing research for other materials with the same properties
Recycling, reuse
Plastic’s cost depend s on petrol
out of petrol would mean out of plastic

Conclusion
Enormous quantities of plastic are produced and used
It is convenient (use and throw away)
Although some plastics are recyclable, not enough is recycled
Laws, economical measures and education help

Thank you!

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Plastic Age

by irina.dumitrascu

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