Nylon production has negative environmental impacts such as releasing greenhouse gases, consuming large amounts of water, and being an energy-intensive process. While nylon recycling can reduce these impacts, it is often complex and expensive. However, some companies have developed innovative recycling methods. Paper production also generates hazardous waste sludge, but vermicomposting and recycling are effective waste management strategies that provide benefits. Recycling paper saves trees, energy and water compared to producing virgin pulp paper.

1. Hazardous Waste Management -
Nylon and Paper

2. Introduction - Nylon
✩ Nylon is the common name of a class of synthetic polymers,
called polyamides. Essentially, nylon is a type of plastics –
caprolactam, derived from crude oil. Caprolactam goes through a
process of condensation polymerization and strong and elastic fiber
is produced at the end of the technological process.
✩ Due to its strength and durability, nylon was widely used for military
products, including for parachutes, tents, ropes and tyres. Secondly,
nylon replaces everything that was once made of silk.

3. Impacts of Nylon
Nylon production has several direct impacts on the environment:
✩ Greenhouse gases: Nitric oxide is released during the production of
nylon, a greenhouse gas that is 300 times more powerful than carbon
dioxide
✩ Water: nylon production is a process, which is very water consuming;
large amounts of water are used to cool the fiber, which can be a source
of environmental pollution
✩ Energy: the production of nylon is a process that is very energy
consuming, as it contributes to the damage of the environment and
global warming.

4. Recycling of Nylon
✩ The best thing that can be done with the created waste is
recycling. Hyosung, a Korean company, has developed
a recycling method through which waste nylon products are turning into
textile fiber, called Regen, as the quality of the recycled material is
similar to the original one, and it can be used for a number of
applications.
✩ Although the processing method is not entirely environmentally friendly
or sustainable, nylon recycling prevents the petrochemical waste from
landfilling or incineration in incinerators that can release toxic emissions
into the atmosphere.
✩ It also reduces by 27% the consumption of natural resources, decreases
the greenhouse gases emissions by 28% and it can be processed again
and again.

5. Recycling methods and technological processes
✩ The methods for processing of nylon waste can be referred to two main groups:
mechanical, and physic-chemical. The mechanical methods include grinding and
various techniques and methods used in the textile industry for the production of
fibrous structure products.
✩ The technological waste can undergo mechanical processing – debris, castings,
non-standard products, partially drawn and non-drawn fiber.
✩ Physicochemical methods encompass depolymerization to obtain monomers for
fiber production, re-melting waste to produce granulate and products, re-
precipitation of solutions for coating powders, creating composite materials with
fillers, and chemical modification for new properties. These methods enhance the
quality and versatility of recycled polyamide.

6. The problem of recycling nylon
✩ Above all, recycling of nylon is often a complex and expensive process.
Unlike other recyclable materials such as glass and metal, the nylon
doesn’t melt at high temperatures (Melting 190–350 °C). Lower melting
temperatures means that some microbes or bacteria and other
pollutants can remain in the substance after melting.
✩ That’s why, the complete cleaning of the material before its melting is
very important regardless of the fact that this makes the process longer,
as well as less attractive and expensive.
✩ At the same time, the production of new plastics and polymers is
relatively cheap, which means that it is often financially more attractive
for the companies to simply dispose of old waste and to buy new
materials, instead of recycling them.

7. Guiding lights in the nylon industry
While recycling as a standard is still at an early stage, several
companies with advanced thinking are already working environmentally
friendly. Some of the most eco-friendly companies in terms of nylon are:
• Bureo, based in California – produces skateboards and sunglasses
from recycled fishing nets;
• Aquafil, an Italian carpet producer that recycles nylons used in their
carpets in order to create a new material called Econyl;
• Speedo that use Econyl in more than 50 products;

8. Guiding lights in the nylon industry
• Outerknown, a company producing jackets, sweatshirts and so on,
based in Los Angeles uses Econyl in its production;
• Patagonia, another company that produces jackets, sweatshirts and
so on that uses recycled nylon in more than 50 products, including 100%
chemically recycled nylon in their jackets Torrentshell.
Of course, nylon is only a substance and only one aspect of a huge
industry. But if we all adopt an approach similar to those of the
abovementioned companies, the waste products can be reduced
drastically. This is the future of production.

9. Introduction- Paper
✩ The papermaking has far-reaching environmental impacts due to
the production of wastes in the form of sludge since that is creating
major problems to soil, crop, and human health due to the presence
of different toxic chemicals like arsenic, cadmium, chromium, lead,
mercury, nickel, etc.
✩ India has about 700 pulp and paper mills, which are generally
considered as most polluting industries.
✩ Different paper mills use different raw materials like bamboo, wood,
paddy straw, waste papers, etc. The quality of effluents also varies
with quality of inputs/raw materials as well as technical procedures
followed in papermaking

10. Management of paper waste
✩ Paper mill wastes are the residuals constituted with fibers produced
from the pulping of raw materials but unsuitable for papermaking,
paper sludge, lime sludge, inks, fly ash, clays, and other fillers
developed in de-inking process.
✩ These solid wastes in some cases are utilized for energy generation,
but in many places those are disposed of by dumping on land by the
side of effluent channel.
✩ Management of these solid wastes for beneficial utilization is a great
challenge not only to the management authority of paper industry
but also the scientific community for finding out some amicable
solutions

11. Management of paper waste
✩ Since this solid waste contains a considerable quantity of organic
matter, this must be utilized for some beneficial purposes.
✩ Vermicomposting is the rapid as well as cost-effective treatment
method for recycling the organic solid waste through the action of
earthworms.
✩ The worms act as an aerator, a grinder, a crusher, a chemical
degrader, and a biological stimulator.
✩ Worms decompose the organic fraction in the sewage sludge,
mineralize the nutrients, ingest the heavy metals, and devour the
pathogens (bacteria, fungi, nematodes, and protozoa).

12. Management of paper waste
✩ Paper mill wastes are not easy material to compost and normally
need both structural and nitrogen amendments using different
organic matters like sawdust, fruit and vegetable wastes, food
processing industry’s wastes, leaf litters, cow dung, pig wastes,
poultry wastes, water hyacinth, municipal solid wastes, etc. before
composting.
✩ Vermicomposting of paper mill wastes is not only a value addition to
problematic wastes but also its beneficial utilization for sustaining
organic agriculture. It helps to reduce the problem of environment
pollution and creates an opportunity for employment generation.

13. Recycling of paper
✩ Paper recycling is a "green" solution for the management of paper
waste. Recycling paper is a process that converts waste paper into
reusable paper and other products.
✩ One ton of recycled paper can save up to 17 trees from being cut
down. In terms of energy-saving, the production of recycled requires
40 to 60% less energy than paper manufactured from virgin pulp;
each ton of recycled paper saves approximately 225 kilowatt hours
of energy.
✩ Furthermore, every ton of recycled paper saves 60,000 litres of
water - a great benefit since the production of fresh paper uses
large amounts of water.

14. THANK YOU