Advantages And Disadvantages Of Recycling Plastic

Overall, recycling plastic benefits the environment, the economy and the future of America. Although there are flaws to recycling plastic such as the sorting step overlooking additives and the washing step leaving some impurities, technological advances and more labor will be needed to fix those drawbacks in order to conserve the environment. Therefore, the U. S government should mandate recycling so that the recycling rate increase. Through this action, America will gain the benefits of recycling plastic. In addition, Americans should recycle specific types of plastic such as PET and HDPE as those two are the most commonly accepted by recycling programs. This will be strenuous upon Americans because they will have to do more work however,

Other plastics, marked with a 7, are made of mixtures of plastics and have no recycling potential.[2]

In fact, many of the major plastics used today began when commissioned to be used for the war effort (Freinkel, 6). When plastic was first brought to The United States, the American people loved it. Not only can plastic imitate other materials, but it is also much more affordable. Overall, plastic is cheap. The leap in plastic produced from the ‘40s until now is extremely substantial. For instance, in 1940 plastic was hardly used, in 1960 a single American used close to 30 pounds of plastic per year, today each individual uses more than 300 pounds of plastic per year (Freinkel, 6). A major impact on the amount of plastic used is directly related to the way Americans, starting in the 1940s, were now able to mass produce plastic products. For instance, a single plastic comb making machine could reproduce ten combs in less than one minute (Freinkel, 22). Overall, plastic is relatively inexpensive and it is made for mass manufacture. Considering this it is east to see why plastic became so popular in the first place, it was a plastic miracle. However, there is a direct relationship between the amount of plastic produced and the amount of plastics that are being polluted into the

Plastics are light and convenient handling, achieving widespread customer acceptance. In general, plastic packing growths fast and posts significant threats of substitution to cans

We found that Polypropylene was our 5th unknown. Polypropylene (C3H6) or more commonly referred to as PP, is used for labeling, packaging, textiles, and stationery. In 1957, the crystallization of polymer was discovered. Soon fabric was made from the polymer, and was in high demand. It can also be used for moldings of cars, film, tape, foam and carpet. Polypropylene can not be glued to any objects or itself, and so it is melded. After Polyethylene, Polypropylene is the highest produced synthetic plastic. Polypropylene also holds up well over time, which is one of the reasons that it is the second most produced plastic. The melting point is between 130-171 degrees celsius. Because polypropylene is tough and flexible it can be used as an engineering plastic. Finally, polypropylene can be used be manufactured into a living hinge. A

Plastic recycling becomes more profitable as the cost of oil rises. In the 1970’s, fears of limited oil supplies led to a significand demand for plastic recycling. In California and some other locations, the government requires recycling, and provides access to constant streams of plastic that allow for more plastic recycling plants to run continuously. In crowded areas, such as japan, limited access to natural resources leads to high value of recycled plastic products produced locally.

People would say that plastic in landfills would just stay there and if we keep on using plastic the waste problem would just worsen. I think that the problem here is why do people put plastics in landfills mixed with biodegradable materials. There are ways to properly recycle plastic. This comes to my third argument for why plastic beats paper. It is better because we could change its physical shape to things we really need. Richard Stein, from the University of Massachusetts, stated that plastics could be melted and formed into different structures such as propellers for wind turbines, food containers and many more [3]. Imagine being able to reuse plastic as long as the quality of it can still be recyclable, but if it isn’t anymore, Richard Stein also suggested that plastic could be converted to energy by burning it since it is made of petroleum [3].

Plastic is everywhere. People use it every day, in everything. There is no possible way to live 100% without plastic in this day and age. Plastic is made with natural oils. Monomers form when molecules connect together, then chain up to create Polymers. When this happens, it creates the substance everyone knows of -- plastic. Plastic is polluting the ocean and contaminating our drinking water, but at the same time plastic has proven to be convenient and versatile for our everyday use.

bio-waste is wasted every day as well as the other categories. Bio-waste is waste material capable of breaking down under aerobic or anaerobic conditions. Due to the nature of this waste it is easier to break down and recycle. Bio-waste is usually recycled through composting or using the scraps to feed other organisms (Dusseldorf, 1998).

A research program called plastic oceans, states “ We use over 3oo million tons of NEW plastic every year. Half of this we use just ONCE and usually for LESS than 12 minutes. 8 million tons of plastic waste end up in the ocean every year. A large amount of this “thrown away” plastic carries toxic chemicals such as BPA, phthalates, pesticides and PCBs. Which is dangerous to living things.

North, E. J., & Halden, R. U. (2013). Plastics and environmental health: the road ahead. Retrieved February 10, 2016, from

Polypropylene inherent properties of high firmness, great elasticity and inactivity toward acids, antacids and solvents has secured its position in an extensive variety of shopper and mechanical items (Kawasumi et al., 1997). The density of PP is between 0.895 and 0.92 g/cm³. Therefore, PP is the commodity plastic with the lowest density. With lower density, moldings parts with lower weight and more parts of a certain mass of plastic can be produced. Unlike polyethylene, crystalline and amorphous regions differ only slightly in their density. However, the density of polyethylene can significantly change with fillers (Tripathi, 2001). Polypropylene are likewise adaptable and can have high stretching before breaking. Polypropylene is also the

This means it takes longer for other pieces of plastic to decompose. Other people think that plastic material is cheap and easy to use.

In addition to plastic disadvantage, plastic contributes to the garbages, and others that are not properly disposed affect the soil which trees and plants absorbs water. Lastly, plastic that are not properly disposed grabs the houses of living organism in the body of water especially

Unable to remove plastics from your life? I am sure most of us are very used to plastic that we are living every second with them. But after reading this piece of article you will understand how terrible is plastic to our health and you will try to reduce the usage.