Green Polystyrene
Polystyrene is used almost everywhere in everyday life, in CD cases, gardening soil, food packaging, etc. Although polystyrene is used so often, there is a lack of education on its uses and recycling abilities. Polystyrene is a commercially made substance with the chemical base of petroleum, better known as Styrofoam (expanded polystyrene). A common myth and misconception is that polystyrene should be banned because it is not eco-friendly, while it is.
The severe lack of education on the subject of polystyrene presents the illusion that polystyrene’s use is dangerous to the environment because of things such as pollution and landfill mass. But banning EPS would not benefit the ecosystem or the economy. EPS Newsline, an organization committed to educating others on expanded polystyrene, illustrates a case study where Portland, Oregon attempted to ban polystyrene food service, “The verdict? Overwhelming evidence shows alternatives to foam food service actually carry more environmental impacts.”(EPS Newsline, Foam Recycling: Think Clean. Think Green.) This case study indicates that foam products do not harm the environment or economy nearly as much as other products, such as paper. The foam only takes up fifteen percent of landfill waste, in comparison, paper takes up twenty-six percent! Not only is the polystyrene better for the landfills, but also the businesses. Paper products cost considerably more money to purchase than polystyrene; therefore the local businesses spend additional money and have to raise their prices to accommodate for the expense. In result, the customers have to pay the higher prices. A common misconception is when businesses are prohibited from using polystyrene products the public littering ...
... middle of paper ...
...is not what is desired, it is extremely simple to sand down to desired state. If professionals like Chip prefer expanded polystyrene, it is safe to say that polystyrene is the appropriate alternative.
Polystyrene is used in food service, construction, and even as firewood. All of these exercises are eco-friendly and benefit the economy in result. Consequently, polystyrene should not be banned from any aspect of life when there are so many additional materials like paper or coal that need further attention.
Works Cited
Chip Vinson, Yahoo.com, Sept. 21, 2013
EPS Alliance Industry (2012). Building & Energy Efficient.
Retrieved from .
EPS Recycling International (2012-2013). EPS Recycling.
Retrieved from .
Texas Tech. Concrete Construction Introduction.
Retrieved from.
Polystyrene is an aromatic polymer, made when you polymerize styrene monomers. To ensure that the nanoparticles do not degrade in the cellular environment and do appear toxic to cells, they compose the nanoparticles from polystyrene. Also, by using polystyrene particles, it is possible to
Ethylene, H2 C = CH2, the lightest olefin. It is a colorless, flammable gas, produced mainly by thermal decomposition in the presence of steam (steam cracking) from petroleum-based raw materials. Ethylene has virtually no direct inhalation, but almost exclusively acts as an intermediate in the production of other chemicals, especially plastics. Polyethylene, which is the most commonly used plastic, is directly produced from ethylene by its polymerization. Ethylene can also be chlorinated or combined with benzene to produce 1,2-dichloroethane, a precursor of plastic polyvinyl chloride to produce ethylbenzene, which is another important plastic used in the manufacture of polystyrene. Lesser amounts of ethylene are oxidized to produce chemicals containing ethylene oxide,
According to the American Council of Chemistry, plastics, which are otherwise known as polymers, are comprised of carbon, hydrogen, chlorine, nitrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and other elements that are combined through the conversion of natural products like oil, natural gas, or coal (ACA, n.d.). Between 7 and 8 % of the oil and natural gasses produced annually are used either directly in the conversion of such fossil fuels to plastics, or in powering the processes to produce plastics (Hopewell, Dvorak & Kosior, 2009). Plastic combinations can either form as thermoplastics, which are plastics whose atoms are connected in long chains that can be melted and reused, or thermosets, which are plastics whose atoms are arranged in three dimensional patterns that cannot be melted or reused (ACC, n.d.). Plastics are used in a wide range of products. For example, polyesters are used in textiles and fabrics, polyvinylidene chlorides are used for food packaging, polycarbonates are used for glasses and disks, and more. By the United States energy averages of 2015, each kg of plastic produced requires 62-108 mega joules of energy. The plastic requiring the largest amount of energy per kg is silicon which required about 235 mega joules of energy per kg. Three hundred and twenty two million metric tons of plastic produced in 2015 alone, and that value continues to raise, (Global plastic production,
There is also debate on how much better biodegradable plastics are in the first place. This is because as biodegradable plastics break down, they break up into smaller and smaller pieces, but never quite disappear. This leaves the potential that the plastic would continue entering the food chain. But although biodegradable plastics aren’t perfect, they are still much safer than standard plastic and present a much lower risk. In addition, by making the shift to ban single use plastics, research towards better plastic alternatives will speed up and better solutions will become available. Over time, these new alternatives to plastics may spread to other items that aren’t single use, making an even greater impact on the health of humans and the
Today’s unprecedented technological advancement has accelerated the pace at which everyone is living. Time becomes a limited resource that every person tries to make the most use of. Therefore, convenience is the major quality highly valued in today’s world. Plastics strongly demonstrate such quality; plastics are light-weighted and disposable. Consequently, the use of plastics is prevalent, from simple objects, such as bags and bottles, to more complex components, such as computer boards. The benefits of plastics are countless; for instance, plastics are disposable and waterproof. However, many critics have raised questions regarding the threats posed by phenomenal plastics. What are the downsides of plastics? How should we cope with the plastic pollution around the globe? Susan Beraza has the answers to
Society in general is more concerned with the lack of recyclable potential Styrofoam possesses and its harmful impact on ecosystems. Because of inherent negative side affects that Styrofoam presents, ten-year-old Mia Hansen and her mother created a petition on Change.org that secured more than 130,000 signatures of support. Not only does the public’s response to this petition indicate a unified position opposing the Styrofoam cup, but the Jamba Juice customers are opposed to the Styrofoam cups as well because of the health risks they pose. Some of the health risks that are posed by Styrofoam and the chemicals associated with it include skin, eye, and upper respiratory tract infection, central nervous system disruption, and minor kidney or blood effects. In 2011, polystyrene (the main chemical component of Styrofoam) was “...anticipated to be a human carcinogen.” These indisputably negative side effects presented by Styrofoam is the primary reason that consumers of Jamba Juice smoothies oppose the trademark white cups as vehemently as they
Plastic has an extreme impact on the environment. Trash, consisting of paper or organic waste, decomposes after a while, unlike plastic in which one plastic bottle takes from 450 up to 1000 years to decompose. Considering that the United States produces over 300 million tons of plastic a year, most of which is only used once and then thrown away, it is clear that pollution will become worse each year. It becomes even more shocking when this number is put in other terms; 300 million tons of plastic is comparable to the weight of all the adults living on the planet. By not
Plastic has been used for only a century since it was first introduced in 1909 by Leo Hendrik. It is a phenol-formaldehyde compound and it was quickly called the “material of a thousand uses” (Doucette, 2009). Plastic today is in everything
Polyethylene is a polymer that is made of a long chain of CH2 monomers bonded together. It is one of the most commonly used polymers in everyday items. Grocery bags, soap bottles, children’s toys, and even bullet proof vests are all made from polyethylene.2 This polymer is very versatile and can be used in many materials but this all depends on the way that the polymer is chemically made or enhanced. There are many different types of polyethylene classified by density and branching. 2
Over the course of the past 60 years, an increasing amount of the current population is using plastic and reusable products to try and reduce the amount of waste that is being thrown away. Bisphenol A (BPA) is used to manufacture polycarbonate #7 plastic which have help strengthen plastic bottles, food containers and epoxy resins (University of Minnesota, 2008). BPA is used in a range of products from every day plastic beverage containers and plastic dinnerware, to compact disks, impact-resistant safety equipment, automobile parts, and toys (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2013). The CDC (2013) also states that BPA epoxy resins are used in the protective linings of food cans, in dental sealants, and in other products (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2013).
Synthetic plastics are used widely in food packaging, detergents, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals and other chemicals’ packaging. Almost 30% of the synthetic plastics are used for packaging applications in the world and this rate is expanding at 12% per annum. They have replaced traditionally used papers and cellulose products for packaging purposes because of owing better physical and chemical properties. Polyethylene, polypropylene, polystyrene, polyvinyl chloride, polyurethane, poly(ethylene terephthalate), poly(butylene terephthalate) and nylon are most commonly used plastics. Plastics possess not only suitable thermal and mechanical properties but also better stability and durability. Plastics have attractive more public and media attention because of its durability and visibility in a litter as compared to other solid components. In 1993, total world consumption of this material was 107 million tons and it reached to 146 million tons in
Everyone has heard a cashier one time or another mumble, “Paper or plastic?” as he put their groceries in a bag, but do shoppers know the effects of each vessel in which they carry their comestibles? There are many issues and benefits to both paper and plastic. The making and recycling of both paper and plastic bags can harm the environment. One must also look at the costs of making each bag. The convenience of each is also something to look at. Many people jump to conclusion that paper bags are better for the environment without knowing the facts. Since plastic bags are preferred by customers and plastic bags actually do not hurt the environment as much as paper ones do, consumers should feel at ease when choosing plastic.
Recycling is the process by which a waste material is converted again into reusable process and disposal is a process by which we get rid of something. Polymers are not very reactive so this property makes them very useable for storing food but this property makes it difficult to recycle or dispose of polymer. This difficulty in recycling and disposing of polymer is a major cause of environment hazard. Since the waste of polymer is increasing day by day so proper measurement should be taken to reduce the use of polymer and different method should be made to properly dispose and recycle waste. Following are the process by which a polymer is recycled or disposed.
These fragments absorb all the toxins that pollute waterways, contaminate soil, and sicken animals (which are then consumed). Plastic trash also absorbs organic pollutants such as BPA. They take centuries to decompose while sitting in landfills, amounting to billions of environmentally poisonous time bombs. Bisphenol A (BPA) is a chemical compound used to create polycarbonate plastic and epoxy resins. Polycarbonate plastics are found in a wide range of products, but food and drink containers are the most concerning.
Plastics are also used in the outer casings of telephones, lighting fixtures, electric mixer housings, fans, radio cabinets, coffee makers, juicer machine, mobile charger, clocks and many other things. [10]