Background Information Plastic plays an important role in our lives due to its ability to be functional in a number of different ways from plastic water bottles do the rubber on car tires. It seems as if everything is made of plastic in this day and age, but what happens once the consumers are done with the product? Statistics Canada showed in that 2012 Canadians produced, on average, 13.4 million tonnes of waste, 73% of which were sent for disposal. Of the 27% of waste that was recycled, a mere 17% of plastics was recycled properly, while the rest was sent to landfills. (Babooram & Wang, 2013). Improper disposal is a problem because plastic, once placed in a landfill it is unable fully break down (Platt, 2001). The logical solution for the plastics in landfills unable to degrade is to use biodegradable plastics. However, are biodegradable plastics the answer to society’s addiction to plastic? Arguments have been made on whether the pros of biodegradable plastics outweigh the cons and whether their usage will truly make a difference in our world. Survey Results The results from the survey; Biodegradable plastics, showed that most people are not knowledgeable about biodegradable plastics but did their best to be environmentally conscious. The survey showed those who knew the definition to biodegradable were more environmentally conscious and had more knowledge on this subject. A trend in the survey was the older the age group the more knowledgeable they were about biodegradable plastics. A general trend in the survey showed that many were surprised to learn that biodegradable plastics placed in landfills will not degrade. They also did not know that biodegradable plastics cannot be recycled with regular plastics and will be sorte... ... middle of paper ... ...of microorganisms, need to be at a certain temperature, moisture and gain the proper nutrients to degrade (Platt, 2001). However, if consumers are unwilling to take the time and properly recycle these biodegradable plastics – as shown in the survey- they will end up in the landfills and take just as much time to break down as regular plastics (Szaky, 2012). As plastic never fully degrades, that means biodegradable plastics will not as well within a landfill. Landfills are specifically designed to be air tight and to be free of moisture, not even allowing organic materials such as food waste to be broken down, even after long periods of time (Di Mungo, 2012). Therefore, the intentions of the consumer may be good, but if they do not educate themselves about biodegradable plastics and learn to properly dispose of them the purpose of plastic being biodegradable is lost.
In recent years, it has become blatantly obvious that the Earth’s environmental deterioration is showing signs towards a cause of global concern. Drastic increases in water pollution, global warming, and deforestation, among other environmental issues have caused a sudden desire to raise awareness of and to resolve human-initiated problems. One of the more controversial topics involving human impact on environment is the excessive use of plastic, specifically in the form of plastic bags. Used for their convenience, durability, and inexpensive nature, plastic bag production and consumption has exploded, allowing them to become a seemingly necessary part of everyday life. Unfortunately, however, this abuse of plastic bags has brought a slew of environmental health
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
To begin with, in the U.S., trash is most commonly sent to a landfill, unfortunately though, once it arrives there little sorting occurs. According to the EPA, “Nationally, food is the single most common material sent to landfills. When excess food, leftover food, and food scraps are disposed of in a landfill, they decompose and become a significant source of methane, a potent greenhouse gas” (“Cupertino Honored”). At a landfill, trash arriving is only screened for liquids in order to avoid the creation of leachate, or water that is contaminated from dissolved chemicals in garbage. Once screened, dumped, and covered, bacteria begin to decompose the trash and, as a result, release methane, a greenhouse gas 20 times more potent than carbon dioxide. The fact is that landfills are ideally supposed to be used to bury garbage that is non-decomposable, however, with the garbage collection method that is currently in place across many states, all unsorted garbage is being sent there. In addition, “...traditional trash disposal not only wastes material that can enrich soil but accelerates climate change. Organic matter decom...
Biomass Packaging Co., et al. Plastic in the ocean does not biodegrade, it only breaks down into smaller, and smaller pieces, some pieces are so small they cannot be seen by the naked eye.... ... middle of paper ... ... 11 April 2014.
Polystyrene is a thermoplastic polymer which is the third most important polymer which is synthetically prepared from the styrene of monomers which is petrochemical liquid. It can be hard or can b soft foamed. It is inexpensive resin that’s why it is clear, brittle and hard. The excellent processing and physical properties make this thermoplastic material very suitable that’s why it is used in many applications. It is a vinyl polymer which has long hydrocarbon chain and phenyl group attached to every other carbon atom. It is formed or produced by polymerization of vinyl which should be a free radical. This polystyrene is a component of type of hard rubber which is also called poly(styrene-butadiene-styrene). Polystyrene will take more volume in landfill than paper and enter the environment again and again when water or any mechanical force breach landfills. We can also say that it performed many functions as a monomer which is to be found in many different polymers. As estimated that the 17-21 million tons of polystyrene is produced yearly.
Anonymous. "NEW PROCESS MAKES BIOPLASTIC PRODUCTS CHEAPER." Buildings. 01 Aug. 2015: 19. eLibrary. Web. 22 Jul. 2016.
More than half of the contributors to this survey know that there are at least 100 million plastic bottle disposed of a day. This is a frightening statistic but it is a hopeful prospect that people know about this because they could be trying to lessen that number by refilling water bottles more and recycling. Two people thought 500 million plastic bottles were disposed of and another two people thought 10 million were disposed.
Tillman, Gerngoss U., and Slater C. Steven. "Making Packaging Greener – Biodegradable Plastics." Biodegradable Plastic News. 2 Aug. 2007 <"Background Press Information." Background Press Information. 28 July 2007 .>.
The world population is living, working, and vacationing along the coasts. They are contributing to an unprecedented tide of plastic waste. Pollution is defined as the process that alters a substance or molecule on planet earth, the pollution is caused by the physical contact of an organic decaying particle with a clean particle in the same spot, at the time the two particles join together is when occurs pollution in which the environment is greatly altered. Too many, plastic is a modern day miracle, versatile, inexpensive and durable (Rochman 2014). To others, it is a scourge, a non-degradable pollutant that threatens to choke the global environment. Plastic pollution has led to the deaths of many animals, natural resources, and people (Rochman 2014). It is time to change America’s thinking and to learn from past mistakes.
Polymers are large molecules that are formed of many smaller molecules joined together as sub units, known as monomers. They portray a huge role in society as they tend to make up most plastics used ranging from plastic shopping bags to styrofoam. Polymers can be found naturally an example being DNA the building blocks of life but most usable polymers are man made (American Chemistry Council, n.d). The polymers in plastics widely used by society today are known as homopolymers, as they are the product of two or more identical monomers that have undergone polymerisation. However, here is an alternative form of polymer that is not as widely used called copolymers. Copolymers are constructed when two or more
Everything around us, from the things we use to the things we eat can be categorized into two groups- biodegradable and non-biodegradable. Natural products like paper, vegetable peels, wool, certain plastics etc. are biodegradable products which mean they can be consumed by the microorganisms and returned to the nature. Or in simpler words we can say that bio degradable products are the ones which can decompose in a small amount of time without polluting the environment. On the other hand, products like glass, synthetic rubber and steel come under the category of non-biodegradable. These things do not get decomposed by the action of microorganisms and they stay in our environment for hundreds of years polluting our land and the whole ecosystem.
Many people believe that we should not recycle anymore, but this is not the case. We, the people of the world, need to continue to recycle because we do not want our children to grow up in a world where there are no certain species of animals due to recycling failures. We also do not want our children to grow up thinking that it is okay that they throw their garbage on the ground, and not have to pick it up. We need to teach our children that they need to take care of the earth that they are living on, because they only get one. Recycling is one of the most beneficial environmental issues that we have here on this earth. Recycling saves energy, limits pollution and supports several environmental factors of the economy. “In 2003, the savings from recycling 54 billion aluminum cans exceeded the energy equivalent of 15 million barrels of crude oil- or the amount of gas the U.S. uses in one day,” according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The EPA estimates that 200 million gallons of used oil are not disposed of properly, and if we were to dispose the oil properly then we could keep the oil from polluting the ground and the fresh water source. According to E. Takatori, “… While on-going societal regulation treats material recycling as the dominant cycle, the properties of recycled plastic remain the most port
Millions of plastic bags are given out to consumers by supermarkets and stores to carry their goods in. They are also cheap, light, durable, easy to carry and in many cases, free. The most commonly used shopping bag is made of High Density Polyethylene (HDPE). This type is used in the majority of supermarkets and stores. After these bags are used, they often end up in landfills or as litter, roughly only three percent of plastic bags is actually recycled per year (Planet Ark, 2011). The materials used in making plastic bags make them non-biodegradable. According to the science dictionary, 2011 refers to “these materials cannot be decomposed into environmentally safe waste materials by the action of soil bacteria.” These harmful substances are toxic and take approximately four hundred years to break down, or in this case photo-degrade; which is how plastics made from (HDPE) break down. Since they are not biodegradable, they remain in the environment and are absorbed in soil or water (Indian Centre for Plastics in the Environment, 2010). This essay will discuss the various harmful effects of plastic bags, and demonstrate the risks that these bags impose on humans, animals and the environment. It will also discuss a series of suggested solutions that could help reduce plastic bag usage.
Plastics play a significant role across the environmental, societal and economic dimensions of sustainable development. Our modern lifestyle would not be possible without plastics. Plastics have proliferated so readily throughout the modern world because of their inherent properties such as lightweight, versatility and durability (Fortelný et. al., 2004). By possessing these advantageous characteristics, plastics has become a good candidate for replacement of other materials that range from simple plastic parts such as household storage containers, to sophisticated devices such as heart replacement valves. It is this range of properties together with their low cost that has driven the annual worldwide demand for plastics to reach at least 308 million tonnes by 2010 (Andrady and Neal, 2009).
In the 1870’s, plastic was discovered in the United States when John Wesley Hyatt was trying to create a different material to make billiard balls (Manrich, 3). Little did he know it would majorly evolve into material we use everyday. However, plastics are now taking over our landfills. The average American throws away one-hundred and eighty-five pounds of plastic a year (Popescu, 121). The answer to decrease this statistic is easy: recycling. I believe that recycling will help eliminate littering and the growth of landfills, while also creating jobs for the unemployed. Not only does recycling plastic help eliminate littering, but also reuses the plastic so there is not a production of additional unneeded plastics. The