Poly(ethylene terephthalate) Outdated: Is the World Ready for a New Plastic?
Abstract:
This paper explains the structure of polymer poly(ethylene terephthalate) also known as
PET. It states the properties of the plastic as well recycling methods. My goal was to find
out what makes PET the number one plastic, both in consumption as well as the most
recycled. I also searched for new polymers that are being created by scientists and
compare them to PET to see if there was a plastic out there that is better for the
environment. I found a few alternatives that would be able to replace PET but aren’t
being used. I also found a fire-proof polymer called BHDB which can replace the
previously used polymer.
Poly(ethylene terephthalate), a plastic found in soda bottles, peanut butter jars,
and even pillow and sleeping bag filling [1], is the most used and recycled plastic. As
Americans we use about 2.5 million plastic bottles per hour. Most of this plastic that we
are using, though, ends up not only in land fields but in oceans and other undesirable
places, only a small portion of it is actually recycled. Plastic are long chains of polymeric
molecules. Unlike paper or other compounds, plastics are commonly used for their
qualities such as durability weight, processibility, cost, corrosion, and impact resistance.
2
The basic composition of polymers includes oil, coal and natural gas though recently they
have been more petroleum-based[1]. About 140 million tons per year are produced and a
lot of that ends up as waste in land fields [1].
There are many characteristics PET has that contribute to the popularity of this
polymer. Among those characteristics are lightweight, low density, low cost, mechanical
toughness, dura...
... middle of paper ...
...e motivated
and helping me make my paper the best it can be. Thanks to Ryan Dill for the title idea
and lastly the girls of Room 303, without them I’d still be writing the first sentence of my
paper.
7
Works Cited
[1] “Biotechnology Advances” Volume 26, Issue 3. ScienceDirect May-June 2008: Pages
246-265. 24 July 2008.
1&_user=4421&_rdoc=1&_fmt=&_orig=search&_sort=d&view=c&_acct=C000059598
&_version=1&_urlVersion=0&_userid=4421&md5=34933854b44913198526946dc2afce
96>
[2] “PET.” 24 July 2008.
[3] “How to Recycle PET.” KenPlas. 24 July 2008.
[4] “New Enviro-Friendly Flame-Retardant Synthetic Polymer” Posted 31 May 2007. 24
July 2008.
that are supposed to work for humans. Because of all the harm that animals go through,
Polyethylene (PE) is one of the most commonly used polymers which can be identified into two plastic identification codes: 2 for high-density polyethylene (HDPE) and 4 for low density polyethylene (LDPE). Polyethylene is sometimes called polyethene or polythene and is produced by an addition polymerisation reaction. The chemical formula for polyethylene is –(CH2-CH2)n– for both HDPE and LDPE. The formation of the polyethylene chain is created with the monomer ethylene (CH2=CH2).
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
Don’t just click on the first pet store link you see or walk to your local supermarket and pick whatever is available. Look and compare different deals and products.
Ironically, plastic, which is a material designed to last forever, is generally used for things we tend to throw away. Every year, about one hundred to two hundred billion pounds of plastic are manufactured. Only 31% of that plastic is actually recycled. Biomass packaging estimates 10% of that plastic ends up in the ocean annually. About 20% of it coming from ships and other platforms, and the other 80% coming from land derived sources, such as international garbage dumping, winds or tides, either way it finds its way to the ocean.
Ocean, Home of Plastics Passing through an aisle of a regular supermarket, customers will observe that most of the products in there are made of or packed with the base material plastic. Usually, the bag that will be used to carry the products bought from the supermarket will also be made of plastic. It is important to consider that every piece of plastic that has ever been created still exists today in some structure. A study from the World Economic Forum and the Ellen MacArthur Foundation anticipated that if plastic production continues as ongoing rates, and with improper disposals, by the year 2050, the oceans will have more plastic wastes than fish. Although plastic is a material that benefits every individual, the overproduction of plastics
The US Container Recycling Institute estimates that 67 million plastic water bottles are discarded every day, enough plastic water bottles to wrap around the planet 149 times each year. Indeed, plastic water bottles should be banned from use by the public. The usage of water bottles should be suppressed because they are unimaginably dangerous, wasteful, expensive, and rarely recycled.
... converting plastic waste into useful products are being affected by pollution; this contamination is found within containers where plastics are collected. But the same risk of pollution carries downside consequences in which workers and people responsible for cleaning and disinfecting the plastic materials are not doing the best to eliminate plastic waste, and to disinfect the infected bacteria and microorganisms from the atmosphere and environment. Organizations from China and India are the largest in the world, they collect and purchase used plastic from United States, Europe, Asia and Latin America (Minguez 2013). These companies do not bother to sanitize the products before the recycling process; for this reason the planet earth is getting a worse environmental condition, and it is destroying lives of living beings, and natural resources as well (Uddin 2014).
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
Using plastic bags are second nature to people in this day and age. Warner acknowledges, “Much to the dismay of the environmentally conscious citizens worldwide, the ubiquity of the free plastic carryout bag has bred nonchalant consumers who take this modern convenience for granted” (646). Although some people are conscious about the environment, people strive more for convenience and do not think about the impacts using bags have not only on the environment, but on themselves as well. If something is bad for the environment, it will alternatively be bad for humans as well. When plastic bags are exposed to the sun from being littered all around, the ultraviolet rays cause the substances of plastic bags to weaken. After the substances weaken, the substances become invisible to the naked eye. The substances that are no longer able to be seen are toxic to humans (Warner 649). As a result of plastic bags being littered around, animals consume plastic bags. This is negatively affects humans because animals are often consumed. When humans consume animals like, fish, there can be plastic in the fish’s belly, which then transfers to the humans and this poses a concern for human’s health. Humans are negatively affected by plastic bags because of the toxic chemicals in plastic bags, as well as, consuming animals with plastic in their
Our world is getting to the point to where we will be surrounded by trash. There are hazards happening because of the excess trash, which could have been recycled. Although the government is not doing their best to make these hazards stop, surprisingly it is the non-governed organizations that are trying to make the difference. Proven studies and facts have been made about these issues, so people should take this into consideration and start recycling more. Recycling is a beneficial process that is not required globally like it should be because citizens are uneducated on the process and what it can do. People who are not recycling do not know the hazards they are causing everywhere.
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
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 are actually recycled per year (Planet Ark, 2011).
are required and less energy is needed to make recycled plastic products than to make
Being convenient enough for everyday use and even tasting better to some, plastic bottles are a popular way of consuming beverages. They are convenient and to some people, can even taste better. However, the process of manufacturing and transporting the millions of bottles produced is detrimental to the environment. Continued use of plastic bottles could exponentially hurt the planet.