Deposing of Plastics

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Deposing of Plastics
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• When items made from polymers are finished with
  they will need to be disposed of.
• The traditional method of dealing with waste is
  to 'land fill' it, this involves dumping waste in
  a hole in the ground

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• The problem is many
• polymers are not biodegradable

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• This means they are not broken down by
  microorganisms
• If dropped as litter then it will remain there
  until picked up as it will not rot
• The alternatives are to
• Incinerate the plastic
• Recycle them

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• If the plastics are incinerated the heat produced
  can be used to generate electricity
• Although potentially toxic waste gasses need to
  be contained and dealt with
• Also Carbon Dioxide will be released

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• The best way to deal with waste polymers is to
  recycle them
• This is an expensive option as polymers need to
  be
• Collected
• and
• Separated

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• To aid sorting many plastic items have a
  recycling code on them

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Polyethylene Terephthalate Plastic bottles, ovenable prepared food trays
High Density Poly(e)thene Carrier bags, Yoghurt pots, milk bottles, margarine tubs, cereal box liners
Vinyl (Polyvinyl Chloride or PVC) Clear packaging, medical tubing, wire and cable insulation, window frames, drain points
Low Density Poly(e)thene Dry cleaning, bread and frozen food bags, squeezable bottles, e.g. honey, mustard.
Polypropylene Yogurt containers and margarine tubs, medicine bottles
Polystyrene Compact disc jackets, meat trays, egg cartons, aspirin bottles, cups, plates, cutlery.
Other or Combination
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• Despite the extra effort needed to recycle
  polymers
• it does have the benefit of reducing the
  consumption of crude oil
• This will allow crude oil reserves to last longer