Plastics Recycling

1
Plastics Recycling

• Ryan Rose .
• Alphonse G. Mutsindashyaka
• 04/26/2001 .
  

2
Objective

• To determine if why it is important to recycle
  plastics made from synthetic polymers
• - statistics
• - advantages
• - disadvantages
• - impact on environment

3
Why Recycle

• Question arises about what to do with plastic
  waste
• Waste accumulation has been a problem throughout
  history
• Growth in technology requires new materials
• Most consumer waste end up in landfill

4
DEFINITION

• Plastics -gt are commercial materials made from
  synthetic polymers
• 2 types of polymers
• -Thermoplastic polymers
• Structured linearly, Heat softened
• -Thermoset polymers
• Formed with irreversible cross-linkages
  of covalent bonds, not heat softened

5
Thermoplastic Thermoset Wastes per Sector
6
Different types of plastic resins

•   Copolyesters
• To make toys, medical devices, appliances
  parts, oral care products, and housewares.
• Polyethylene Terephthalate (PETE)
• To make soft drink bottles, waste containers,
  vegetable oil containers.
• High-Density Polyethylene (HDPE)
• To make pharmaceutical bottles, milk jugs,
  butter tubs
• Low-Density Polyethylene (LDPE )
• To make caps, trash bags, shrink-wraps,
  netting

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TYPES CONTD

• Vinyl/Polyvinyl Chloride (V/PVC)
• To make beauty bottles, vegetable oil bottles,
  food wraps
• Polypropylene
• To make butter tubs , bottle tops, carpets and
  food wraps

8
Plastics Recycling Process

• Sort and clean different plastic groups
• Melt plastic into bales
• Break bales up and grind into small flakes
• Wash, rinse and dry flakes in hot air
• Color maybe added or maybe run through a
  pelletizer

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Advantages of Recycling

• Waste reduction
• Conservation of energy
• Save money
• Create new jobs
• Generate revenues

10
Disadvantages

• Recyclable materials might be in contact with
  radioactive materials
• The chemical bonds (toughness)
• Impossible to recycle at 100

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Growth in plastic bottles recycling

• Plastic bottle recycling increased since 1990

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Growth of plastic bottles contd

• Manufacturers and consumers do value plastics for
  their low cost,versatility and performance
  benefits.
• Consumer demand safety and convenience
• Prefer to buy products in plastic
• -gt light weight and shatter resistant

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Conclusions

• Recycling
• - save money
• - use less raw materials
• - no landfills- plastics take about 20 to 30
  years to decompose

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QUESTIONS

• ?

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REFERENCES

• 1. Fried, Joel R. Polymer Science and Technology.
  Prentice Hall Upper Saddle River, NJ 1995
• 2. www.sperecycling.com
• 3. www.dupont.com (Plastics recycling)
• 4. www.eastman.com (Eastman chemicals)
• 5. www.raffrecycling.com