Online Lesson - Plastics and Recycling

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Plastics Recycling
What are plastics?
Where do plastics come from?
How are plastics made?
What are the uses for plastics?
How are plastics recycled?
Can plastics even be recycled?
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What are Plastics?
Patented in 1856
Synthesized from crude oil
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How are plastics made?
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How are plastics made?
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How are plastics made?
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Plastics Recycling
What type of structure would it have amorphous,
crystalline or cross-linked? Keep track of your
answer as part of your reply.
polyethylene terephthalate
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High-density polyethylene
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Did you collect and items with the 3 or PVC on
it? Had you considered putting them in the
trash, or put them in the trash previously?
Polyvinyl Chloride
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Check your local supermarkets website or call
them to find out about their recycling policy on
plastic shopping bags.
Low-density polyethylene
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Find out if your community supports polypropylene
recycling, if its recycled locally or shipped
elsewhere. Report this also in your post.
Polypropylene
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Does your community support polystyrene
recycling? Check the internet for local support
groups for polystyrene or plastic recycling and
post in your reply.
Polystyrene
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Acrylic
Fiberglass
Nylon
Polycarbonate
Polylactic Acid
Multilayer combinations of different plastics
Other plastics
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Lesson re-cap
What are plastics?
Long chains of hydrocarbon molecules
Where do plastics come from?
oil
How are plastics made?
By breaking up carbon double-bonds and linking
molecules
7 different types of plastics
1 PET 2 HDPE 3 PVC 4 LDPE 5
PP 6 PS 7 O (other)
Uses for plastics
Recycling of plastics
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Questions
Think about these questions and what recycling
means to you, as well as what you know about your
communitys recycling efforts, and journal your
thoughts on the subject. Also post which plastic
items you found in your first search in your
home, your thoughts on the molecular structure
of PET plastic (amorphous, crystalline
or cross-linked), if you had considered putting
PVC items in the trash, and whether or not your
community supports polystyrene recycling. Read
at least two other student s replies and comment
as to the similarities or differences with your
answers.
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References
Retrieved 21 October 2011 from http//www.plastics
industry.org/AboutPlastics/content.cfm?ItemNumber
823navItemNumber1125 Retrieved 21 October
2011 from http//www.popsci.com/archive-viewer?id
cycDAAAAMBAJpg58queryB-25   Retrieved 26
October 2011 from http//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pla
stic Retrieved 27 October 2011 from
http//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plastic_recycling Re
trieved 04 November 2011 from http//environment.a
bout.com/od/earthtalkcolumns/a/recycleplastics.htm
Retrieved 06 November 2011 from
http//www.ecolife.com/recycling/plastic
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Additional reading or viewing
"Enhancing Plastics Recycling" Steve
Alexander, Association of Postconsumer Plastics
Recyclers "Incentive Based Recycling" Ron
Gonen, Recycle Bank "Creating Value in Your
Plastics Recycling Program" Robert Render and
David Kaplan, Maine Plastics http//www.tvo.org/i
qm/plastic/animations.html Addicted to Plastic
video at http//www. youtube.
com/watch?vd7odFt5YA3g