Plastics

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Plastics

• SVN3E

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Plastics

• Plastics are polymers, long chains of a repeating
  chemical pattern.

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Organic Synthetics

• Plastics are organic chemically in that they
  contain carbon.
• But they are also synthetic most are
  manufactured from petroleum (oil) or natural gas.

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Recycling

• Most plastic can be broken down, melted, and
  reformed into new products in closed-loop
  production.

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Recycling

• However, only about 7 of plastic (about 30 of
  bottles) is recycled. The rest is disposed of in
  municipal waste and makes up 12 of the waste
  stream.

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Different types

• There are many different types of plastics
  because there are many different possible
  chemical structures.
• Each type of recyclable plastic is identified
  with a number from 1 to 7 in the centre of the
  recycling symbol.

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Polyethylene terephthalate

• For example, bottles are often made from
  polyethylene terephthalate.

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High density polyethylene

• Other bottles are made from high density
  polyethylene, which can also be recycled into
  building materials.

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Polyvinyl chloride

• Pipes and building materials (and credit cards!)
  are made of polyvinyl chloride (PVC), which can
  be recycled into these materials and non-food
  bottles.

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Polyvinyl chloride

• When PVCs are burned, they create the extremely
  toxic chemical dioxin.

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Low density polyethylene

• Bags (grocery, garbage, sandwich) and plastic
  wrap and more bottles are made from low density
  polyethylene.

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Polypropylene

• Outdoor furniture and hair brushes and binders
  are made from polypropylene, which is also
  recycled into car parts and milk crates.

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Polystyrene

• Foam products (cups, insulation, egg cartons) are
  polystyrene.

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Polystyrene

• Foam products (cups, insulation, egg cartons) are
  polystyrene.
• Recycling polystyrene is usually not
  cost-effective.

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Other

• Other plastics can include styrene, nylon,
  acrylic, polycarbonate, etc.

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Bioplastics

• Although plastics are usually made from fossil
  fuels, they can also be made from vegetable
  products. (E.g. potato starch contains polymers
  too.) These plastics are called bioplastics.