Or from discarded plastic making its way into the environment. 7. This kind of material is widely used in engineering products, particularly in the automotive sector. That is plastic items made from different types. There’s little doubt overall that the best thing we can do is reduce our need for plastics at all and look to sustainable cleaner alternatives. Plastic is a generic name referring to certain synthetic or semisynthetic materials that can be moulded or extruded into objects or films or filaments or used for making e.g. This is especially the case when we come to throw away mixed plastics. When it comes to recycling plastic, there are two terms that we hear – Recovery Rate and Recycling Rate. The advantage here is the chemical recycling prevents that need for plastic waste to be sorted, making it a lot easier to process mixed plastics, which is what a lot of recycling centres actually receive. Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC): It is a solid plastic made from vinyl chloride. In this section. Today many goods made from recycled plastic are as good as those made completely new. It’s in wrappers, containers and bottles, cars, shoes and even baby wipes and tea bags. One of the biggest constraints here is that mechanically recycled plastic material rarely has the same quality of new plastic. Further, we also need to take into consideration that plastic recycling in itself consumes energy. We can find HDPE in shower gel bottles and cleaning product bottles. Plastic waste per person; Total plastic waste by country; Mismanaged plastic waste; Share of global total mismanaged plastic waste; Future mismanaged plastic ; How much of ocean plastics come from land and marine sources? Click to open interactive version. More than 50% of plastics are not degradable and only a small percentage of plastics can be recycled. They contain BPA, which is a toxic chemical and can cause disruption to hormones as well as a range of health problems16. We are making progress when it comes to plastic recycling. Polyethylene Terephthalate (PETE or PET): It is thermoplastic polymer resin of the polyester family. The advantage here is the chemical recycling prevents that need for plastic waste to be sorted, making it a lot easier to process mixed plastics, which is what a lot of recycling centres actually receive. Much of the plastic incinerated or sent to landfill is as a result of it being unable to be recycled. Should it be impossible to recycle plastic waste economically, it will be sent to landfill and in some cases, it will be sent to an ‘energy from waste’ facility7. Therefore, once broken up, it spreads through the environment easily. It is not recyclable. 2. The above three types of plastic all emphasise that the best way to reduce plastic waste and pollution is to simply cut down. Much of the plastic incinerated or sent to landfill is as a result of it being unable to be recycled. It’s also worth noting that we only process a third of our plastic waste in the UK9. With so many different types of plastic waste, it can all seem a bit hard to wrap your head around. It also reduces the speed at which we use the earth’s oil stocks. Research has shown that increasing recycling is the best scenario for dealing with plastic waste. It is recyclable. Although it is possible to recycle, not many programs do. One of the biggest constraints here is that mechanically recycled plastic material rarely has the same quality of new plastic. You’ll typically find it in applications that require the plastic to flex, also including plastic wrap and cables. The researchers estimated that more that 300 million tons of plastics are produced every year and 50% are used for single purposes. Or from discarded plastic making its way into the environment. If you dig a bit deeper the large variety of plastic types presents often confusing information when we come to work out what we can recycle and what we can’t. We have the ability to recycle some plastics but not others. BPA has now been linked to a number of health issues including cancer and fertility problems1. The accumulation of plastic objects which are dump without any scientific process is plastic waste. The process of mining the raw oil-based materials we use to create plastic disrupts natural habitats and can cause chemicals to leach into the environment during extraction. Most large scale facilities don’t actually do this for us because it is too labour intensive, and therefore costly. indestructible, durable and its versatile properties. However, we now have chemical recycling that makes it possible to recycle mixed plastics15. Overall across Europe, we now recycle 80% more of our plastic than we did 10 years ago12. It is recyclable. It can be primary plastics, such as cigarette butts and bottle caps, or secondary plastics. Of course, using a plastic that can be recycled is a wise move. There is a collection of plastics that fall into their own category. And hence it is often either, mixed with new plastic or used for applications requiring a lower grade, chemical recycling that makes it possible to recycle mixed plastics. Yafei Shen, Rong Zhao, Junfeng Wang, Xingming Chen, Xinlei Ge, Mindong Chen. Globally plastic production is forecast to quadruple by 205013. To reduce your LDPE, you could choose to use reusable shopping bags. Of course, not forgetting plastic bags. Plastic material is cheap to produce, versatile and durable. In this section. High-Density Polyethylene or HDPE, on the other hand, is something we normally encounter in liquid detergent containers or in milk bottles. We now produce around 348 million tonnes of plastic every year11. Whether we opt for plastic that we can recycle or plastic that we cannot recycle, the amount we use has to be reduced. ... With respect to polymer types, small appliances in WEEE exhibit the largest variety of plastic types. This type waste is also categorised through their which may varies from microplastics - small particles (<5 mm) of plastic dispersed in the environment - to macroplastics. There is a link between these chemicals to liver disease and developmental problems in children. Plastic material is cheap to produce, versatile and durable. Making better choices when it comes to plastic is vital and something we can all play a role in. You don’t have to be shopping for someone else you can gift some of these to yourself too. The recycling of PET plastic involves shredding it and then repurposing into other products such as bottles, carpet or furniture. ” Energy recovery processes essentially burn plastic to turn it into heat and energy. And Across Europe, 41.6% of plastic collected through official schemes is sent to “energy recovery” Energy recovery processes essentially burn plastic to turn it into heat and energy. Impact on oceans: The researchers estimated that more than 165 million tons of plastic wastes are dumped in the world's ocean. We use it for protection around items that have been packaged, it is also used as insulation and in cups. Made correctly we can use plastics safely to package food and across various healthcare applications8. Special programs will recycle this plastic and turn into flooring or guttering. This website uses cookie or similar technologies, to enhance your browsing experience and provide personalised recommendations. Made correctly we can use plastics safely to package food and across various healthcare applications 8. HDPE is the most commonly recycled plastic and is usually deemed safe for food contact by the FDA. Plastic material is cheap to produce, versatile and durable. The recovery rate relates to the amount of plastic that has been collected. These are usually sent off for mechanical recycling, which is the most common means of recycling plastic waste. It is safe to say that we can find plastic waste hard to avoid. Plastic should not be mix in with your regular waste, it should be sorted and placed in your recycling bin. But these properties of plastic now become environmental issues. According to United Nations, almost 80% of marine debris is plastic. Whereas great progress has been made to improve this process to reduce harmful emissions, at the end of the day this is still a polluting outcome. If you’re thinking about plastic-free choices take a look at our ideas for plastic-free gifts. The many different types of plastic waste are partly where the problem lies. This type of plastic, known as the poison plastic, should not be used for food or drink as it does contain harmful chemicals. 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