Plastics in Daily Use

Plastics play a tremendous role in daily modern life. Plastic polymers are found in a countless number of manufactured products used on a daily basis throughout the world. According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), global plastic production has increased from less than 1 million tons per year in 1960 to nearly 25 million tons per year in 2000. In 2008, the United States alone generated approximately 13 million tons of plastics in the form of containers and packaging, approximately 7 million tons as nondurable goods, and 11 million tons in the form of durable goods. The largest category of [Page 382]plastic is the type found in disposable containers and packaging (e.g., drink bottles and food containers); however, a large amount of plastic also is produced annually in the form of both durable (e.g., appliances) and nondurable goods (e.g., diapers, grocery bags). The increased production and use of plastics over the past several decades has resulted in numerous concerns about the consumption of natural resources used in their production, the toxicity associated with plastic production and use, and the enormous environmental impact resulting from the amount of disposed plastic products that ultimately end up in landfills.

Plastics can generally be divided into two major categories, thermosets and thermoplastics. Thermosets are extremely strong and are most often used in automobile parts and construction applications because of their durability. Alternatively, weaker bonds that result in soft, pliable plastics like milk and food containers hold thermoplastic polymers together. The manufacturing of plastic materials requires the use of fossil fuels, up to approximately 80 million tons of petroleum annually in the United States alone. The manufacture of plastic materials also can be dangerous, at times requiring exposure by workers to toxic and hazardous chemicals. For example, worker exposure to extremely toxic vinyl chloride vapor during the production of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) has resulted in a number of reforms cleaning up the way that plastics are made.

Improvements have been made in developing a number of greener processes that eliminate the use and production of many of the harmful chemicals and by-products.

The increased use of plastics over the past several decades has resulted in numerous concerns about the consumption of natural resources used in their production; the toxicity associated with plastic production; and the enormous environmental impact resulting from the amount of disposed plastic products that end up in landfills or as litter.

Source: National Biological Information Infrastructure/Annette L. Olson

There has been some progress in replacing conventional plastics with plant-derived alternatives that are cleaner to produce and biodegradable; however, this technology remains relatively new. The main approaches being examined in this realm involve the conversion of plant sugars into plastic polymers, “growing” plastic inside microbes, as well as producing plastic polymers directly within corn and other crops.

The widespread use of plastic materials is unprecedented, and therefore, requires ongoing management of the resultant waste. Plastics are recycled for a number of economic and environmental reasons. It is estimated that recycling 1 ton of plastic can save more than 7 cubic yards of space in landfills. The increase in plastic recycling also decreases the use of valuable natural resources, like domestic natural gas, used in the production of new plastic materials. An estimated 832,394,000 pounds of thermoplastic waste were recycled in 2008, representing a 28 percent increase in recycling since 2005. It is estimated that approximately 80 percent of American households have access to a plastic recycling program, and [Page 383]awareness of these programs continues to rise. To assist in the recycling of plastic waste, the Plastic Bottle Institute of the Society of Plastics Industry devised this method of marking plastic products using the following

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