 Plastics are polymers, large

molecules made of repeating units of

smaller molecules (monomers) that
are chemically bound together. A
polymer is like a chain in which each
link is a monomer.

SYNTHESIS OF PLASTICS
Oxygen,170 C
Ethylene Polythene
1000 atm
 Plastics are chemically produced
substance that can be molded into a
permanent or a temporary object.
 TYPES:
 T h e r mo P l a s t i c s
• Those which can be remoulded into any other desired shape.
T h e r m o s e t t i n g
Pl a s t i c s
• Those which cannot be remoulded into any other desired shape.
 There are about 50 different groups of
plastics, with hundreds of different
varieties. American Society of Plastics
Industry developed a marking code to
help consumers identify and sort the
main types of plastics.
TYPE EXPANSION USES
PET Poly Ethylene Fizzy drink bottles and
Pterephthalate oven-ready meal trays

HDPE High-density Bottles for milk and

polyethylene washing-up liquids.

PVC Polyvinyl chloride Food trays, cling film,

bottles for squash, mineral
water and shampoo.

LDPE Low-density polyethylene Carrier bags and bin liners.

PP Polypropylene - Microwaveable meal trays,

margarine tubs

Pots, fish trays, boxes and

PS Polystyrene cartons, cups, plastic
 Resistance to
chemicals, water and
impact.
 Good safety and
hygiene properties for
food packaging.
 Excellent thermal and
electrical insulation
properties.
 Relatively inexpensive
to produce.
 Lighter weight than
competing materials,
reducing fuel
consumption during
transportation.
Disadvantages of Plastics
 DECOMPOSITION
 The main disadvantage of plastic is
the shear amount of time they take to
decompose--the average plastics takes
500 years. Plastic's decomposition can
be affected by various factors, such as
the type of plastic, the climate and
acids in the landfill; plastic still lasts
a long time, filling landfills for an
indefinite period.
 DIFFICULT TO RECYCLE
 Glass bottles can be melted and easily
reused, as can tin cans. Recycling plastic is
not so simple. Much of the plastic placed in
recycling boxes is not recycled at all, as
most plastic cannot be recycled. Those
bottles that are recycled are not used to
make new bottles. Instead, recycled plastic
bottles are used to make non-recyclable
products, such as T-shirts, plastic lumber or
parking lot bumpers. This means more raw
materials need to be used to create new
plastic bottles than is the case with easily
recycled material, such as glass or tin.
 NON-RENEWABLE

 Plastic is manufactured using oil by-

products and natural gas, materials
that could be used in numerous
other applications or conserved were
plastic usage lower. Natural gas, for
example, can be used to heat houses
and cook food. Using plastic in the
volume we currently do reduces the
availability of these resources, which
are gone forever when used up.
 HARD TO REUSE
 The standard disposable plastic bottle
is meant for one use, not many.
Recycled plastic bottles are not
refilled in-mass the way glass beer
bottles are, and flimsy plastic bottles
do not lend themselves well to at-
home re-usage. Water bottles, for
example, are often reused in the
home but become less and less sturdy
over time and are ultimately thrown
away.
 THREAT TO ANIMALS
 Discarded Plastic usually
ends up within marine
sources. The Pacific Ocean
has one of the largest
dumping ground for
plastics, unknown numbers
of sea birds marine
mammals and fish ingest
plastics which causes a
variety of negative health
effects.
 Plastic is one of the
few new chemical
materials which pose
environmental
problem.
 Plastic in the
environment is
regarded to be more
an aesthetic
nuisance than a
hazard, since the
material is
biologically quite
inert.
 Plastic is cheap, it
gets discarded easily,
and, its persistence
in the environment
can do great harm.
 POLLUTANTS FROM PLASTIC

 Plastics Release Pollutants:

– Poly brominated di-phenyl
ethers (PBDE)
– Nonylphenolls
– Bisphenol A
– Phthalates
 Plastics Absorb Hydrophobic
Pollutants:
 Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs)
 Dichloro Diphenyl Trichloro
ethane (DDT)
 Dichloro Diphenyl Dichloro
ethylene (DDE)
 POLLUTANTS FROM PLASTIC
INCINERATION

• Many plastics,
particularly PVC, when
burned result in
emissions of the deadly
poisons named dioxin.
• Dioxins are highly
persistent compounds,
with the potential to
become increasingly
concentrated in living
tissues as they move up
the food chain. It is
often considered to be
the man-made
compound most toxic to
animals.
PLASTIC DEBRIS ON THE
MOVE
 The per capita consumption of plastic
in the country is 10.2 kg in 2012.It is
expected to go up to 12 kg by 2014.

 By 2012, India is also projected to be

the third largest consumer market for
plastic goods with a consumption of
12.5 million tonnes per annum,
behind US and China.
 Percentage of Plastic used in different fields
Mechanical Engineering
2%
Toys/Sports
Medical 3%
Other
Footwear 2% 3% Agriculture
1% 7%

Transport
8%

Furniture/Houseware
8%

Electrical and Electronics

8%
Packaging
35%

Building and
Construction
23%
Disposing of plastic waste is
trickier than dealing with
other traditional landfill
material. Not only does
plastic take thousands of
years to break down, it
can leach dangerous
poison into the
environment. Plastic is not
going away, but how
plastic waste is managed
is becoming more
sophisticated. Managing
plastic waste starts at
home with the consumer,
but ultimately depends on
governments around the
world as well.
 Recycling
Plastic recycling is the process
of recovering scrap or
waste plastic and
reprocessing the material
into useful products,
sometimes completely
different in form from their
original state. For
instance, this could mean
melting down soft
drink bottles and then
casting them as plastic
chairs and tables. Typically
a plastic is not recycled
into the same type of
plastic, and products made
from recycled plastics are
often not recyclable.
Plasma Pyrolysis Technology (PPT)

Plasma pyrolysis or plasma gasification is a

waste treatment technology that gasifies
matter in an oxygen-starved environment
to decompose waste material into its basic
molecular structure. It uses high electrical
energy and high temperature created by
an electrical arc gasifier and does not
combust the waste as incinerators do. This
arc breaks down waste primarily into
elemental gas and solid waste (slag), in a
device called a plasma converter.
 Biodegradable Plastics
Bioplastics are a form of plastics derived from
renewable biomass sources, such as vegetable fats
and oils , corn starch or micro biota .Common
plastics, such as fossil-fuel plastics, are derived
from petroleum. These plastics rely more on scarce
fossil fuels and produce more greenhouse gas. Some,
but not all, bioplastics are designed to biodegrade.
Bioplastics which are designed to biodegrade can
break down in either anaerobic or aerobic
environments, depending on how they are
manufactured. There is a variety of bioplastics being
made; they can be composed of starches, cellulose, or
other biopolymers. Some common applications of
bioplastics are packaging materials, dining utensils,
food packaging, and insulation.
Conversion of Plastic Waste into
Liquid Fuel
 Methods to convert waste plastics into
hydrocarbon fuel have been in development
for decades. But the associated costs to
commercialize the technologies were
prohibitive in previous years when crude oil
was relatively inexpensive.
 As costs for crude oil have risen, concerns
about energy security and the environment
are renewing efforts in plastics-to fuel
recycling processes. Scientists hope the
technologies will soon provide the nation
with cheaper, alternative fuels that can help
reduce foreign oil dependency.
 DESIGN TO CHANGE
The two best changes we can do
are
 Use less plastics

 To reuse plastics when possible.

 Share what you’ve
learned
 Lead by example
 Ask your friends
and family to join
you
 Speak to city
council
 Write letters to
government
officials
 Get your school
involved
 4-R for Plastics!

Refuse
Reduce
Reuse
Recycle
 AKASH N
Calicut
Tornadoes