Plastic Continent: Plastic Recycling Overview

The manufacturing of plastic began during World War II. Plastic was a result of the experiments conducted by petrochemical industries. The term plastic is derived from the Greek term plastikos meaning fit for molding.

One of the features of plastics is it does not decompose easily and this is the negative point of the plastics. The plastic materials such as bottles, wrappers and containers if dumped do not decompose. Instead, plastic garbage causes environmental pollution and is detrimental for the conservation of environment.

Since plastics does not degrade, it is broken down using a process called photo degradation. During this process plastic becomes brittle and then breaks downs into bits. Plastics are considered as one of the pollutants causing serious environmental issues because the garbage containing plastics end up in the waterways that eventually flow into the oceans. Accumulation of plastic in the ocean endangers marine life and pollutes the water.

Does Plastic Continent exist?

Yes, plastic continent does exist and was discovered by Captain Charles Moore a decade ago. Plastic continent is twice the size of Britain and it is the region that lies between the Hawaii Islands and California in the central Pacific Ocean.

One of the causes for the lack of marine life in this region is due to pollution and the pollutant is none other than the plastics. According to the reports of Captain Charles Moore, instead of clear ocean waters he could see only mounds of plastic wastes such as bottles, wrappers and other wastes floating. He believes plastic wastes started accumulating in the 1950s.

Plastic Continent is the man made continent of floating plastic wastes. The sailors and the fishermen have avoided this region for years. The reasons are

* There are no fishes here because of the lack of nutrients
* The zone also lacks the wind that is essential for sailing.

To research on the ocean pollution, Captain Moore founded Algalita Marine Research Foundation. Other organizations such as Greenpeace supported his cause. The reports of The United Nations Environment Program reveal millions of seabirds and marine mammals are dying to due the invasion of plastics.

The waste plastics that are believed to be recycled are in fact being dumped into the oceans. The marine animals mistake these for food particles and nibble them. This leads to their death that affects the marine food chain.

To save the oceans from the plastic continent you need to - reduce the use of plastics, re-use the plastic bags and containers and recycle the plastics.

Plastic Recycling Overview

One of the greatest sources of plastic wastes is the household and the recycling household plastics present various challenges. One of the challenges is collecting of waste plastics dumped along with other garbage. There are two types of plastic recycling:

Mechanical recycling of plastics - The plastic wastes should be sorted out before the process of mechanical recycling. Mechanical recycling involves the processes such as washing, shredding, melting and granulation.

Chemical recycling of plastics - Chemical recycling is also known as feedstock recycling. In this process, the plastic wastes are broken down to polymers by using various recycling technologies such as pyrolysis, hydrogenation, thermal cracking and gasification.

A wide array of plastic products is made from recycled plastics. Some of the products include plastic bags and garbage bin liners, window frames, CD cases, garden furniture and various office accessories such as plastic trays, stands and so on. The recycled plastics are also made into flowerpots, plumbing pipes, toys, carpets and insulation.

A Few Plastic Recycling Facts

Did you know on an average Americans throw away two million plastic bottles in an hour?

PET or Poly Ethylene Terephthalate has the recycling code #1. The soda bottles made from PET are the most recycled plastic containers.

Another interesting fact about PET bottles is that, at the time of recycling 35 PET soda bottles make enough fiberfill to fill a sleeping bag.

One-third of the carpets manufactured in the US have recycled PET bottles in it.

You can make a six-foot plastic bench using around 1100 recycled milk cans.

The high-density polyethylene plastic used to make juice bottles and milk cans, can be recycled to make plastic goods like flowerpots, trashcans and curbside garbage bins.

The statistics show that a ton of HDPE plastic costs around $400. It is believed around 75% of the HDPE plastic that is manufactured are use and throw containers.

Around 55% of the recycled PET is used in the manufacturing of carpet and clothes. 21% of recycled PET is used to make food and non-food containers. Similarly, 45% of recycled HDPE plastics are used for making new bottles for storing fruit juices and milk. HDPE is also used to make garden products such as edging, picnic tables, benches and many more.

It is estimated about 6-8% of the solid wastes of the United States is the plastic.

Do you know it takes 700 years for a plastic bottle to decompose and mix with the earth in the landfill?