Current State and Potential for Increasing Plastics Recycling in the U.S.

Plastics are a relatively new manâ€made material that provides vast material benefits throughout their useful lifespan. However, their end of life disposal currently leaves much to be desired. The U.S. EPA estimates that 30 million tons (16.8% according to the EPA estimate of MSW and 8% according to the BioCycle/Columbia national survey) of the municipal solid waste (MSW) generated in the US annually is in the form of plastics.1 Of this amount only 7% is recovered for recycling , mostly in the form of polyethylene, and roughly 10% is combusted in wasteâ€toâ€energy (WTE) facilities to generate electricity. The remainder of plastic wastes are landfilled, which is clearly a loss of nonâ€renewable, fossilbased resources. Also, plastics litter in some cases poses a threat to human health and also threatens other ecosystems. For example, there is an estimated 100 million tons of plastic litter in the oceans, with millions more tons added each year.

The widely varying compositions and types of plastics, and also their commingling with other materials such as paper and inks, present difficulties in recycling. Therefore, novel beneficial uses of plastic wastes are needed to conserve fossil fuels and also land. Beyond the quantities of waste generated, plastics litter in some cases poses a threat to human health and also threatens other ecosystems. For example, there is an estimated 100 million tons of plastic litter in the oceans, with millions more tons added each yearNonetheless, it is important to recycle plastics for a number of reasons. These include energy savings of up to 40 MJ/kg depending on the polymer, as well as economic benefits, and reducing demand for virgin polymer from nonâ€renewable resources. Therefore, recycling of plastics is much preferable to landfilling.

Photo: Fotolia

Copyright:	© WtERT USA , Columbia University, Earth Engineering Center
Quelle:	Master´s Thesis 2010 (Dezember 2010)
Seiten:	66
Preis:	€ 10,00
Autor:	Jawad A. Bhatti

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