Plastics play an important role in nearly every aspect of
our lives. Plastics are used for the manufacture of everyday products, such as
beverage containers, toys and furniture use. The widespread use of plastics
requires good management of product life to its end. Plastics represent more
than 12% of the amount of municipal solid waste, a dramatic increase since
1960, when plastics were less than 1% of the waste stream.
The broader category of plastics not only in packaging (eg,
soda bottles, lids, shampoo bottles), but also are found in durable goods (eg,
appliances, furniture) and non-durable (for example, diapers, trash bags, cups
and utensils, medical devices).
Some facts
• In 2010 we generated 31 million tons of plastic waste.
• In 2010, the United States generated almost 14 million
tons of plastic as packaging, almost 11 million tons as durable goods, such as
appliances, and almost 7 million tons as non-durable goods, such as plates and
cups.
• Only 8% of total plastic waste generated in 2010 was
recovered for recycling.
• In 2010, the category of plastics, including bags, sacks
and wraps almost 12% was recycled.
According to the American Chemistry Council, nearly 1,800 US
companies controlled or recovered post-consumer plastics. Plastics are usually
collected in specific containers curbside recycling or sites intended to be
collected. So they go to a materials recovery center, where materials are
sorted into general categories (plastics, paper, glass, etc.)
The resulting mixed plastics are sorted by type of plastic,
packaged and sent to a recovery center. During installation, garbage and dirt
are discarded, the plastic is washed and ground into small flakes. A flotation
tank then separated more so polluting waste, based on their different
densities. The flakes are then dried, melt, are filtered, and transformed into
granules. These are sent to the manufacturing plants, which are transformed
into new plastic products.
Source Reduction
Source reduction is the site where is performed the process
of reducing the amount of waste generated. The plastics industry has been able
to successfully reduce the amount of material needed to manufacture containers
for consumer products material. Plastic containers are generally lighter than
their alternatives, such as glass, paper or metal. The lighter materials
require less fuel to be transported and that leads to less material to dispose
of.