1. Recycling Plastics

2. One of the biggest issues with manufacturing polymers is their ability to be disposed of
There are 3 ways in which this disposal happens are:
Landfill Sites
Burning
Recyling

3. Landfill Sites Plastics are non biodegradable
Micro-organisms have no effect on them
Will not rot
Started to look into biodegradable plastics and polymers (but what do they degrade into????)

4. Burning Burning plastics causes air pollution
Contributes the greenhouse effects
Results in global warming
Many plastics would produce toxic fumes

5. Recycling Plastics
We produce and use 20 times more plastic today than we did 50 years ago!
Each year, in the UK, a total of approximately 4.7 million tonnes of plastic products were used in various economic sectors
One tonne of plastics is equivalent to 20,000 two litre drinks bottles or 120,000 carrier bags.

6. Only about 7% of waste plastics are being recycled
This is a start however, since all plastics are recyclable
Problem: The amount of energy used to recycle plastics is often greater than that used to make new material

7. Combustion for Energy
Energy released on combustion about the same as that used in production
Releases CO2 but would be replace some of the current fossil fuel combustion so no overall difference
PVC would release HCl gas so gas scrubbers (an alklai spray to remove acidic gases) need to be used

8. Feedstock Recycling
Polymers are cracked and used a bit like crude oil to make to useful products all over again.
But VERY expensive need vast amounts of plastic to make economically viable.