Plastic is one of the world’s most used resources. It is a product of petroleum and has a highly rigorous production process. Plastic started as a cheap alternate to glass and paper. Over time, with research being carried into the effects of plastic production, the use has been discouraged.
Why is plastic so harmful?
Plastic seems like a harmless and cheap product in the market due to its large-scale production and benefits over its alternatives; however, it is one of the leading causes of global pollution. Plastic is a product of petroleum. Petroleum is burnt in the manufacturing process of plastic. This burning leads to the emission of hundreds of greenhouse gases.
Greenhouse gases are gases that flow to the top of the atmosphere and react with the O3 in the ozone layer, thus creating holes in them. The current tear in the ozone layer is right above the north pole and is melting the snow at a fast rate. This is why climate change is happening.
Can all plastics be recycled?
There are different types of plastics, each characterized by the resin it is made from. Recycling machines like plastic recycling washing line from Mapa Machinery can tell the difference and sort these plastics into their categories.
Each plastic has different properties and is used for different things like polystyrene is used in foam cups and plastic containers, polypropylene is used to make harder food containers, PVC is used in pipes, etc.
Currently, only three types of plastics can be recycled, namely PET, HDPE, and PVC. The other three types can prove expensive to recycle, no matter how cheap it is to produce them.
How to recycle plastics?
Plastic can be recycled by first sorting them into their respective types using a machine or manually. They are also cleaned to make sure any germs or contaminations are eliminated before step two.
In step two, these plastics are shredded, melted, and made into pellets that can be reused.
The future of plastic recycling
Plastic recycling hopes to discourage the ongoing production of plastic and make use of what has already been produced. The environmental effects plastic production has on things are too hard to ignore. Hopefully, in the future, plastic recycling will become a more viable option as opposed to producing it.
