About Plastics

A plastic material is any of a wide range of synthetic or semi-synthetic organic solids used in the manufacture of industrial products. Plastics are typically polymers of high molecular mass, and may contain other substances to improve performance and/or reduce costs. Monomers of plastic are either natural or synthetic organic compounds.The word plastic is derived from the Greek (plastikos) meaning capable of being shaped or molded. It refers to their malleability, or plasticity during manufacture, that allows them to be cast, pressed, or extruded into a variety of shapes—such as films, fibers, plates, tubes, bottles, boxes, and much more.There are two types of plastics: thermoplastics and thermosetting polymers. Thermoplastics are the plastics that don't undergo chemical change in their composition when heated and can be moulded again and again; examples are polyethylene, polystyrene, polyvinyl chloride and polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE). Thermosets can melt and take shape once; after they have solidified, they stay solid. The raw materials needed to make most plastics come from petroleum and natural gas.Plastics can be classified by chemical structure, namely the molecular units that make up the polymer's backbone and side chains. Some important groups in these classifications are the acrylics, polyesters, silicones, polyurethanes, and halogenated plastics. Plastics can also be classified by the chemical process used in their synthesis, such as condensation, polyaddition, and cross-linking.Other classifications are based on qualities that are relevant for manufacturing or product design. Examples of such classes are the thermoplastic and thermoset, elastomer, structural, biodegradable, and electrically conductive. Plastics can also be classified by various physical properties, such as density, tensile strength, glass transition temperature, and resistance to various chemical products.Plastics are durable and degrade very slowly; the molecular bonds that make plastic so durable make it equally resistant to natural processes of degradation. Since the 1950s, one billion tons of plastic have been discarded and may persist for hundreds or even thousands of years.[21] In some cases, burning plastic can release toxic fumes. Burning the plastic polyvinyl chloride (PVC) may create dioxin Also, the manufacturing of plastics often creates large quantities of chemical pollutants.By 1995, plastic recycling programs were common in the United States and elsewhere. Thermoplastics can be remelted and reused, and thermoset plastics can be ground up and used as filler, though the purity of the material tends to degrade with each reuse cycle. There are methods by which plastics can be broken back down to a feedstock state.To assist recycling of disposable items, the Plastic Bottle Institute of the Society of the Plastics Industry devised a now-familiar scheme to mark plastic bottles by plastic type. A plastic container using this scheme is marked with a triangle of three cyclic arrows, which encloses a number giving the plastic type:

1. PET (PETE), polyethylene terephthalate, is commonly found in 2-liter soft drink bottles, water bottles, cooking oil bottles, peanut butter jars.
2. HDPE, high-density polyethylene, is commonly found in detergent bottles and milk jugs.
3. PVC, polyvinyl chloride, is commonly found in plastic pipes, outdoor furniture, siding, floor tiles, shower curtains, clamshell packaging.
4. LDPE, low-density polyethylene, is commonly found in dry-cleaning bags, produce bags, trash can liners, and food storage containers.
5. PP, polypropylene, is commonly found in bottle caps, drinking straws, yogurt containers.
6. PS, polystyrene, is commonly found in "packing peanuts", cups, plastic tableware, meat trays, take-away food clamshell containers.
7. There are also other types of plastics commonly found in certain kinds of food containers, Tupperware, and Nalgene bottles.

Unfortunately, recycling of plastics has proven to be a difficult process. The biggest problem is that it is difficult to automate the sorting of plastic wastes, making it labor intensive. Typically, workers sort the plastic by looking at the resin identification code, although common containers like soda bottles can be sorted from memory. Other recyclable materials such as metals are easier to process mechanically. However, new processes of mechanical sorting are being developed to increase capacity and efficiency of plastic recycling.While containers are usually made from a single type and color of plastic, making them relatively easy to be sorted, a consumer product like a cellular phone may have many small parts consisting of over a dozen different types and colors of plastics. In such cases, the resources it would take to separate the plastics far exceed their value and the item is discarded. However, developments are taking place in the field of active disassembly, which may result in more consumer product components being re-used or recycled. Recycling certain types of plastics can be unprofitable, as well. For example, polystyrene is rarely recycled because it is usually not cost effective. These unrecycled wastes are typically disposed of in landfills, incinerated or used to produce electricity at waste-to-energy plants.