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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Muralisrinivasan, Natamai Subramanian, author.
Title: Plastics waste management : processing and disposal / Muralisrinivasan Natamai Subramanian.
Description: Second edition. | Hoboken : Wiley, 2019. | Includes bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2019026450 (print) | LCCN 2019026451 (ebook) | ISBN 9781119555872 (hardback) | ISBN 9781119556190 (adobe pdf) | ISBN 9781119556183 (epub)
Subjects: LCSH: Plastic scrap. | Factory and trade waste. | Plastics--Environmental aspects.
Classification: LCC TD798 .M87 2019 (print) | LCC TD798 (ebook) | DDC 628.4/4--dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019026450
LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019026451
Plastics are increasingly being used in modern-day life due to their wide-ranging properties which can be used in a variety of applications. The importance of plastics is reflected in this second edition of Plastics Waste Management: Processing and Disposal, which essentially evolved from the well-regarded previous edition and includes updated information on plastics waste management, from generation to collection, processing and final use or disposal. Primarily written from an industrial point of view, the book gives readers interested in waste management a better understanding of the correct processes for dealing with the growing environmental problem of plastics waste from the perspective of utilization and reduction. Since plastics waste management can be promoted through improvements, it is hoped that the fresh ideas presented in this book will encourage developed countries to further implement the methods suggested; that developing countries will become more involved in the process; and that underdeveloped countries will start becoming involved by studying and implementing the waste management programs based on the concepts and fundamentals presented.
With years of experience in various aspects of the processing field as well as planning, the contributing authors of the book delve into all aspects of plastics waste processing and disposal, including non-technical considerations, to produce a comprehensive approach to plastics waste management. Although the book mainly focuses on plastics waste, plastic materials, additives and processing are dealt with to some extent and thermosetting materials are also briefly covered. In addition, economic aspects are considered along with technical details.
The primary objective of this book is to serve as a platform for the exchange of in-depth information based on logical reasoning. It would only be possible to cover all the plastics and additives in detail in a volume of this size, and this book does not disappoint with the wealth of information contained herein.
This second edition includes various aspects of environmental and economic issues, as well as technological ones. Since some of the previously covered areas have seen so much growth and rapid development since the publication of the first edition, new chapters that address plastics waste utilization and their processes have been added. The chapters from the first volume have been reorganized with the major revision being a separation of the overview of the development in plastics waste research into its own expanded chapter covering not only materials but also plastics waste materials processing and its evolving utility on a commercial scale. There is a section on plastics processing management which describes the methods of manufacturing plastic products and a chapter dealing with case studies which gives practical guidance as well as consider able information regarding recycling and disposal. Chapters from the first edition have been expanded to include new references and many of the detailed examples and illustrations from the first edition are also included. All of these chapters continue to provide a clear and concise description of the development in plastics waste processing.
This book examines plastics waste from the perspective of utilization and reduction. It provides clear explanations for newcomers to the subject as well as contemporary details and theory for the experienced user in plastics waste management. It is designed to accompany management or technology courses in business schools and universities, as well as being relevant to academic research departments.
In conclusion, I would like to thank the small army of support that helped to write this book, my wife Mrs. Himachalaganga, and the encouragement of my teachers to get the job done. Special thanks to Mr. Martin Scrivener and others who helped me complete this book. Above all, my sincere gratitude goes to the almighty Lord Nataraja and my teacher Lord Murugan.
Madurai, India
July 2019
Within a specific ecological–economic system, each material is generally connected to and also dependent on others. Moreover, plastics contribute to the overall integrity of this life system. However, since all plastics contribute to the functional scheme of things in waste generation, it is undoubtedly a very important issue. In particular, plastics provide key applications that are also unique; without plastics, the underlying ecological–economic system would be very different.
The first synthetic plastics developed were celluloid (cellulose nitrate) in 1869 and phenol formaldehyde in 1909. Other plastics such as cellulose acetate and polyvinylchloride were made into semi-durable items, such as electrical equipment or insulation, motion picture film, billiard balls, etc., which are considered a nuisance when they become waste. Plastics production and consumption have increased considerably since the first industrial production of plastics in the 1940s [1]. The high-volume production of low-density polyethylene began in 1940, which is also when plastic waste started being recycled. Included in the rapidly growing plastics industry are all thermoset plastics and thermoplastics, with the consumption of plastic materials having grown to around one million tons per year as of 1962. Worldwide production and consumption of plastics has increased at an average rate of about 8 percent per annum [2]. However, it is now a billion tons of plastics waste. Plastics consumption has increased rapidly while the deposit of natural resources is decreasing. The decrease in crude oil and natural gas puts pressure on plastics production. Therefore, rapid, large changes in oil prices can cause significant long- and short-term economic consequences. Obtaining and using this oil also carries with it the enormous burden of adverse environmental consequences, social issues, and geopolitical risk, since plastics undergo little degradation and dispersion by natural processes.
Global post-consumer waste generation totals approximately 900–1,250 metric tons per year [3, 4]. In an underdeveloped country, the per capita solid waste generation rate is less than 0.1 tons per capita per year as opposed to developed countries where it is greater than 0.8 tons per capita per year in high-income industrialized countries [5–12].
Plastics waste is closely linked to population type and size, and the degree of urbanization and material comfort. It remains a major challenge for municipalities to collect, recycle, treat and dispose of increasing quantities of plastics waste in most developed and developing countries. Most technologies for plastics waste management are immature and have been difficult to implement in many countries.
Plastic waste has gone up both in absolute terms and as a percentage of solid waste. However, the volume may not be enough to warrant systems to separate different types of plastics from each other for recovery. Because of the amount of plastic waste disposed of in municipal solid waste, it needs to be managed.
Plastics waste can be used as a raw material for recycling operations or can be treated prior to disposal, resulting in the waste being transformed into material which can be safely disposed of or reused. The proper management of plastics waste starts at the production stage. Plastics waste has an economic advantage, in comparison with many other solid wastes, as it can be regularly recycled. Current processing technology enables the efficient conversion of waste into new recycled end products.
Plastics waste management does not exist in a vacuum; waste plastics are affected by and impact upon many different aspects of national life, i.e., there is a balance between the utilization of plastics waste and its production and processing. The majority of plastics waste generation is related to material comfort items; however, recycling/reuse initiatives for mixed plastics are limited [3].
In particular, it is crucial that plastics waste management is linked to the parallel development of production and processing, otherwise there is a risk that controls to limit the environmental pollution of one operation will lead to an increased level of pollution in another, hence:
Recycling of post-consumer plastics has not yet become a significant recovery option. Plastics pollution in most cases results in already stressed ecosystems. Humans fear that the dangers posed by plastics waste tend to create problems more often than not. An attempt is being made to treat plastics-waste-related environmental and natural resource problems as part of an important task to help the societies of the world. The world has an emerging interest in moving away from plastics waste towards material management due to their non-degradable nature. There are strong drivers at all levels towards a culture of more sustainable plastics waste management.
Industrialists should know the type and quantity of waste produced by their operations and processes, whereas a waste generator should know the composition, properties and environmental impact of the waste. Without this knowledge industrialists cannot properly manage their operations and cannot discharge their responsibilities to protect the health and safety of employees, i.e., the nature of the waste they are exposed to must be known, otherwise they are not in full control of their operation; in addition, if the quantity of waste is unknown the cost, material balance and efficiency cannot be determined [13].
When solid waste including plastics waste disappears from an ecological–economic system, the system changes dramatically. In fact, what is particularly significant is that the disappearance of plastics often triggers the loss of other applications, and when this happens, the complex connections among nexus components, such as packaging with other substitute material, begin to evolve. Minimizing solid waste through an ecological–economic system in effect addresses environmental problems.
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