Plastics are not easily biodegradable; and because of these characteristics they can remain under landfill and water for a very long period of time. All over the world only 6% of waste plastics are recycled and the rest of all waste plastics are dumped into landfills. An experiment was conducted in a laboratory scale batch process under Labconco’s fume hood utilizing low density polyethylene (L...

The feasibility of using recyclable household plastics, specifically those made of polyethylene, commonly used in water and soda bottles, as a replacement for concrete coarse aggregate, was assessed. A method was developed for cutting polyethylene materials into fibrous strips. These strips were then used as a replacement for the rock coarse aggregate in batches of concrete. Standard 6” x 12” t...

Plastic production has increased dramatically worldwide over the last 60 years and it is nowadays recognized as a serious threat to the marine environment. Plastic pollution is ubiquitous, but quantitative estimates on the global abundance and weight of floating plastics are still limited, particularly for the Southern Hemisphere and the more remote regions. Some large-scale convergence zones o...

Waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) is growing rapidly, and the plastics within WEEE have an important role in fulfilling the recovery and recycling targets defined in the European WEEE Directive. This study considers recycling of WEEE plastics by making a blend of the different plastics instead of separating them. The mechanical and thermal properties can be enhanced by adding a c...

sumers all seem to agree on. Concern for the environment is no longer a fringe issue that interests only a small segment of the population, and industries – including plastics – have taken heed. Lessening the impact on the environment often results in cost savings, in particular when it comes to saving energy, a key element in the environmental improvement equation. The fact is, increasing ener...

Lifetime prediction of plastics is a very difficult proposition, but one that is becoming increasingly important as plastics are used in more demanding and critical applications. The lifetime of a plastic part is influenced greatly by many factors including the type of plastic, stress level, temperature, type of loading, and environmental conditions. All these factors make absolute lifetime pre...

Plastics have outgrown most man-made materials and have long been under environmental scrutiny. However, robust global information, particularly about their end-of-life fate, is lacking. By identifying and synthesizing dispersed data on production, use, and end-of-life management of polymer resins, synthetic fibers, and additives, we present the first global analysis of all mass-produced plasti...