Plastic Recycling: Environmental and Economical Necessity

Plastic Recycling: Environmental and Economical Necessity

The first man-made plastic was made by Alexander Parkes in 1862 (http://inventors.about.com). Since then, the use of plastic products increased in people’s daily life due the variety of plastic products and its suitability to modern life style. However, the accumulative impact of plastic wastes upon the environment is an observable issue. For example, plastic wastes account for sixteen percent of chlorine released the environment contaminating soil and ground water resources (Sikka, 2005). Also, since plastics are made from durable materials that degrade very slowly, they entail prolonged environmental impacts on many ecosystems. In marine ecosystems, plastics are mistaken for food by marine animals. This is considered as a main factor of degradation of many marine ecosystems (Jean and Michel, 2008).

Beside the environmental hazards plastic wastes impose upon the planet’s oceans and ground water recourse, plastic production and plastic disposal through burning contributes a massive amount of CO_2 emissions to the atmosphere. This contributes to and magnifies the phenomena of global warming. According to the International Energy Agency (IEA, 2012), the production of one kilogram of plastic requires an energy amount of 62 to 108 Mega Joule (MJ). This energy is mainly provided through the burning of fossil fuel. Moreover, the IEA estimated that a production of one kilogram of plastic emits another six kilograms of CO_2 to the atmosphere.

Due to the hazards plastic production and disposal cycle imposes upon the environment, a global interest is growing for alternatives and solutions for the predicament. A major focus of this interest is to design and produce plastic or plastic like materials, but in an environmentally friendly manner, called Eco-friendly Plastics. Moreover, these plastics incorporate plant-based plastic composites that de¬compose faster in landfills and can be used