Plastic was considered to be a boon for man but it is a curse for the environment and future generation.

Plastic is a serious threat to the environment and has adverse impacts on our health. There is an urgent need to work towards a plastic-free world.

Dear Colleagues,

I pushed the button Save too quick. I invite you for an answer to an exotic subject for many of you. I appreciate your reply very much and thank you.

Peter

Plastic is useful in many ways as well as a material of disadvantage to mankind. It is of great use in day to day life, but it cannot be destroyed no matter what efforts are made. Thus, this is a matter of serious issue.

PLASTIC AS A BOON:-

Plastic is a boon to mankind. It has proved to be very useful in all walks of life. Plastic is used as carry bag helpful to carry things. It is used by all the people, it is easily available as well as cheap. We cannot imagine our lives without it. It has become necessity of our lives. Earlier bags made out of cotton or jute were used. But, with the invent of plastic, these bags are replaced by plastic bags as aesthetically they look good and have become much commercialized. We are surrounded by plastic everywhere. Plastic bottles, plastic chairs, plastic toys are used by all. Even plastic containers has taken its place in our kitchen as they are easy to handle and quick to wash. Good quality plastics are unbreakable and are used in the manufacture of various articles like television, tape recorder, computers etc....In our day to day lives we use pens, boxes and many electrical appliances which are all made by plastics.

PLASTIC AS A CURSE:-

Plastic is very harmful to our health. It cannot be destroyed easily. Soil loses its fertility, if plastic is buried in the land. Water will become polluted and disease prone if plastic is dumped into it. It can be destroyed to some extent, only if it is burnt. Even after burning, it's physical form gets destroyed but it still exists in the gaseous form. It takes the form of some dangerous gas when it is burnt and there by pollute the environment. Also, due to it global warming has been increasing. Plastics can take thousands of years to decay. On consumption innumerable animals, birds and fishes die every year. Thus, it is not only harmful to human beings, in fact causing harm to other living beings too.

https://www.boddunan.com/articles/science-nature/23354-plastic-boon-or-curse.html

www.newindianexpress.com/...plastic-boon...bane/.../article1563121.ece

Plastic was considered to be a boon for man but it is a curse for the environment and future generation.

Plastic is a serious threat to the environment and has adverse impacts on our health. There is an urgent need to work towards a plastic-free world.

A thought exercise can reveal how much we are dependent on plastic. 

Imagine we remove every trace of plastic from our lives. By doing so we create a big hole in our lives. No disposable needles, no packaging for safe transportation, no good insulation for homes and industry, the list goes on. Plastic has replaced many materials (metal and wood) which can be put to a better use. As Barbie doll might say " life in plastic is fantastic". 

Plastic is being replaced in supermarkets by other materials that are biodegradable. This is a starting point toward its remotion of our countries.

I'm not a specialist in the field of this question. Reading the link below for example, however, I feel that we should be concerned about consuming less plastic.

http://www.alive.com/lifestyle/plastic-pros-and-cons/

thanks Dr. Peter 

No doubt plastic is important in our daily life 

Again the 3 Rs rule  ( REDUCE - REUSE- RECYCLE ) is the best option 

 As we cant avoid using plastic we have to control our  plastic per capita consumption

let us think about how much plastic do our plant consumes per day and how to lead a global awareness massage of plastic  consumption control

Regards

 Saif     

My reality is that everything - in this specifically case Plastic, which is very friendly for user in case of plastic bottle is harmful for the health

See this article...

Article Chromium-free Etching and Palladium-free Plating of Plastics

Conference Paper PLASTIC WASTE: OPPORTUNITIES FOR ECO-FRIENDLY MATERIAL OF BI...

Innovative Approach To Tackling Plastic Menace

The  benefits  of  using  this  technology  are many.  The  roads  are  more  durable and the  technology  is  environment  friendly.  Plastic  roads  proved  to  be  a  boon for Jamshedpur’s  hot  and  humid  climate,  where  temperature  during  summer crosses 45°C and torrential rains  create  havoc,  leaving  most  of  the  roads  with  huge  potholes.  To  counter  such  problems  the  city  will  now  have  strong,  durable and eco-friendly roads which  will  also  relieve  the  residents  from  heaps of plastic‐waste. 

http://ecocitizen.tatasteelindia.com/pdf/press-ecocitizen-6-jun-12-b.pdf

See ...

 Dear Peter, very interesting issue. These articles may be important for you

http://www.teacherplus.org/2011/december-2011/plastic-%E2%80%93-a-boon-or-bane

http://www.answers.com/Q/What_are_the_advantages_and_disadvantages_of_plastic

In many African counties the plastic bottles are Best reused

 for shading and even building houses

In a world where we are surrounded by plastic the best we can do is to reduce the use and exposure to plastic.

Here are some tips:

1.Buy fresh fruits, vegetables, and poultry so that they need not be stored in plastic wrappings. Store them in steel or glass containers if required.

2.Always carry a cloth or reusable plastic bags when going out of the house for any planned or unplanned buying.

3.Line the garbage bin with newspaper instead of plastic bags for daily use.

4.Always look to reuse. For example, the plastic box used for packing sweets can be washed and carried back to the shop for subsequent buying.

5.Never heat food in plastic containers even if the containers are marked safe for heating. Avoid having hot beverages, milk in plastic containers.

6.Avoid storing food items like pickle, oil, juices, and sweets in plastic containers for a long time.

7.Use clothes, mattresses, shoes made out of natural materials like cotton, jute, and leather.

http://www.teacherplus.org/2011/december-2011/plastic-%E2%80%93-a-boon-or-bane

When 1/3 of the periodic table is filled with toxic and radioactive elements, plastics are not a bane, in fact very few of them are. But we have not understood them fully well so a boon sometimes looks distant .  Bio plastics will definitely lessen the fear, if one is not yet mentally ready because of an incomplete or bad understanding. Plastics can be everything, bio degradable, durable, toxic or inert . It depends on materials and process selection. Knowledge and information systems need to be  strengthened for a better dissemination.

Dear Peter:

Well, as the original Greek word indicated, plastic can be anything. And it can be here for eternity, as it is not biodegradable. It has invaded our landfills as it is not recycled enough, and even recycling plastic can damage the environment. Can you imagine? If you trash a Barbie doll she will never disappear? Spooky...

Best regards, Lilliana

What about plastic? Boon or Bane?

This is a very difficult question. Plastics provide many previously unimagined. But plastics are a huge burden for nature. Simply, Handle with care. Probably no other advice.

Thanks for sharing this interesting question, Dear Peter. In the engineering practice, as with any other material, there is always the necessity to analyze the relation between all costs and the benefices. There are many different types of plastics. In sanitary sewer systems HDPE and PVC, for example, are currently, and since about two to three decades ago, very competitive materials both for public networks, even for large diameter pipes, as networks of the edifices or buildings. They have many advantages that normally overcome largely any eventual drawback, and in the opposite of what did occur in some decades ago for large diameters, where large commercial pipes were not prefabricated, or were not normally used, and were very costly, particularly due to the requirement of great thicknesses, currently they are easily available and with prices very competitive.

Yes, plastics are both a boon and a bane. The invention of plastics in the decade prior to WWII has allowed for the creation of almost everything in our technological society. However, plastics have been misused, or rather used too much. Quite a bit of this was due to the public's demand in the early 1980s for carbonated beverage containers that would not break. This shifted production away from glass and increased the demand for oil-based plastics. While both are recyclable, glass is more environmentally neutral and its ingredients more common than hydrocarbons.

The other invention, plastic bags, is a triple threat to the environment. First, they use chemicals extracts from hydrocarbons that could be used for other things. Second, they end up in landfills. Last, and most important, they escape into the environment where they endanger both terrestrial and marine wildlife. Paper bags are more environmentally friendly because tree species that are used to make paper products are renewable.

Well the civilization as we know it would immediately collapse if all plastic would disappear in a second. Decades or even centuries would be needed to replace them totally.

dear Colleagues,

thank you for your many different answers.

My first statement is, as some of you already pointed out, plastic is not plastic. Like all other material groups we have to differentiate. Wood is not Wood, think of oak,or teak or spruce, and spruce we distingues between Norway, European and common spruce. And all of them have different properties!

We know thermoplastics like Polyethylen (hip cups, pipes, foils, aso), PVC hard (very stable for water pipes,) without any plasticysers and PVC soft depending an external softening, cheap and toxic or internal softeners expensive an stable. Of Course everyone buys the cheap unhealthy soft-PVC. And everyone -  thats us! The Point is mostly the additives are the bad gays but we need them and we want them because we demand certain properties at lowest costes.

The next group of plastic are the elastomers. Would you like to drive your car with wood weels? To make the Wood more durable you would have to impregnate the wood with chemistry. The 3rd Group are the thermoset resins or crosslinked duroplastics for composites reinforced with each kind of fibers.They safe weight for vehicles and aeroplanes but they are very stable and are difficult to degrade. Not thousands of years but 50 to 100 years. Every material on earth degrades, we also. Lets switch to Gold or Bernstein.

So far my first comments.

Peter

BOON Dr Eyerer !!!

I am for materials (synthesized ) that are bio-degradable and sustainable. (Exception Diamonds and Gold, Sorry) .

I read somewhere (new age plastics) are bio-degradable !!! The material strength is definitely better and yes we can't live without them.

BANE- In landfills  :(

Dear Peter, dear all, …

Actually, it seems that plastics (synthetic polymers) are more bane than boon. Most people feel like that and the press supports this feeling. Recognizing the actual strategy of the chemical industry, entering the market with large-scale tonnages of plastic products, it is not astonishing. It is clearly not a problem of the polymers itself but a consequence of commercial needs.

The potential variety of polymer structure is nearly endless. This postulate recognized by the rules for the understanding of polymeric structures given by Hermann Staudinger in 1922, who last not least got the Noble Price in 1953 for this visionary forecast. Since that time, an appreciable number of polymer types appears with a broad range of mechanical properties. Influenced by the above-mentioned commercial aspects this results in fostering polymer types, which allow a mass entry into the market, but not in exploiting the high potential of theoretical possible polymer structures.

Nevertheless, it might be worthwhile starting now to check this endless numbers of potential structures especially for applicable processing in additive manufacturing. Especially the manufacturing of carbon fiber reinforced composites, in fostering lightweight constructions, will result in a boon for all of us.

With best regards

Michael

I do not think it would take centuries to replace plastics, but it would take decades and consumer acceptance. The first true polymer was patented in the mid-1920s and between then and the beginning years of World War II there was a rapid succession of different polymer-based synthetics that were discovered. Many of these were a direct result of a frantic search for materials that could be substituted in the place of metals that were sorely in short supply as the U.S. and the world geared up for war.

It was not only the war effort that created a plastics craze. When a stable and commercially viable polyvinyl-chloride (PVC) appeared in 1926 toy companies immediately saw the superior advantages of plastic over their normal range of wood, metal, and compress paper materials being used by the industry. After the war there was a race to offer consumers products that incorporated plastics or were housed in plastic. However, in some markets there was a slow change from standard materials to plastics.

Part of this drive to offer the public an ever-growing selection of polymer-based products was fueled by the oil and gas industry. When the U.S. realized that war was inevitable in the mid-1930s they urged the oil and gas companies to rapidly expand oil and gas exploration and production in order to meet the predicted demand. After the war the by then large oil and gas companies realized, as post-war production was scaled back, that there was profit in developing a plastics market, considering that many of the polymer chemicals were derived from the oil and gas refining process.

The automobile industry. up until the 1970s, still made their grill assemblies and bumpers out of metal, Vehicle interiors were a blend of painted metal and cloth, leather, or wood that changed to metal and vinyl by the end of the era. In the 1970s we began to see interior and exterior components of automobiles slowly replaced with polymers until we now have interiors and the front and rear assemblies that are almost 100 percent composed of polymers.

Look at carbonated beverage and milk crates. Up until the 1970s these crates were composed of wood, sometimes reinforced with metal. We now have plastic milk crates, plastic cola flats, and plastic 6-pack caddies. How strange is it that the cited reason that we now have plastic water and carbonated beverage containers, the number one component in landfills, is that the public wanted unbreakable containers, but beer and ale is still sold in glass containers?

The public has slowly been maneuvered away from Earth-friendly materials into acceptance of our plastic society. This overuse of polymers could have been avoided. The new bio-plastics are a positive step toward weaning the industry off hydrocarbon-based polymers, while also creating more eco-friendly plastics. However, this is not decreasing our dependence on polymers. I believe we need to return to the use of metal, wood, glass, and paper-based products where possible in order to decrease our crave for polymers.

Man Made a Plastic , Now  Plastic will end  the Man.

Environment friendly Recycling may make bane to boon

Dear Peter Eyerer ,

And  www . Researchgate. Friends ,

For New Era , life style is Entirely Fascinate in all age group , However Since Childhood-Toys To Old Age-Balance Sticks and lot of Fascinate Household Structures are all in made by plastics . So Boon .

But broken pieces of that structures are not just like throughout that will be Environment pollution Issue .So Bane.

$$$ "These Issues Can short out by only Government and Citizens"$$$ .

Have to plan in Install the Collection Bins in Different material like Plastics, Steel, Paper and bottles in " 4 Box " in One place together , as same as in Different place  and strictly Maintained.

Then Collected materials Properly and sent to Respective plant for  Recycled - And for Reuse ,  By Government Proposed Workers.

 This will be Success .

Dear Colleagues,

Good Day,

Please, watch this interesting Youtube about "Plastics - Boon and Curse(Depends upon our use).wmv",  hope you like it..

Please, see the link....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=koKpI47Mzg0

Dear Colleagues,

Good Day,

Plastics are a boon as well as a bane for our world

BOON:

Speaking about the boon. it has become the base for many products which we use in our day to day life. The best example are polythene bags and toys. Without plastic our life would turn miserable, thanks to it's elasticity, malleability and ductile nature. It is also used indirectly in other products as an important ingredient.

BANE:

As we all know plastic is a non bio-degradable substance, which means it does not degrade by the action of microbes. When buried in soil it prevents the percolation of rain water and when burnt it produces harmful gases.

Dear Dr. Eyerer,

This is a very interesting question and demands minute attention to various aspects associated with it.

Some of these aspects could be:

• Boon(Disposable syringes) / Bane (Waste Disposal/Management/Associated Hazards / Awareness of it )
• Education / Culture / Self-Discipline  / Country Specific ( Plastic Carry Bags is a problem in our country)  
• Economy / Problem of plenty and cheap supply

As for example, in a country where the level of self-discipline and education / awareness is relatively higher, some of the problems ( may be termed as bane also), should either be relatively easier to solve or non-existent.    

With regards,

ARB 

Dear Peter Eyerer

Thank you for inviting me to participate in this forum, where they have discussed background and ideas very interesting rest of the problem of plastic for the health of ecosystems, and what to do with them, or minimize, or better yet, how to avoid negative impact they currently have.

The plastic material, either bane or boon is incorporated into the manufacture of many products, from technological or scientific use, even the utensils that make us kinder daily life.

Like everything else, this apparent benefit to society derived from the invention and widespread use of instruments, equipment and utensils plastic material also has the other side of the coin, as they are not recyclable nor biodegradable, much of what is produced and discarded, pollutes the environment, mainly in ponds, lakes, rivers and seas, plus accumulation in "mainland" like garbage that lasts hundreds or thousands of years, or contamination of the air environment by fumes containing sulfates and carbon monoxide or carbon dioxide when burned plastic outdoors.

I do not think the solution without this material for instruments, equipment and other plastic utensils, but the manufacture of biodegradable plastic.

What to do with the plastic already flooding and pollutes everyone on land, sea and air?

• First, recycle at least 50% to produce new instruments and utensils with the same type of plastic material.
• Use as landfill, for example, abandoned mines, cliffs without vegetation, wildlife or water. The recovery of these "land" could be in the form of parks, recreation and real estate sites use in general.
• Drain (clean) all types of water (rivers, ponds, lakes and seas) and use the plastic material recovered for the above purposes
• Use the plastic material recovered in another type of recycling, such as making special asphalt sidewalks streets and highways; also for the production of tires (wheels) for motor vehicles; or processing of blocks or structures for the manufacture of bridges, houses and buildings.

These are just some ideas of what to do with plastic that originally made the gracious living and today we alters ecosystems, insomuch that sickens and kills all life, including our own.

regards

Sincerely

Dr. Jose Luis Garcia Vigil

Plastic was invented to be a boon for the man, but its mis-use has turned it to be a bane.

General Engineering benefits are

The good, the bad, and the ugly of plastics

"The good is your phone, camera, computer, medical equipment, ski bindings, etc. These things last a long time and using plastic makes possible, or greatly improves, their performance. Backpacking with a canvas tent? I'm cool with nylon, thanks.

"The bad is stuff like plastic food storage containers. It gets reused over and over but while you are using it, who knows whether or not it's leaching nasty chemicals into your food? It's nice to know that in some instances, like water bottles, BPA-free plastics are now available for purchase.

"The ugly is what I call lazy plastic -- single-use plastic that's easily avoidable with almost no effort required to find a substitute. Plastic grocery bags are the king of ugly plastic. There is never a need to get a plastic grocery bag at the store. They should be banned. You can bring your bags and you can also bring your own bags for produce."

http://www.plasticsnews.com/article/20110719/BLOG01/307199995/plastic-the-good-the-bad-and-the-ugly

Hello Peter, you raised a pungent issue about plastics. The point though is that:.

"The industry has worked long and hard to develop products capable of withstanding extreme and/or aggressive conditions and having a long life. The rapid proliferation of thermoplastics in an impressive array of applications is evidence of the success of the thermoplastics industry, but this very success implies that many thermoplastics, discarded after they have fulfilled their purposes, will pose a formidable disposal challenge." (the quoted sentence is from: Handbook of Thermoplatics, First Edition, Publisher: Marcel Dekker, New York, N.Y.,, Editor: O. Olabisi, January 1997, DOI: 10.13140/2.1.1399.1365,: ISBN: 0-8247-9797-3)

Plastic Recycled–What Your Common Household Plastics Can Be Recycled Into:

1)

household product: disposable utensils, meat packing

type of plastic: polystyrene

recycled into: CD cases, office accessories

2)

household product: bottles, peanut butter jars

type of plastic: polyethylene terephthalate (PET or PETE)

recycled into: stuffing for pillows, carpet backing, and even certain types of sweatshirts

3)

household product: shampoo bottles

type of plastic: high-density polyethylene

recycled into: other bottles, plastic lumber

4)

household product: most bottle tops

type of plastic: polypropylene

recycled into: ice scrapers, industrial packing cases

5)

household product: bottles, film for wrapping meat

type of plastic: polyvinyl chloride

recycled into: insulation for cables and drain pipes

6)

household product: bags, grocery bags

type of plastic: low-density polyethylene

recycled into: plastic lumber and compost bins - See more at:

http://www.alive.com/lifestyle/plastic-pros-and-cons/

Technology has provided us immense capability to produce required materials. However, discretion on how to use these products depends upon individuals and society.

People should make aware of harmful effects of plastics on the environment. Governments should ban plastics for grocery bags and should take efforts for maximising use of biodegradable plastics.

We should emphasize on sustainable development at the place of short-term development processes.

Plastic, which had been hailed as a wonder material in the early 20th century, is increasingly becoming the face of all things going wrong with our civilization. This versatile material is unlike anything that is available in nature. It is durable, can be easily shaped, lightweight, waterproof and very cheap. New properties are getting added to it with every passing day resulting in new applications of plastic. But the same benefits of plastic have been the cause for its adverse impact on health and environment. Plastic does not decompose, hence almost every molecule of plastic produced so far is still somewhere in the environment and will continue to be so for hundreds of years. So one can still find almost every used and discarded plastic items somewhere on this earth. Let us try to understand the evolution of plastic starting from the need for such a material, what made it so popular, the problems, how to address the problems and steps that we can take up immediately.

For more details you may consult the following link

http://www.teacherplus.org/2011/december-2011/plastic-%e2%80%93-a-boon-or-bane

I think it is contemporary a boon and a bane for the many economics interests. It should be necessary to go fastly versus the "true"biopolymers by the use of waste materials thinking more to maintain the ecosystems and biodiversity of our planet and less to increase the personal richness .

Dear Colleagues,

Good Day,

"10 Ways to Use Less Plastic Every Day

Plastic waste has become a pandemic—on land as well as in the world’s oceans. What can just one person do about such a global problem? Take these simple steps, courtesy of World Ocean Observatory:

1. Avoid buying items packaged in plastic.

2. Use cloth shopping bags.

3. Skip bottled water. Carry a reusable canteen.

4. Upcycle.

5. Bring a reusable mug when you order coffee.

6. Say “No straw, please.”

7. Wear clothing made from natural (not synthetic) materials.

8. Avoid disposable tableware, or use the compostable kind.

9. Don’t just discard electronics.

10. Bring your own container for takeout and leftovers."....

Please, see the link for more detail...

http://ecowatch.com/2013/11/15/10-ways-to-use-less-plastic-every-day/

Dear Colleagues,

as I pointed out the main problems of polymers/plastics are the additives! And these additives we also need to stabilise, soften, fire retarden, reduce or enlarge friction, improve adhesion, reduce stickyness, enlarge or lower viscosity, avoid or accelerate degradation, minimize costs, influence viscoelasticity, rise stiffnes and elongation aso the biopolymers. We now have developed almost all the different matrizes out of plants. And develope them in laboratory does not mean we have the technology available for large scale. Think on the Billion $ valueable infra structure. It is not possible to change it immediately to bio products.  And  there are only few solutions for bio additives. To change from coal to earth oil took us about 50 years of technology development. We need an other 30 years to change from carbon oil to bio plastics  looking at cost efficient high volume technologies. There are no quick steps for bio polymers in an engeineering scale for the market. We should be aware of this.

No doubt we have to do this with tremendous effords but this will not happen inbetween 10 or 20  years. In little continuous steps: yes

Peter

Dear Peter,

A new threat comes from using unhealthy building materials such as PVC flooring or plastic wall covering, and children are more at risk, unfortunately. It was shown that plastic materials alter indoor air quality.

A handmade doll might say “what about a creative world?”

dear Mihaela,

thank you for your reply.

Soft PVC flooring indeed is a very unhealthy and dangerous material, if it is filled with Dioctylphthalate and other Phthaltes as an external  softening agent. It permeates into the surrounding environment and harms inhabitants over the years. There are better solutions on the market, but they are much more expensive. It is often up to us to chose better soft PVC .

For interior applications. plastic wall covering materials in buildings have similar problems but seldom with softeners than with other additives dependent to specific material.

Peter

Plastics in Sea

Entanglement in discarded or lost plastic netting, rope and mono-filament lines form commercial fishing is one of the visible impacts of plastic pollution 

http://www.seaturtle.org/plasticpollution/MTN129p1-4.pdf

Yes Krishnan,

dramatic and terrible. But is it the plastics fault? Or do we have to improve our behavior?

What would be an alternative for plastic nets for fisher men, for example? Bio-Ploymer with natural fibers as reinforcements and degradeable inbetween 1 day after useage? Yes no doubt,  very much better. But not available inbetween the the next 10 years.

What to do in the meantime? Change our behavior!!!!

Peter

an other aspect for plastic in sea or plastic in rivers:

Cosmetica like peeling cremes are filled with high quantities of  Polypropylene (PP) nano particles. Animals have it already in there cells!!!  Is PP therefore bad? Are the producers bad because they offer the customers what they want to buy and make profit to survive and empoly people? Is the government to slow to forbid. Do we customer be protected by the state like in a dictatur? Or should we consumers be more critical and avoid such products which destroy our environment obviously?

Peter

I do believe that there should be judiciously use of plastic for the human need.

The relatively low density of most plastic materials means the end products are lightweight. They also have excellent thermal and electrical insulation properties. However, some can even be made as conductors of electricity when required. They are corrosion resistant to many substances which attack other materials, and some are transparent, making optical devices possible. They are also easy to mould into complex shapes and forms, allowing integration of different materials and functions. And in the event that the physical properties of a given plastic do not quite meet the specified requirements, the property balance can be modified with the addition of reinforcing fillers, colours, foaming agents, flame retardants, plasticisers etc., to meet the demands of the specific application.

http://www.plasticseurope.org/use-of-plastics.aspx

Plastic, hailed as a wonder material in the early 20th century owing to its useful in all facets of life, is a manmade material synthetically or semi-synthetically produced primarily from petrochemicals.  Due to its unique properties like easy to mould, lightweight, durable, waterproof and low-cost coupled with numerous applications, the advent of plastic looked as if a boon. But over the years, plastic wastes have become a great hazard to health and environment. Plastic does not decompose, so almost every molecule of plastic produced so far is still somewhere in the environment and will continue to remain for years.  Nevertheless, plastic is the product of human knowledge and without it, a huge number of things that we have today simply wouldn't exist. Whether Boon or Bane will mainly depend on its responsible use and proper disposal. There is a need to be more conscious towards its consumption following the principle of Reduce-Reuse-Recycle. Plastic, if not dealt with in an environmentally responsible way, is a bane.

Dear Peter, 

Thank you for your details about phthalates - a public health concern. In my field, I had to deal with occupational formaldehyde poisoning in a group of injection-molding workers, meaning the risks in plastics industry should be reviewed (in terms of chemical mixtures with unknown / unexpected health effects in certain circumstances). 

Best regards!    

Dear Peter,

Plastic, itself is neither boon nor bane. Greedy, insulated, indifferent businessmen and politicians misuse it. Intelligent use of degradable plastic is the boon.

Dear Peter,

In my opinion plastic is a boon. Plastic products is a day today affair of our daily life right from the tooth brush to kitchen utensils.However, these products becomes bane if it is not used intelligently. Pure plastic is chemically inert, however to modify its properties harmful additives are added to it which leach out  when it comes in contact with water.  Slowly but surely plastic is going to be  part of our food chain leading to  dangerous health issues. Apart from this, most of the plastic waste is land filled which will take 1000 years to degrade. We are already hearing the adverse environmental effect of these waste on our flora and fauna. looking at all these we feel plastic is a bane, but who is responsible for this? definitely all of us. What is needed is  awareness and effective waste management approach. definitely we can limit the plastic use wherever possible and replace with biodegradable products. Me with my students are trying to stabilize /recycle such waste by using it as one of the ingredient in  concrete.

kind regards

Sanjay

Dear Peter,

In reality, I find that plastics are the panacea and boon for our all-encompassing needs. While the downside is man-made pollution. The fact remains that the latter, with proper education would make plastics the much needed and useful material in our life.

BOON

Buildings and Construction

https://www.plasticsindustry.org/AboutPlastics/content.cfm?ItemNumber=634&navItemNumber=1118

In the construction of all types of buildings - for pipes, valves and fittings, heavy-duty uses and decorative touches, inside and outside - plastics are building a reputation for durability, aesthetics, easy handling and high performance (2015).

Healthcare

https://www.plasticsindustry.org/AboutPlastics/content.cfm?ItemNumber=635&navItemNumber=1118

In hospitals, plastics and electronics combine to reduce pain and danger through technology such as X-ray and scanning, which allow early detection without exploratory surgery also permit lower-strength radiation to be used effectively. (SPI, 2015).

Transportation

https://www.plasticsindustry.org/AboutPlastics/content.cfm?ItemNumber=637&navItemNumber=1118

Durable, lightweight and corrosion resistant, plastics offer fuel savings, design flexibility and high performance at lower costs to designers facing today's complex transportation needs which are found in automobiles, light trucks, trailers and motorcycles; in marine craft from canoes to minesweepers; in trains, buses and other mass-transit vehicles; in airplanes and space shuttles - everywhere, plastics are on the move (SPI, 2015).

BANE

Pollution

http://plastic-pollution.org/

Slow, silent, omnipresent, ever increasing, more toxic than previously thought, the plastic pollution’s reality bears sobering consequences, as recently unveiled by the report of Japanese chemist Katsuhiko Saido at the 238th National Meeting of the American Chemical Society (ACS) in August 2009 and the findings from the Project Kaisei and Scripps (Seaplex) scientific cruise-expeditions collecting seawater samples from the Great Garbage Patch. Both, the reports and expeditions uncovered new evidence of how vast and “surprisingly” (as it was termed at the ACS meeting) toxic the plastic presence in the marine environment is (Lytle, 2016).

In reality, while the boon outweighs the bane, I still believe that plastics are the inroad to the technology of making things easier, beneficial and have aesthetic value in their gross utility. Henceforth, it would be awhile before plastics are considered an environmental-endangered materials.

Best regards - Mariam

Plastic In Oceans Will Outweigh Fish By 2050

A paltry 5 percent is recycled effectively, around 40 percent is buried in landfill, and a third of all plastic produced each year finds its way into the world’s oceans. This is equivalent to dumping the contents of one garbage truck a minute into the marine environment.

http://www.iflscience.com/environment/plastic-oceans-could-outweigh-fish-2050

Apart from causing soil pollution, sewage blockages, cattle and mainly marine creature’s mistake plastic for food directly or indirectly, blocking digestion and possibly causing starvation. About 44 percent of all seabirds eat plastic, apparently by mistake, sometimes with fatal effects. And 267 marine species are affected by plastic garbage—animals are known to swallow plastic bags, which resemble jellyfish in mid-ocean. Apparently according to one research plastics at oceans are actually degrading and releasing toxic chemicals and causing water pollution.

http://ken-foundation-awareness2.blogspot.in/p/say-no-to-plastic.html

Dear Colleagues

again we got a lot of answers. Thank you!

Again we read the boon and curse. If you tell us the figures of died sea galls and others please be so kind and add the millions of rescued people and animals by plastcis in medicine, trafic accidents (safe blts, air bags, aso), packaging and agriculture(rescue from starvageon), ....

and dont Forget, please let me say it again: not the plastic is bad but we, the consumers are responsible about our waste.

Peter

dear all,

perhaps some of you might be interested in volume 11 of The Handbook of Environmentel Chemistry

Peter Eyerer    Polymers - Opportunities and Risks-  Vol 1 and 2; Springer 2010

ISBN 978-3-540-88416-3

Peter

It is almost impossible to imagine modern life without plastics. We may find this innovative material in virtually everything we touch and we use daily. Nevertheless, some plastics have gained a bad reputation, and it is growing the doubt about the safety of plastic products for the health. For example, it is possible the contaminating plastic packaging food? Plastic is safe for use in the microwave oven? It is sure to put a plastic bottle in the freezer? The bottles can release harmful chemicals for babies? The truth is that plastic is generally safe when using it for the purpose to which it was intended.

Plastic has benefited human society in a number of ways. Versatile usages of plastic from a pen to household goods, electrical & electronic goods to automobile & aircraft parts, industrial equipments to medical tools, its invention undoubtedly has been a boon for mankind.In fact, plastic has helped in modern technological advancements. As a result, modern information technology, air travel, military air power and space exploration has improved. In addition, the building and construction, electronics, packaging, and transportation industries have all benefited greatly from plastic. Unfortunately, these same useful qualities have made the plastic a huge threat to health and environment

Despite several positive influences in everyday lives, there have been instances when plastics have posed some health and environmental hazards as it  is non-biodegradable, obstruct underground water percolation, produce harmful gases when burnt,  Plastic bags thrown into the open drains and sewers clog them and cause stagnation of water, which in turn poses health hazards  Disposable syringes, drip bottles, blood and urine bags and other medical accessories when disposed off in an irresponsible manner, cause a lot of serious health problems.  Animals sometimes feed on plastics and die painfully as plastic chokes their digestive and respiratory tracts.

After the different Stone-Ages we are now in the Plastic-Age.

While before all used materials could be recycled easily, now this offers a big Problem.

But there should be a bann on everything which cannot be reycled, because earth and living is going on and we cannot demand future Generations to clean up our dirt.

A  resonant scepticism within the plastic products / producing / problems that science has to deals with , the ideas that it uses in investigating those problems  are deeply influenced by predisitions that derive from the society in which we live , humans productivity  / activity that take time / money to produce < the facts there is moore plastic in the ocean , then fish > legitimate dual processes on humans hands of collective influence / control of what's is happen to use and environment  , thad is not providing us with new ways of manipulating the maters would producing  a set of techniques  / practice and invention thad will influence the quality of lives and there environment will be improving .

Anything that originates from crude oil is a disaster until we find a source of recycling or biodegrading it. Plastic is definitely one of the best materials available for many uses but its overuse and unnecessary usage which has no definite limit is the problem. The only solution is a controlled and defined usage of plastic and its manufacturing.

Packing 5 gms of food with 100 gms of plastic is ridiculous; one should eat the plastic as well as it may then help satisfy one's hunger.

Dear Thomas,

absolutely tue. But momentarily we have the problems with crosslinked polymers like rubber and themosets (duroplastics). For tires and elastomeric gaskets and membranes and flexible tubes and  and and we have no alternatives!

A bane would not help. There are recycling methodes developed but too expensive. Again the customer and the lobbyists block the politicians.

The bane has to be done by politicians but world wide and this is not possible now a days!!!

Peter

Hello Peter,

The "plastics" problems may need to be tackled the same way the world tackles  "climate change" problems.  Reducing carbon footprint is being mandated worldwide; plastics recycling should also be mandated worldwide.  Thermosets could be ground and mixed with inert materials to make building materials, etc.  Thermoplastics are, in principle, reusable, but they also find recycled applications.  (The oceans too could be cleaned). Mandating a worldwide recycling culture will be an uphill battle, but so was mandating reducing carbon footprint.  A global commitment through the UN will  be needed. Everything will of course take great effort and a lot of time, just like it took to create the "plastics" problems.  

Olagoke  

Plastic is often perceived as a cheap and disposable material in our "throw-away" society, and recycling rates are low. Half of all plastic waste generated in Europe goes to landfill, which should be avoided as plastic can contain hazardous components and disposal can result in undesirable emissions and concentrated, polluting residues.

Plastic plays a key role in many industrial processes and applications, and the potential economic gains of higher recycling rates. As the world population grows and natural resources become scarcer, recycling plastics will be an alternative to the exploitation of virgin resources. To speed this change, better framework conditions are needed to support eco-design and environmental innovation, with waste prevention and recycling factored in to the design of plastic products.

The Waste Framework Directive (2008/98/EC) focuses on elements such as life cycle thinking, waste prevention over waste operations, extended producer responsibility, product design, resource efficiency and resource conservation.

http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_IP-13-201_en.htm

Indiscriminate use of plastic poses environmental hazard. At the same time we cannot dispense with plastic altogether. People should be educated how to dispose plastic bags.

the NYC Department of Sanitation accepts more kinds of plastics for recycling.

http://www.grownyc.org/recycling/simple/plastic

Bane, because we have other alternatives to Plastics!

Dear Colleagues,

Good Day,

Usage of plastics is essential. What matters is only its disposal. Plastics're needed in medical and health care, food packaging, electrical and electronic fields. Most of our modern developments're based on plastics. Proper measures must be taken by the government for its recycling and disposal.Now

scientists're keen on producing bio-degradable plastics.eg: by means of bio-engineering a weed,"mouse-eared cress" has been engineered to produce a biodegradable plastic PHB(Polyhydroxybutyrate) in tissue granules.

Many of the current applications and the predicted benefits of plastic follow those outlined by Yarsley and Couzens in the 1940s. Their account of the benefits that plastics would bring to a person born nearly 70 years ago, at the beginning of this ‘plastic age’, was told with much optimism:

"It is a world free from moth and rust and full of colour, a world largely built up of synthetic materials made from the most universally distributed substances, a world in which nations are more and more independent of localised naturalised resources, a world in which man, like a magician, makes what he wants for almost every need out of what is beneath and around him" (Yarsley & Couzens 1945, p. 152).

Dear Yogesh,

thank you for this very interesting review and summery. I did not know it.

Peter

Dear Khan,

Good Day,

It is in use in Iraq (My colleagues in one of our scientific centers that belong to our Ministry obtained a patent on that in 2010) and in some other countries I believe. 

Biodegradable, degradable and compostable green plastics will contribute to Sustainability

Biodegradable – green, but can leave traces of toxins

Degradable – made from oil, but breaks down into harmless materials

Compostable – green from start to finish.. perhapsBiodegradable Plastics

Biodegradable products break down through the action of a naturally occurring microorganism, such as bacteria,  fungi etc. over a period of time. These products are usually made from plant or animal sources. Examples of biodegradable include paper, vegetable scraps and some forms of plastics made from ingredients such as corn starch.

There are some disadvantages to biodegradable waste. When dumped in landfills, it’s often dug under where the “good” bacteria can’t survive in the oxygen depleted environment. It then breaks down under anaerobic conditions which creates methane, a greenhouse gas with over 62 times the GWP (Global Warming Potential) of carbon dioxide. Also, biodegrable waste can contain toxins. For example, human and animal waste, which is considered biodegradable may contain traces of all sorts of toxins such as heavy metals and pesticides depending on the person/animal’s diet.

Degradable Plastics

Degradable plastics are oil based and break down through chemical reactions rather than the activity of micro-organisms, so they can degrade in an anaerobic environment into water, CO2, biomass and trace elements.

Compostable Plastic

This is pretty close to biodegrable plastic but “greener”. According to the  American Society for Testing & Materials, for plastic to be considered as compostable, it must be able to break down into carbon dioxide, water and biomass at the same rate as paper. It also needs to look like compost, should not produce any toxic material and should be able to support plant life. Compostable items are made from plant materials such as corn, potato, cellulose, soy and sugar.

http://www.greenlivingtips.com/articles/degradable-biodegradable-compostable.html

For further information, please refer to additional links

http://green-plastics.net

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bioplastic

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-green-are-green-plast/

It was a blessing which turned out to be a curse . We , now, wish that it should not have been invented since it has long lasting adverse effects on environment.

One of our young RG friend has a wish( I HAVE TAKEN THIS IDEA FROM HIS QUERY).

“The scientists should spend their precious time in  inventing/ discovering means to destroy the plastic with the radioactive waste.

Please note that  there is a solid scientific argument  behind it  because radiations  can decompose polymers. And plastic is also a polymer- polystyrene .

 So a food for thought for the celebrated scientists -Destroy radioactive waste and plastic together.

In India the age of plastic took longer to pervade into domestic households. This comparatively slow start was soon made up and India is now is in the dubious company of countries having the highest percentage of plastic pollution.

http://www.e-pao.net/epSubPageExtractor.asp?src=news_section.editorial.editorial_2011.Plastics_a_boon_at_first_now_a_curse_HL_20110611

Dear Florin,

thank you for this link. I looked to it. For PET it is true and good. But as we all know plastic is 1000 times more and mostly more difficult. This is important to communicate.

The 88 answers up to now show this quite well.

Best regards

Peter

Dear Subhash,

thank you for the link which allow us to look deeper into the situation in India!

Best

Peter

The plastics recycling rate has stagnated at a low level, and plastic recycling quantities and rates remain lower than other materials such as steel, aluminum, glass, and paper. Plastics “bottle-to-bottle” recycling historically has been miniscule compared to other secondary material closed-loop recycling. Closed-loop recycling means that the specific material recycled is used to manufacture the same product again.

www.calrecycle.ca.gov/publications/.../Plastics%5C43203008.doc

Dear all,

Recycling is important, no doubt!!! But don´t let us forget the additives. They are the boon and the real bane. Think on phthalates, or fungizides, or pesizides,, stabilizers, coupling agents, separating agents, polymerization chemicals, for example diesel oil in hip cups UHMW polyethylene  or or or.

Do you have experiences with additives?

Peter

In 2015 the world produced some 311 million metric tons (685 billion pounds) of the material – and less than 10 percent of it got recycled. Much of it ended up in the wrong places, from landfills to oceans. 

Dave Hakkens and his DIY recycling machine.

Dave Hakkens, a 27-year-old, socially conscious, Dutch industrial designer, thinks plastic is precious. But he also recognizes that, when mishandled and disposed of improperly, it can be an environmental scourge. He is quick to note that in 2015 the world produced some 311 million metric tons (685 billion pounds) of the material – and less than 10 percent of it got recycled. Much of it ended up in the wrong places, from landfills to oceans.

In June 2013, as his graduation project, Hakkens unveiled a concept he had developed whose aim was to help democratize and boost plastic recycling. The idea: create a low-cost, modular recycling machine that everyday people could build and then use themselves. He called the effort Precious Plastic. (By that time, he also was already working on PhoneBloks, his open-source approach to making modular smart phones as a means to reducing electronics waste.)

Low-cost and modular, Hakkens' machines can be made with universal parts and basic tools by everyday people. He created the plastic recycling machines specifically using universal materials and basic tools that are widely available. This has been the project’s biggest challenge so far, Hakkens said – trying to make it possible for others to build the machines, anywhere in the world.

http://www.businessinsider.com/precious-plastic-machines-will-change-how-we-recycle-2016-4

Archaeological site I recently investigated is 145 years old. Commercially viable synthetics were only available in last 85 years, or 60 percent of site's history. Synthetics constituted 18 percent of the recovered materials. Synthetics outnumbered ceramic artifacts and were two-thirds as common as glass. This residential location in small-town America illustrates the pervasive problem of synthetic materials in our soils.

Dear Behrouz,

Thank you for this hint to Hakkens low cost technology for household plastic. It makes sence to reduce the volume of the plastic waste. But I doubt if low cost machines with little safty in everybodies hand will be the solution. In Germany we have large containers for plant wast and paper and glass. In my opinion it would be time to add large  containers for plastic with shredders to reduce the volume.

But, as we know, plastic is not plastic. Look at the PET bottles. Here it works because they are all out of PET and we have a high volume. How will it work with foils, packaging materials, toys, other bottles, diapers, cloths, aso??? We have to educate us for plastic experts.

In Germany we have the yellow bags. The mixed content is selected automatically or by persons. A terrible smelling job. Economically does it work. So there are solutions.

The Extruder of Hakkens with temperatures up to 300 °C and all the emissions coming out in the private garages or cellars is undiscutable.

It sounds quite good but is not for mass application. And  the products made by him out of the recycling plastics, I am sorry, forget it.

Best regards

Peter

Something else I want to share is the identification of large numbers of microparticles of these plastics are ingested both by zooplankton as fish and large marine mammals, ocasonando death in younger and diseases in older organisms, obstruction of ducts vital as the digestive tract dysfunction or gills with consequent poor oxygenation of these species.

dear Jose´,

yes in deed, microplastic is a new unknown challenge. Most of the rivers in Europe are full with microplastics. We have no idea to solve this problem. Again I have to say; we are the cause; we use f.e. peeling cremes with micro Polypropylene particles and wash them with water into the canalisation into the rivers and oceans. Most people do not know that. Therefore we have to tell them. The industry has to make money but not as the only aim. The politicians have to act fast in this new demand.

Peter 

Micro plastics have ruined the environment but it is too late to eliminate them, even with the ban that has been implemented on them. We destroy the planet to look beautiful....even when we know we can live no longer than the planet.

http://www.rsc.org/chemistryworld/2016/01/us-bans-microbeads-personal-care-products

Even we may not be able to eliminate plastics from our planet we can atleast minimize it.

Peter,

Re. Microplastics. Yes, these micro and nano particles are a great threat to wildlife in our rivers and ocean. However, in the past decade there has been questions concerning the safety of micro and nano polymers and minerals in cosmetics at the human level. Not only is there the possibility of inhaling these minuscule particles during application, but nano particles could be absorbed through the skin. Not enough studies have been performed on the effects of these tiny particles because, particularly in the U.S., cosmetics are virtually free from regulation. One cosmetic manufacturer has noted that the particles in their product are coated with "Organo Silicone", which prevents them from being inhaled. Considering that you can get silicosis from breathing dust high in silica, I am not sure of the validity of this claim. If these nano particles can be absorbed directly through the skin, then how will they affect the oxygen carrying capacity of red blood cells? Are the particles seen as "intruders" to white blood cells? Do these particles accumulate in the human body and, if so, where and to what effect? There are a whole host of questions concerning the use and effects of these materials.