What is Sustainability?
Sustainability is defined by the UN Brundtland Commission as the following, "Sustainable development that meets the needs of the present, without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs."
An important aspect of sustainability is our replacement rate. As of right now, our consumption is higher than the rate at which we reproduce those resources.
Sustainability is important because it improves our quality of life. It preserves our natural resources and protects our ecosystem for future generations.
Our Problem?
By the early 2000's our plastic output rose more in one decade than it did in the previous 40 years. Today we produce nearly the equivalent weight of the entire human population in plastic waste each year- over 300 million tonnes.
Only 9% of all plastic waste ever produced has been recycled, 12% incinerated, while the rest, a staggering 79%, has accumulated in the environment.
This plastic buildup in the environment is a result of improper disposal, single-use items, lack of infrastructure, and poor waste management in many countries that ends up harming the environment and biodiversity; it is estimated that more than 300,000 tonnes of plastic are littered/discarded improperly each year.
The most affected sector of the environment is the worlds oceans where at least 14 million tonnes of plastic end up, carried there by wind, rivers, and wastewater.
Plastic makes up 80% of all marine debris and can be found on the shores of every continent. It is a huge problem we face today, not only affecting sea animals, but humans as well.
Plastic is so easily ingested by marine life because UV radiation from the sun breaks plastics down to micro and nanoplastics. These microplastics have also been found in tap water, beer, salt, and are present in all samples collected from oceans, even the Arctic!
Because seafood is so popular and marine life digest these plastics constantly it is starting to do harm to human life as well. Several chemicals used to produce plastics are known carcinogens and known to mess with the body's endocrine system causing developmental, reproductive, neurological, and immune disorders in humans and wildlife.
We must take a step back and analyze how we can clean this mess up that we've made and learn how to do better in the future with plastic production and recycling.
Our Design
To combat pollution we designed a reusable bag made of recyclable materials. With recycled PET plastics we produced yarn and used aluminum soda tabs. With this yarn we can knit together the soda tabs and create a flexible and water resistant reusable shopping bag/tote. We named our company Just Bags because the bags we produce are just. They are made fair and are beneficial to the environment.
Machines & Processes
Sorting: Sorting occurs to rid nonrecyclable materials out of the facility, and this happens in many different ways. All these processes have the same goal of ridding nonrecyclable materials, these processes include: Manuel Picking, Magnet Separator, Optic Sorting Machine, and Ballistic Separator. These are some to name the least that are all apart of the sorting process to prepare for washing.
Collection: Starts at home or at work with recycling, then it's picked up by companies such as lake shore recycling or waste management and taken to recycling facilities
Washing: Washing plays a massive role in the quality of the recycled material. All residue that is still on the plastics such as: food, adhesive, labels, and oils
Shredding: Here the washed plastics are shredded into flakes or pellets.
Extrusion: Here the plastic pellets are melted and formed into new fibers from which we will create our recycled fabrics.
Economics
Columbia University predicts “the global plastic recycling market is projected to grow by $14.74 billion between now and 2024” (Columbia Edu)
a single-stream MRF can cost upwards of $11 million to construct on top of labor and maintenance
“Recycled products must be of sufficient value to motivate collection and recycling efforts” (Plastics)
Technical Aspects
the National Renewable Energy Laboratory reports that only 15 to 35 percent of all PET bottles can be reused
“In 2018 alone we generated 5090 tons of PET plastics alone” (Advancing)
“because of the mechanical processes used in recycling PET plastics the fibers that are developed are weaker than the original” (NREL)
“Fibers are the most valuable component of plastics” (Energy)
Advantages & Disadvantages
Pros of PET Plastic / Products
It is 100% recyclable; it is in fact the most recycled plastics in the U.S ("More than 1.5 billion pounds of used PET bottles and containers are recovered in the United States each year for recycling.")
When recycled, PET plastics can be used in numerous ways for various applications, some of which include: bags, carpets, T-shirts and much more.
It is durable and resistant. Tend to last longer when exposed to external elements (such as acids, oxygen, sunlight, etc) compared to other polymers.
Cons of PET Plastic / Products
The recycling process of PET can be expensive. Recycling PET is mostly performed mechanically rather than chemically as it’s more expensive to break the polymer down into its chemical parts.
It has a long degradation time (Takes time to break down naturally). "Under normal conditions in nature, plastic bottles made of PET will begin to break down only after 500-700 years and even then, the process will be very slow."
Constraints & Improvements
PET Plastic - Thermoplastic
- Mechanically recycled
- Cannot be contaminated
- Needs to be very clean
Recycling Process:
- Collecting
- Sorting
- Cleaning
- Size Reduction
- Separation
One of the biggest restrictions of recycling PET plastic currently is Chinas ban on imports of PET plastic
Only 10% of all PET from an old recycled bottle is still good enough to be used for a new plastic bottle
"On average, a U.S. household uses 45 pounds of PET plastic bottles and jars in a year. If all of them were recycled, it would yield enough recycled PET fiber to make 12 dozen men’s T-shirts or enough carpet for a 12-by-15 foot room" (PETRA)
PET Plastics need to be recycled like aluminum, where 75% of world's aluminum ever produced can still be in use.
Works Cited
13, Renee Cho|March, et al. “Recycling in the U.S. Is Broken. How Do We Fix It?” State of the Planet, COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY, 8 Dec. 2020, news.climate.columbia.edu/2020/03/13/fix-recycling-america/.
Advancing Sustainable Materials Management: 2018 Tables and Figures . United States Environmental Protection Agency , Dec. 2020, www.epa.gov/sites/default/files/2021-01/documents/2018_tables_and_figures_dec_2020_fnl_508.pdf.
Bpf. “British Plastics Federation.” How Is Plastic Recycled? A Step by Step Guide to Recycling, www.bpf.co.uk/plastipedia/sustainability/how-is-plastic-recycled-a-step-by-step-guide-to-recycling.aspx.
Hopewell, Jefferson et al. “Plastics recycling: challenges and opportunities.” Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences vol. 364,1526 (2009): 2115-26. doi:10.1098/rstb.2008.0311
Loca, Nara. “Advantages and Disadvantages of PET Resin.” Nara Loca Abadi, Nara Loca Abadi, 13 Apr. 2020, www.naraloca.com/amp/advantages-and-disadvantages-of-pet-resin.
“Marine Plastic Pollution.” IUCN, 17 Nov. 2021, www.iucn.org/resources/issues-briefs/marine-plastic-pollution.
“Our Planet Is Drowning in Plastic Pollution. This World Environment Day, It's Time for a Change.” #BeatPlasticPollution This World Environment Day, www.unep.org/interactive/beat-plastic-pollution/.
Peçanha, Sergio. “Opinion | Congrats! You Dump 100 Plastic Bottles in Nature Each Year.” The Washington Post, WP Company, 19 Feb. 2020, www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/02/19/congrats-you-dump-100-plastic-bottles-nature-each-year/.
“Plastic Pollution Coalition.” Plastic Pollution Coalition, Plasticpollutioncoalition.org, http://www.plasticpollutioncoalition.org/.
“Recycling.” Recycling | PETRA: Information on the Use, Benefits & Safety of PET Plastic., www.petresin.org/recycling.asp.
Plastics for a Circular Economy Workshop: Summary ... - Energy. United States Department of Energy , Dec. 2019, www.energy.gov/sites/prod/files/2020/07/f77/beto-plastics-wksp-rpt-final.pdf.
RECYCLING BUZZ TOPIC: WHY DOES RECYCLING COST MONEY?, Michigan Department of Environmental Quality, Apr. 2016, www.michigan.gov/documents/deq/deq-oea-owmrp-WhyRecyclingCosts_Web_523826_7.pdf.
“Recycling Economic Information (REI) Report.” EPA, Environmental Protection Agency, www.epa.gov/smm/recycling-economic-information-rei-report.
“Researchers Engineer Microorganisms to Tackle Pet Plastic Pollution.” NREL.gov, National Renewable Energy Laboratory, 13 Oct. 2021, www.nrel.gov/news/program/2021/researchers-engineer-microorganisms-to-tackle-pet-plastic-pollution.html.
Staff, Creative Mechanisms. Everything You Need to Know About The World's Most Useful Plastic (PET and Polyester), www.creativemechanisms.com/blog/everything-about-polyethylene-terephthalate-pet-polyester.
“The Advantages and Disadvantages of PET Plastic Bottles.” Yuhuan Kang-Jia Enterprise Co.,Ltd, m.kangjia-bottles.com/info/the-advantages-and-disadvantages-of-pet-plasti-1880143.html.
Water, Path. “Do Plastic Water Bottles REALLY Get Recycled?” PathWater, 9 Jan. 2019, drinkpathwater.com/blogs/news/do-plastic-water-bottles-really-get-recycled.
“What Is Sustainability?” UCLA Sustainability, Regents of the University of California, https://www.sustain.ucla.edu/what-is-sustainability/.
Credits:
Created with images by sergeitokmakov - "pollution trash garbage" • Charly_7777 - "garbage plastic waste environmental pollution"