Plastic Waste Disposal and Reuse of Plastic Waste

Abstract

Plastic waste is one of the major pollutants of the solid waste throughout the world. The slow degradation rate of plastic waste results in death of billions of living organisms in marine and terrestrial environments. To dispose the plastic waste, various people around the globe tried to degrade or convert the plastic waste into usable form by using different methods. Incineration involves burning of plastic waste which leads to the production of toxic gases. Recycling is another method in which the plastic waste is converted into other usable forms of the plastic. But in this method, the energy is being consumed, and the plastic remains as it is although it is converted into other forms. Landfilling is one of the methods of plastic disposal where the plastic degradation is not carried out as per expectations as there is no sufficient oxygen to break down the plastic by microbes. Construction of roads by mixing plastic with bitumen and generation of petrol from the plastic are possibly better methods to utilize the plastic waste. Among all these methods, biodegradation method is considered as the most eco-friendly and cost-effective method of plastic degradation. In the present chapter, an attempt was made to discuss all types of plastic degradation in detail, to enlist the factors affecting the rate of degradation, followed by the conclusion that biodegradation is the only cost-effective and eco-friendly method.