Plastic Life Cycle Research Articles

Pre-university students’ perceptions about the life cycle of bioplastics and fossil-based plastics

Sustainability has become a prominent theme in society and can be considered as an integral part of scientific citizenship. This study investigates to what extent the production, use and re-use of (bio)plastics initiates students’ reasoning and to identify the kind of content knowledge students put forward. The structure of students’ arguments was mapped according to Toulmin's model of argumentation,i.e., claim, data, warrant & backing and qualifier & rebuttals. Students (N= 27, grade 10 & 11) participated in groups of three. The students were introduced to the topic of the production, use and re-use of plastics by watching a video, answering questions, reading articles and having interviews and group discussions. Students were prompted to argue on the sustainability of bioplastics and fossil-based plastics. The results show that students frequently used arguments related to preventing pollution, designing to recycle and designing to degrade. However, themes such as avoiding waste, origin of energy and materials, energy efficiency and costs were rarely used or even absent in students’ reasoning. Overall, the students’ reasoning contained all of Toulmin's categories, and especially the increase in the number of qualifier & rebuttals is interpreted as an indication of awareness of the complexity of the issue at hand. This study underlines that students are able to bring in relevant scientific knowledge when confronted with a suitable sustainability issue, but also more societally oriented arguments enriched their perspective. Implications for the design of interventions aiming to engage students in life cycle analysis (on plastics) are discussed.

Politics and the plastic crisis: A review throughout the plastic life cycle

AbstractThis article surveys the politics of plastics through a reading and analysis of more than 180 scientific articles in the fields of environmental science and environmental studies. Despite the many benefits of plastics, the global plastic system is increasingly being recognized as the source of severe environmental problems. Rather than orient the investigation around specific venues, levels, or architectures of governance, our survey first follows plastic through its life cycle, and then considers the major categories of plastic objects addressed in the current literature, and the different approaches taken to each category. The politics of plastics is a growing field of inquiry, with the most rapid expansion in the areas of marine pollution and microplastics. Our consideration of plastic flows reveals increasing politicization towards the latter end of the life cycle, that is, plastic as waste and pollution. Turning to plastic objects, we observe different forms of mobilization, and varying connections between flows and objects, which allow for multiple interpretations of what is at stake. In the closing section, we consider two recent trends in the plastic governance discussion that take a more holistic view of the plastic crisis: attempts to construct (a) a circular plastics economy and (b) global plastics conventions or treaties. We end the paper by highlighting the need for studies to further investigate the norms and practices that maintain the role of plastics in society, as well as the political and economic arrangements that secure its overabundance and low price.This article is categorized under: Energy Policy and Planning > Economics and Policy Fossil Fuels > Science and Materials Fossil Fuels > Climate and Environment

Solutions and Integrated Strategies for the Control and Mitigation of Plastic and Microplastic Pollution.

Plastic pollution is generated by the unsustainable use and disposal of plastic products in modern society, threatening economies, ecosystems, and human health. Current clean-up strategies have attempted to mitigate the negative effects of plastic pollution but are unable to compete with increasing quantities of plastic entering the environment. Thus, reducing inputs of plastic to the environment must be prioritized through a global multidisciplinary approach. Mismanaged waste is a major land-based source of plastic pollution that can be reduced through improvements in the life-cycle of plastics, especially in production, consumption, and disposal, through an Integrated Waste Management System. In this review paper, we discuss current practices to improve life cycle and waste management of plastics that can be implemented to reduce health and environmental impacts of plastics and reduce plastics pollution. Ten recommendations for stakeholders to reduce plastic pollution include (1) regulation of production and consumption; (2) eco-design; (3) increasing the demand for recycled plastics; (4) reducing the use of plastics; (5) use of renewable energy for recycling; (6) extended producer responsibility over waste; (7) improvements in waste collection systems; (8) prioritization of recycling; (9) use of bio-based and biodegradable plastics; and (10) improvement in recyclability of e-waste.

Leaching of endocrine disrupting chemicals from marine microplastics and mesoplastics under common life stress conditions

Microplastics (MPs) and mesoplastics are able to sorb harmful substances and often contain additives, e.g., endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs), that can cause adverse effects to organisms. The present study aims to determine EDC concentrations and their endocrine activities in leachates of field-collected marine MPs and mesoplastics under stress conditions that are known to occur during the plastic life cycle. Estrogens were the dominant EDCs on plastic particles and were either concentrated from the surrounding water or originated from plastic manufacturing. Bisphenol A had the highest detection frequency (75%) with an average concentration of 475 ± 882 μg/kg, followed by bisphenol S, octylphenol and nonylphenol. Moreover, smaller marine MPs leached greater quantities of EDCs because the sorption from surrounding seawater is more efficient for smaller particles. It was found that normal life stresses such as microwaving (MW) and autoclaving (AC) can decrease EDC concentrations, but solar irradiation (solar) can increase EDC concentrations in leachates. Even though organisms with higher metabolic ability exhibited greater estrogenic effects, the comprehensive toxicity of plastic leachates after common life treatments was still limited (below the EC10 value) if 0.1% is taken as the EDC uptake from plastic. In future studies, the accurate contribution of plastic bound EDCs needs to be further explored, and the monitoring of MPs and mesoplastics in the human diet remains important because the concentrations of these plastics may change in the future.

Plastic production, use linked to climate change

The expansion of plastic production and use is threatening Earth’s climate, says a report from the Center for International Environmental Law. For 2019, the annual greenhouse gas emissions from fossil-fuel extraction for raw materials as well as from plastics production and disposal by landfilling or incineration is estimated to be 0.86 billion metric tons (t) of carbon dioxide equivalent. But if plastics manufacturing and use increase as currently expected, their related greenhouse gas emissions will rise to 1.34 billion t of CO2 equivalent in 2030, the report predicts. To meaningfully curb worldwide emissions from the entire life cycle of plastics, the report recommends ending the production and use of single-use, disposable plastics. It also calls for stopping the development of new infrastructure for oil, gas, and petrochemical production. However, the study “falls short of comparing the carbon profiles of products and packaging made with plastics to those of alternatives, which

New direction for NPD

New direction for NPD

The Issue of Plastic Waste Utilization

Waste or garbage is a mix of substances, objects and their parts that have lost their customer properties due to being used and so they are refused. The paper is aimed at characterizing main topical concepts of the problem of plastic waste spread and its utilization and suggesting its future solutions. In Russia the amount of solid municipal waste reaches 63 mln tons per year (i. e. about 450 kg per person), up to 25 % of it being plastics. Plastics are organic materials made of synthesized or natural polymers consisting of monomer units that are joined together to form long macromolecules. The most widespread types of plastic are polyvinyl chloride, polyethylene terephthalate, polypropylene, polycarbonate, polystyrene, low and high density polyethylene (LDPE and HDPE), etc. A system of identification codes and labeling was developed to facilitate utilization of disposable items. The majority of types of plastic can be easily reprocessed and recycled. In European countries, up to 50 % of waste is recycled while in Russia this number does not exceed 4 %. The life cycle of plastic is much longer than its useful life. One way or another, all plastic items get into landfills where plastic goes on affecting the environment and moves along the food chains up to humans. Up to 10 % of plastic waste ends up in the World Ocean. This durable and often toxic material results in diseases and death of many terrestrial and aquatic animals. The classic waste management hierarchy is limited to three major directions: disposal (including energy recovery), recycling and reuse, all of which being not optimal particularly in respect of the environment. It should be recognized that, among other issues, plastic life cycle assessment and raising public awareness of a need to minimize use of plastic are relevant ways out.

Plastic waste management, a matter for the 'community'.

Plastic waste management, a matter for the 'community'.

Towards an improved international framework to govern the life cycle of plastics

Current international and regional frameworks provide a fragmented approach to the global governance of the life cycle of plastics. Three options to address marine litter have recently been published and presented at the third meeting of the United Nations Environment Assembly. This article outlines two options for a new international architecture, leaving to the side the third option of maintaining the status quo. The first suggests a global voluntary agreement that supplements the appropriate revisions and strengthening of relevant existing instruments. The second option provides for a global agreement that combines binding and voluntary measures. Whether the approach is binding or voluntary, strong integration with industry must be a primary outcome for either to be effective. The article discusses the merits of these options and considers where the authority for a new international instrument could come from.

REACH in a circular economy: The obstacles for plastics recyclers and regulators

The European Union (EU) Regulation on the Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH) applies to chemical substances on their own, in mixtures or in articles. Manufacturers using either virgin or recycled substances have to comply with these rules, which do not explicitly distinguish between the two sources. This contribution considers REACH in the circular economy, with a particular focus on its role in the circularity of plastics through recycling. We show that the lack of information about the specific composition of the plastic waste arriving at the recycling facility greatly affects the ability of recyclers to comply with REACH. Over and above several other obstacles plastics recyclers encounter, this creates legal uncertainty about the use of recycled plastics and uncertainty about their market outlet. The recycling industry can in effect either choose to carry on in a regulatory vacuum or to continue the old, linear as opposed to circular scenario. On the face of it, this hardly supports the circular economy philosophy. We reflect how EU regulators may reconcile the objectives of creating a low‐risk life cycle of plastics (REACH) with the creation of a cycle with enough throughputs of plastics (Waste Framework Directive). We also propose practical solutions.

Life cycle assessment on environmental effect of polylactic acid biological packaging plastic in Tianjin

In this paper, corn - based polylactic acid (PLA) biological packaging plastic is selected for the life cycle assessment-LCA. Taking Tianjin, China as an example, the PLA bio-package plastic is analyzed from four aspects: raw material acquisition, processing, use and final treatment. Produce costs, energy consumption, and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions (equivalent carbon dioxide in this paper) over the entire life cycle of biological packaging plastic were calculated, and compared with traditional petroleum based Polyethylene (PE) plastic products in terms of environmental impacts. Based on LCA results, this paper puts forward corresponding suggestions and countermeasures from the perspective of sustainable development. The study found that the CO2 emissions of biological materials are reduced by 61.25% compared with that of PE.

Following plastic through the economy

Environment![Figure][1] Reducing plastic pollution requires better knowledge of its entire life cycle. PHOTO: MOODBOARD/GETTY IMAGES Over the past 50 years, plastic production and pollution have surged. Efforts to better handle plastic waste require detailed knowledge of the life cycles of different plastic types. Kawecki et al. report a probabilistic study of the life cycles of seven polymers that together make up 80% of the plastics used by manufacturers in Europe. The authors provide a detailed picture of the production, manufacturing, consumption, waste collection, and recycling, including trade flows, for each polymer, with a particular focus on textiles. The results can be used to predict how much plastic is likely to be released into the environment at different stages of each plastic's life cycle, thus informing strategies for preventing plastic pollution. Environ. Sci. Technol. 52 , 9874 (2018). [1]: pending:yes

Polymer ready for repeat recycling

Developing a practical polymer that can break down to its monomer and then be repolymerized over and over again has been a long-standing goal of plastics makers and recycling advocates. Such a material would dramatically cut down the need for virgin feedstocks and would vastly improve the life cycle of plastics. While repeatedly recyclable polymers have been made, their properties simply aren’t as good as those of commonly used plastics—until now. Chemists Eugene X.-Y. Chen, Jian-Bo Zhu, Eli M. Watson, and Jing Tang at Colorado State University have created a recyclable polymer with mechanical strength and thermostability that’s comparable to popular plastics. A few years ago, Chen and his group reported they were able to make a polymer from the ring-opening reaction of γ-butyrolactone—a simple five-membered cyclic ester previously thought to be impervious to polymerization for thermodynamic reasons. They thought they could create a sustainable, recyclable polymer by using this

Release and Gas-Particle Partitioning Behaviors of Short-Chain Chlorinated Paraffins (SCCPs) During the Thermal Treatment of Polyvinyl Chloride Flooring.

Chlorinated paraffin (CP) mixture is a common additive in polyvinyl chloride (PVC) products as a plasticizer and flame retardant. During the PVC plastic life cycle, intentional or incidental thermal processes inevitably cause an abrupt release of short-chain CPs (SCCPs). In this study, the thermal processing of PVC plastics was simulated by heating PVC flooring at 100-200 °C in a chamber. The 1 h thermal treatment caused the release of 1.9-10.7% of the embedded SCCPs. A developed emission model indicated that SCCP release was mainly controlled by material-gas partitioning at 100 °C. However, release control tended to be subjected to material-phase diffusion above 150 °C, especially for SCCP congeners with shorter carbon-chain lengths. A cascade impactor (NanoMoudi) was used to collect particles of different sizes and gas-phase SCCPs. The elevated temperature resulted in a higher partition of SCCPs from the gas-phase to particle-phase. SCCPs were not strongly inclined to form aerosol particles by nucleation, and less present in the Aitken mode particles. Junge-Pankow adsorption model well fitted the partitioning of SCCPs between the gas-phase and accumulation mode particles. Inhalation exposure estimation indicated that PVC processing and recycling workers could face a considerably high risk for exposure to SCCPs.

Illustrating Plastic Production and End-of-Life Plastic Treatment with Interlocking Building Blocks

Plastics are essential materials of our current society with countless applications that make the current way of living without plastics hardly imaginable. After the plastics have fulfilled their obligations, huge amounts of end-of-life plastics are generated that require some treatment such as reuse, repurposing, mechanical or chemical recycling, or disposal in a landfill. An approach based on interlocking building blocks is used to explain the life cycle of plastics from their production from monomers through the different treatments of end-of-life-plastics. Importantly, the proposed concept can be useful for a public audience with little knowledge of chemistry.

Fate of Eight Different Polymers under Uncontrolled Composting Conditions: Relationships Between Deterioration, Biofilm Formation, and the Material Surface Properties

With the ever-increasing volume of polymer wastes and their associated detrimental impacts on the environment, the plastic life cycle has drawn increasing attention. Here, eight commercial polymers selected from biodegradable to environmentally persistent materials, all formulated under a credit card format, were incubated in an outdoor compost to evaluate their fate over time and to profile the microbial communities colonizing their surfaces. After 450 days in compost, the samples were all colonized by multispecies biofilms, these latest displaying different amounts of adhered microbial biomass and significantly distinct bacterial and fungal community compositions depending on the substrate. Interestingly, colonization experiments on the eight polymers revealed a large core of shared microbial taxa, predominantly composed of microorganisms previously reported from environments contaminated with petroleum hydrocarbons or plastics debris. These observations suggest that biofilms may contribute to the alteration process of all the polymers studied. Actually, four substrates, independently of their assignment to a polymer group, displayed a significant deterioration, which might be attributed to biologically mediated mechanisms. Relevantly, the deterioration appears strongly associated with the formation of a high-cell density biofilm onto the polymer surfaces. The analysis of various surface properties revealed that roughness and hydrophilicity are likely prominent parameters for driving the biological interactions with the polymers.

OCCURRENCE OF PLASTIC WASTE IN THE ENVIRONMENT: ECOLOGICAL AND HEALTH RISKS

Environmental threats posed in the environment by plastic production and plastic wastes continue to be a major problem today, closely connected with the increase of plastics consumption by the population. Moreover, little efforts are involved in some parts of the world associated to plastic waste collection, recycling and reuse. Considering all these prerequisites, the identification and discussion of risks generated by plastic production and waste in the environment are performed in this paper and some measures for plastic waste reduction were proposed. Although plastic polymers are not considered toxic, some residual monomers contained in the materials can be hazardous. Also, many chemical compounds used in the plastics manufacturing as additives, in particular plasticizers are dangerous to human health and the environment, along with some degradation products that may be released during the plastic life cycle. Bearing in mind the potential impacts and risks generated by these products in the environment and for humans, the paper highlights that the current requirements and tendencies are to reduce the need for plastic, the enhancement of recycling and recovering the waste, simultaneously with the replacement of plastic from fossil fuel with a continuous widening spectrum of biodegradable polymers. Bioplastics began to be recognized as a positive and important invention of chemical and plastics industry, providing many and varied opportunities for environmental impacts and risks abatement.

Poa annuaL. in the maritime Antarctic: an overview

ABSTRACTPoa annuais the only flowering plant species that has established a breeding population in the maritime Antarctic, through repeated anthropogenic introduction. The first appearance of this species in the Antarctic was observed in 1953. Annual bluegrass inhabits mainly anthropogenic sites, but recently has entered tundra communities. The functioning ofP. annuain the Antarctic could not have been possible without adaptations that enable the plants to persist in the specific climatic conditions typical for this zone.Poa annuais highly adaptable to environmental stress and unstable habitats: huge phenotypic and genotypic variability, small size, plastic life cycle (life-history types ranging from annual to perennial forms). The spreading ofP. annuain the Antarctic Peninsula region is a classic example of the expansion process following anthropogenic introduction of an invasive species, and illustrates the dangers to Antarctic terrestrial ecosystems that are associated with increasing human traffic.

Ultrastructural comparison of Bonamia spp. (Haplosporidia) infecting ostreid oysters.

The ultrastructure of Bonamia from Ostrea angasi from Australia, Crassostrea ariakensis from the USA, O. puelchana from Argentina and O. edulis from Spain was compared with described Bonamia spp. All appear conspecific with B. exitiosa. The Bonamia sp. from Chile had similarities to the type B. exitiosa from New Zealand (NZ), but less so than the other forms recognized as B. exitiosa. Two groups of ultrastructural features were identified; those associated with metabolism (mitochondrial profiles, lipid droplets and endoplasmic reticulum), and those associated with haplosporogenesis (Golgi, indentations in the nuclear surface, the putative trans-Golgi network, perinuclear granular material and haplosporosome-like bodies). Metabolic features were regarded as having little taxonomic value, and as the process of haplosporogenesis is not understood, only haplosporosome shape and size may be of taxonomic value. However, the uni-nucleate stages of spore-forming haplosporidians are poorly known and may be confused with Bonamia spp. uni-nucleate stages. The many forms of NZ B. exitiosa have not been observed in other hosts, which may indicate that it has a plastic life cycle. Although there are similarities between NZ B. exitiosa and Chilean Bonamia in the development of a larger uni-nucleate stage and the occurrence of cylindrical confronting cisternae, the clarification of the identity of Chilean Bonamia must await molecular studies.

Eco-efficiency of disposable and reusable surgical instruments—a scissors case

Purpose In recent years, the rising costs and infection control lead to an increasing use of disposable surgical instruments in daily hospital practices. Environmental impacts have risen as a result across the life cycle of plastic or stainless steel disposables. Compared with the conventional reusable products, different qualities and quantities of disposable scissors have to be taken into account. An eco-efficiency analysis can shed some light for the potential contribution of those products towards a sustainable development.