The " Plastic Effect "- Know Your Plastic

Friends with my third post again here i am...

after reading my last two posts i hope you people would have been started saving papers...Ahhhaaann !!

Hey i am just kidding guys... :)

so do you know what is steaming tonight in my mind????  Guesses???  Yeahh??...okkhhaayy..

It is nothing but the material we people are using since decades...so what is that??

My friends that is Plastic...which is used on large scale in Domestic,Commercial and Industrial purposes...
so what say...shouldn't we take a sight on plastic and its "Plastic Effects"

Do you really think,you know about this plastic completely?
I don't think so !!        okkkhhaayyy....okkkhhaayy....

Let's check your Plastic knowledge then...

Q:   What Is Plastic???

A:   " A material made from petroleum capable of being molded, extruded or cast into various shapes "

 A plastic material is any of a wide range of synthetic or semi-synthetic organic solids that are modifiable. Plastics are typically organic polymers of high molecular mass, but they often contain other substances. They are usually synthetic, most commonly derived from petrochemicals, but many are partially natural.

                                                      Did You Know   ? ? ? ? ?

 The word plastic is derived from the Greek " Plastikos " meaning capable of being      shaped or molded, from " Plastos " meaning  molded

Q : Categories of Plastic???

A : i would like to tell you,your Plastic has these several categorizations

you must be aware of them...so..here we go...

other used forms are....

• Polyester (PES) – Fibers, textiles.
• Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) – Carbonated drinks bottles, peanut butter jars, plastic film, microwavable packaging.
• Polyethylene (PE) – Wide range of inexpensive uses including supermarket bags, plastic bottles.
• High-density polyethylene (HDPE) – Detergent bottles, milk jugs, and molded plastic cases.
• Polyvinyl chloride (PVC) – Plumbing pipes and guttering, shower curtains, window frames, flooring.
• Polyvinylidene chloride (PVDC) (Saran) – Food packaging.
• Low-density polyethylene (LDPE) – Outdoor furniture, siding, floor tiles, shower curtains, clamshell packaging.
• Polypropylene (PP) – Bottle caps, drinking straws, yogurt containers, appliances, car fenders (bumpers), plastic pressure pipe systems.
• Polystyrene (PS) – Packaging foam/"peanuts", food containers, plastic tableware, disposable cups, plates, cutlery, CD and cassette boxes.
• High impact polystyrene (HIPS) -: Refrigerator liners, food packaging, vending cups.
• Polyamides (PA) (Nylons) – Fibers, toothbrush bristles, tubing, fishing line, low strength machine parts: under-the-hood car engine parts or gun frames.
• Acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) – Electronic equipment cases (e.g., computer monitors, printers, keyboards), drainage pipe.
• Polyethylene/Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene (PE/ABS) – A slippery blend of PE and ABS used in low-duty dry bearings.
• Polycarbonate (PC) – Compact discs, eyeglasses, riot shields, security windows, traffic lights, lenses.
• Polycarbonate/Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene (PC/ABS) – A blend of PC and ABS that creates a stronger plastic. Used in car interior and exterior parts, and mobile phone bodies.
• Polyurethanes (PU) – Cushioning foams, thermal insulation foams, surface coatings, printing rollers (Currently 6th or 7th most commonly used plastic material, for instance the most commonly used plastic in cars)

in the above picture it is advised to avoid  (1)PET, (3) PVC, (6)PS, (7)Others .


Q:   Properties of Plastic?

A:   The properties of plastics are defined chiefly by the organic chemistry of the polymer such as hardness, density, and resistance to heat, organic solvents, oxidation, and ionizing radiation. In particular, most plastics will melt upon heating to a few hundred degrees celsius. While plastics can be made electrically conductive, with the conductivity of up to 80 ks/cm in stretch-oriented poly acetylene, they are still no match for most metals like copper which have conductivities of several hundreds ks/cm.

Some facts :

1. Early plastics were bio-derived materials such as egg and blood proteins, which are organic polymers. Treated cattle horns were used as windows for lanterns in the Middle Ages.
2. In the 1800's the development of plastics accelerated with Charles Goodyear's discovery of vulcanization as a route to thermoset materials derived from natural rubber. Many storied materials were reported as industrial chemistry was developed in the 1800's.
3. The plastic material, parkesine, was patented by Alexander Park es, In Birmingham, UK in 1856. It was unveiled at the 1862 Great International Exhibition in London.
4. The first so called plastic based on a synthetic polymer was made from phenol and formaldehyde, with the first viable and cheap synthesis methods invented in 1907, by Leo Hendrik Baekeland, a Belgian-born American living in New York state
5. Plastics were the material pegged to change the world; and they have had an amazing impact. But for all the technology and convenience borne from the polymer family, untold perils are becoming realized as well.
   
6. The average American produces a half-pound of plastic waste every day; while around the world, 300 million tons of the exceedingly durable material are produced each year.
7. Electrical and Electronic equipment and Motor Vehicle markets together accounted for 58 % of plastics demand in 2003.
8. 200 million tonnes of plastic manufactured annually around world And consumption rate is 61.5 pounds of plastic per person per year.
9. With the growth in consumption, plastic production in India is likely to grow by 60 % to touch 12.75 million tonne by 2012, according to a industry body.

so that's all guyz.... I'll be back soon with the Effects of plastic...Do read it and get some time to comment on it...your suggestions are most welcome......

Keep tracking...
Take care of You and Our Earth...



SOURCES:

1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plastic
2. Medical Device Market Research. LLC, April 2004
3. Society of Plastics Engineers
4. http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com

(2)Save Papers otherwise our Upcoming Generations will find it in Museum!

Remedies:

so people here i come with the solutions of paper waste problems,which i mentioned in my last blog....

http://youriota.blogspot.in/2012/09/save-papers-otherwise-our-upcoming.html

so according to you what solutions we can opt??....any guess??
the first few ideas came into your mind are, Recycling, Paper Alternatives, Use of Electronic   Media and blah blah....

so let's discuss about all of those solutions you can Go for...

Paper Alternatives

You'll be happy to know that a growing number of companies are producing "tree-free" paper alternatives. Here are some ingredients to look for the next time you buy stationery, envelopes, notepads, or folders:

• Post-Consumer Waste : 
    "Post-consumer waste" is the paper you throw out or recycle. Buying paper made from a   high percentage of post-consumer waste helps reduce the number of trees needed to make paper "from scratch." It also saves energy and keeps paper out of the landfill.
• Hemp:
  Hemp produces its own natural pesticide, and grows so quickly it produces twice  as much fiber per acre as pine.Paper, clothing, and other materials made from hemp are increasingly available from many manufacturers in the U.S.; hemp continues to be grown in several countries around the world.
  
  
• Kenaf :
  Kenaf, a cousin to the cotton plant, uses 15-25% less energy than pine to make pulp.
  
  
• Bamboo:
  This fast-growing grass produces 4 to 5 times the fiber of the fastest-growing commercial tree species.
  
  
• Agri-Pulp:
  Agri-pulp combines agricultural waste along with post-consumer waste to make paper.
  
  
  

                                         Believe It or Not ! ! !

It takes 60% less energy to manufacture paper from 

recycled stock than from virgin materials.

Paper Recycling

Paper suitable for recycling is called "scrap paper", often used to produce molded pulp packaging.There are three categories of paper that can be used as feedstocks for making recycled paper:

1.Mill broke    2.Pre-consumer waste    3. Post-consumer

with paper recycling following Major problems can be minimized to a very big level...

1.Energy

Energy consumption is reduced by recycling. The Energy Information Administration claims a 40% reduction in energy when paper is recycled versus paper made with unrecycled pulp, while the Bureau of International Recycling (BIR) claims a 64% reduction.Some calculations show that recycling 1 ton of newspaper saves about 4,000 kWh (14 GJ) of electricity.This is enough electricity to power a 3-bedroom European house for an entire year, or enough energy to heat and air-condition the avg North American home for almost six months.

2.Landfill use

About 35% of municipal solid waste (before recycling) by weight is paper and paper products

3.Water and air pollution

The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has found that recycling causes 35% less water pollution and 74% less air pollution than making virgin paper. Pulp mills can be sources of both air and water pollution, especially if they are producing bleached pulp. Modern mills produce considerably less pollution than those of a few decades ago

• Regional Paper Recycling Figures

1.European Union

The recycling rate in Europe reached 64.5% in 2007, which confirms that the industry is on the path to meeting its voluntary target of 66% by 2010.

2.Japan

According to the Yomiuri Shimbun, in 2008, eight paper manufacturers in Japan have admitted to intentionally mislabeling recycled paper products, exaggerating the amount of recycled paper used

3.United States

Recycling has long been practiced in the United States. The history of paper recycling has several dates of importance:

• 1690: The first paper mill to use recycled linen was established by the Rittenhouse family.
• 1896: The first major recycling center was started by the Benedetto family in New York City, where they collected rags, newspaper, and trash with a pushcart.
• 1993: The first year when more paper was recycled than was buried in landfills.

Today, over half of the paper used in the United States is collected and recycled.Paper products are still the largest component of municipal solid waste, making up more than 40% of the composition of landfills.In 2006, a record 53.4% of the paper used in the US (or 53.5 million tons) was recovered for recycling.This is up from a 1990 recovery rate of 33.5%.

4.Mexico

In Mexico, recycled paper, rather than wood pulp, is the principal feedstock in papermills accounting for about 75% of raw materials

Some Amazing facts about Paper Recycling:

• Recycling one ton of paper saves 682.5 gallons of oil, 7,000 gallons of water, 3.3 cubic yards of landfill space.Recycling half the world's paper would free 20 million acres of forestland.
• 3 cubic yards of landfill space can be saved by one ton of recycled paper.Recycled paper requires 64% less energy than making paper from virgin wood pulp.
• 77% in the Netherlands,67% in Germany,52% in Japan, and 45% of paper is recycled in the US.The post-consumer recycling rate for old newsprint in the US in 1990, 1992, and 1994 was 38%, 47%,and 45% respectively
• Paper had an overall recycling rate of 35.3% in 1994. About 55.3% of corrugated boxes, 45.3% of newspapers, 19.3% of books, 30% of magazines,and 42.5% of office papers were recycled in.
• Americans consume more paper than the citizens of most other countries. Compared with the 1994 world average of 97 pounds, the United States per capita consumption of paper is more than 700 pounds, about 2 pounds-per-person-per-day. Per capita consumption of paper in the United States has grown 43 percent since 1980.
• In the US, 9,190 million tons of office paper was generated, and 4,220 million tons were recovered in 2002. In 2000, only 4,545 million tons were recovered.If everyone in the US sent one less holiday card, we would save over 50,000 cubic yards of paper.

                     


          other than above methods What Else We can do?

• Select a good paper:
   If choosing bleached paper, select one that is either totally chlorine-free (TCF) or process chlorine-free (PCF). Bleaching paper with chlorine creates a serious carcinogen called dioxin. Chlorine-free processes use oxygen, hydrogen peroxide or other compounds that do not produce such dangerous byproducts.
   
• Save on transportation:
  Buy paper from the company whose distribution source is closest to you. You'll save on transportation costs and minimize air pollution from truck emissions.
• Use electronic media:
  Make greater use of electronic media and limit the number of E-mail messages you print out.
• ·      Encourage others:
  Share the benefits of using paper alternatives with friends, colleagues and associates so they can do their part to save forests and enjoy trees.

So Here the Paper Saving Campaign Ends  !!

I hope you people Definitely don't want to Make this Paper a HISTORY for our next Generations....so start from Today itself and do whatever you can to save papers....

                                                  Good Luck !!


Please Do read it and Comment!!

Sources:

1. Save Our Planet : 750 Everyday Ways You Can Help Clean Up The Earth !
2.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia
3. The Recycler's Handbook, 1990
4. Environmental Health and Safety Online (MSW Report)
5. Worldwatch Institute
6. Washington Post
7. American Forest and Paper Association
8. Environmental Defense Fund, Champion Paper Mills
9. North Carolina Office of Waste Reduction and Recycling

(1)Save Papers otherwise our Upcoming Generations will find it in Museum!

EXCUSES:


Do we ever even mind about those no of papers we generally crumble up??

The paper cuttings,paper wastes,paper packets of goods....we hardly care about all those Garbage THINGS...We even don't want to know about all this thing...because there are Garbage companies,Municipals,Government and other authorities to take care of all this...but i think this carelessness will be hazardous!!

Did You Know?

The average office employee usees approximately 10,000 sheets of paper a year, 

creating a stack almost four feet high.

before a decade this Careless Attitude could be tolerable...but in present and Future,do you really think this attitude is going to work any more?...........
my friend the answer is Straight NO!

Let me show you  HOW?

Due to Paper wastes very serious problems like Deforestation, Air pollution, Water pollution occurs and like other wastes it also  faces the additional hazard of toxic inks, dyes and polymers that could be potentially carcinogenic when incinerated or co mingled with groundwater via traditional burial methods such as modern landfills. 
Waste water discharges for a pulp and paper mill contains solids, nutrients and dissolved organic matter, and unless at low levels. Nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus can cause eutrophication of fresh water bodies such as lakes and rivers.



today i'v got some interesting data and want to share all this with you People....

• Paper manufacturing is the largest industrial user of water per pound of finished products.
• It is estimated that 95% of business information is still stored on paper.
• The average daily web user prints 28 pages daily and 115 billion sheets of paper are used annually for personal computers.   ( Gartner group and HP)
• Average worldwide annual paper consumption is 48 KG per person with North America accounting for over 1/3 (only 333 KG in USA) .The average American attorney uses one ton of paper every year and Employees at American financial businesses generate about 2 lbs. of paper a day/person.
• 700 pounds of paper are consumed by the average American each year and the US uses  25% of the world's paper products. The US uses approx. 68 million trees each year to produce 17 billion catalogues and 65 billion pieces of direct mail.
• Paper and paper products accounts for more than 
• 1/3 of all Canada’s waste.
• Canada uses
 
• 6 million tonnes of paper and 
• paperboard annually. Only 1/4 of Canada’s 
• waste 
• paper and paperboard is recycled.
• Asia has surpassed Western Europe in paper consumption and will soon surpass the United States.
• 10,000 trees are cut down annually in China to make holiday cards .
   (Xinhua News Agency)
• Although paper is traditionally identified with reading and writing,communications has now been 
• replaced by packaging as the single largest category 
• of paper use at 41% of all paper used.
• Worldwide consumption of paper has risen by 400% in the past 40 years, with 35% of harvested trees being used for paper manufacture.
• Paper waste accounts for up to 40% of total waste in the United States, which adds up to 71.6 million tons of waste per year in the United States alone.
• Waste water discharges for a pulp and paper mill contains solids, nutrients and dissolved organic matter, and unless at low levels.
• Today, 90 per cent of paper pulp is made of wood.
• Paper manufacture is estimated to account for 
• nearly 13 per cent of total wood use, and represents 
• one per cent of the world's total economic output.

Vol - 2 Coming Soon!




Sources

:

1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia  , 
2. International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED) London,September'96
   http://www.iied.org/  ,
3. World Commission on Environment and Development, 1987
   www.wsu.edu/~susdev/WCED87.html
4. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, 1997
   http://www.fao.org/about/en/
5. American Forest and Paper Association
6. Environmental Defense Fund, Champion Paper Mills