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Materials Used for Making Plastic Bags

Plastic bags are made from a ubiquitous polymer substance known as polyethylene. This begins as ethylene, commonly extracted from natural gases, then treated to become the polymer, forming long chains of carbon and hydrogen atoms.

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Materials Used for Making Plastic Bags

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  1. M A T E R I A L SU S E DF O RM A K I N G   PLASTICBAGS

  2. G E N E R A LP L A S T I C S Plasticbagsaremadefroma ubiquitouspolymersubstance knownaspolyethylene. Thisbegins asethylene, commonlyextracted fromnaturalgases, thentreatedto becomethepolymer, forminglong chainsofcarbonandhydrogen atoms. Thesechainscanvary dependingonwhattypeof polyethyleneisbeingused, but theyallhelpcreatevarioustypesof plasticbags. Plasticbagsaremadefroma ubiquitouspolymersubstance knownaspolyethylene. Thisbegins asethylene, commonlyextracted fromnaturalgases, thentreatedto becomethepolymer, forminglong chainsofcarbonandhydrogen atoms. Thesechainscanvary dependingonwhattypeof polyethyleneisbeingused, but theyallhelpcreatevarioustypesof plasticbags.

  3. S O U R C E S H D P EP L A S T I C Thesourcesubstancesof polyethylenevary, butarealmost alwayssomeformoffossilfuel. Bothpetroleumandnaturalgasare commonsourcesandvital ingredientsinalmostallplastic bagsavailabletoday. Properly refined, theyyieldethylene, which isinturnmadeintopolyethylene. Thisprocessisusedmostlywith naturalgas, whichyieldsavery flexiblepolyethylenesubstance thatcanbeformedintonearlyany shapeandmanufacturedinany color. HDPEstandsforhighdensity polyethylene, andisthemost commontypeofpolyethyleneused tocreateshoppingbags. This plasticismadeofstraightmolecule chainsthatbranchverylittle, stayinglinearfrombeginningto end. Thislinearstructurecreatesa verystrongmaterial, whichiswhy thecommongrocerybagislight yetcanholdmanytimesitsown weightwithouttearing.

  4. L D P EP L A S T I C L L D P EP L A S T I C Referringtolinearlowdensity polyethylene, theseplasticsdonotbranch, butalsodonothavethesamestrengthas HDPEversions. Thismeansthatshopping bagscreatedfromLLDPEplasticsneedto bethickerandheavierthattraditional grocerybags. Theshinybagsusingin clothingstoresareacommonexampleof bagsmadefromthissubstance. LDPEplasticismadefromlowdensity, branchingchainsofpolymermaterials. Thesepolyethylenechains, ratherthan stayinglinear, spreadoutinmanydifferent combininglines. Thiscreatesaverylight, almostfilmlikeplasticthatisusedtomake thetear-awaybagsdrycleanersusefor wrappingcleanedclothes. E N V I R O N M E N T A LI N F O R M A T I O N Whileshoppingbagplasticisrecyclable, itcannotberemadeintoanorganic state, andoncecreatedmuststayasasyntheticsubstancefortherestofits life. Insteadofbeingrecycledasnewplasticbags, manybagsareusedto createothersyntheticmaterialssuchascompositelumber. Ingeneral, plastic bagsarethepreferredenvironmentalchoice, notbecauseoftheirrecyclable qualitiesbutbecauseoftheirmanufacturingprocess, whichusesaround70 percentlessenergyandreleases50percentfewergreenhousegasparticles thanalternativeslikepaperbags.

  5. SOURCES A R T I C L ES O U R C E S C I E N C I N G . C O M I M A G ES O U R C E P O L Y P A C . C O M . A U

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