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Burn ‘Em All Or Sort ‘Em Out: Recycle vs. Incineration

Burn ‘Em All Or Sort ‘Em Out: Recycle vs. Incineration. Heidi Beutel Tarsha Brown Reginald Jacques Howard West Deborah Wierzchowski April 11, 2000. Objective . To determine if it is better to Recycle or Incinerate plastics made from synthetic polymers Statistics advantages

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Burn ‘Em All Or Sort ‘Em Out: Recycle vs. Incineration

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  1. Burn ‘Em All Or Sort ‘Em Out:Recycle vs. Incineration Heidi Beutel Tarsha Brown Reginald Jacques Howard West Deborah Wierzchowski April 11, 2000

  2. Objective • To determine if it is better to Recycle or Incinerate plastics made from synthetic polymers • Statistics • advantages • disadvantages • impact on environment • which is more economical

  3. Why Recycle or Incinerate • Question arises about what to do with plastic or post-consumer waste • Waste accumulation has been a problem throughout history • Growth in technology requires new materials • Most consumer waste end up in landfill

  4. Definition of plastic • The term plastic is used to describe commercial materials made from synthetic polymers • “poly” (many) and “mers” (parts) • not all polymers are plastics

  5. Two types of polymers • Thermoplastic polymers • Linearly structured with slight branching from the base units • Formed upon heating • Thermoset polymers • Formed with irreversible cross-linkages of covalent bonds during polymerization, or post-polymerization treatments • Cannot be heat softened

  6. Thermoplastic and Thermoset Wastes Per Sector

  7. Seven different types of plastic resins • Polyethylene Terephthalate (PETE) • the most commonly used for soft drink bottles, waste containers, vegetable oil bottles • High-Density Polyethylene (HDPE) • also very common for film containers, vitamin bottles, milk jugs and butter tubs

  8. Continued • Vinyl/Polyvinyl Chloride (V/PVC) • used in the manufacture of food wraps, vegetable oil bottles, blister packages, clear health and beauty bottles • Low-Density Polyethylene (LDPE) • used to make caps, netting, shrink wraps, garment bags and plastic bags

  9. Continued • Polypropylene (PP) • used to make butter tubs, yogurts containers, bottle tops, carpets and food wraps • Polystyrene (PS) • includes disposable cutlery • Other includes either layered, mixed plastics or thermosets.

  10. Defining the numbers • Numbers represent the ease of difficulty for each plastic to be recycled • Scientist are working towards finding a way to recycle the higher number • Only 50% of plastics get recycled • Onset of debate over recycle vs. incineration

  11. Recycling • Prior to 1989 plastic recycling limited to soft drink bottles • Today plastic recycling has grown into a national network with curbside and drop-off collection programs • Recycling and product manufacturers have high demand for greater post-consumer resins

  12. Growth in post-consumer plastic bottles

  13. Growth in plastic bottles recycling • Plastic bottle recycling increased six-fold since 1990 • manufacturers and consumers value plastics for their low cost, versatility and performance benefits • consumer demand safety and convenience • prefer to buy products in plastic bottles • light weight and shatter resistant

  14. Comparing recycling rate of plastic bottles between 1997-1998

  15. The Recycling process • Sort and clean different plastic groups • Melt plastic into bales • Break bales up and grind into small flakes • Wash, rinse and dry flakes in hot air • Color/pigment may be added or maybe run through a pelletizer

  16. Other Forms of Recycling • PE  bean bag toys, lumber • tires jogging track, roads, mousepads • PETE  jackets, sleeping bag filling, carpet, audio/video tapes

  17. Incineration • Plastics with plasticizers and resins can not be efficiently or economically recycled • cost and energy required to produce bottles can never be recovered • Incineration plants are constructed with energy recovery in mind

  18. Incineration Process • Waste is fed into combustion chamber • Waste is incinerated • Gases rise into a furnace section • Heat from furnace is transferred to water pipes • Heated water is sent through steam producing system

  19. Advantages of Incineration • Waste Reduction • plastics completely discarded • Resource Conservation • Energy produced used for energy needs

  20. Advantages of Recycling • Waste Reduction • reuse of plastic waste • Resource Conservation • use of raw materials reduced

  21. Conclusions • Recycling • save money • use less raw materials • no environmental emissions compared to incineration • incineration - ash waste • landfills - 10-30 years to decompose

  22. Questions?

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