Monday, November 26, 2007

The recycling of plastic is a controversial issue

The recycling of plastic is a controversial issue

There are numerous ongoing controversies concerning the recycling of used plastics. One would think that it would be beneficial as well as more environmentally friendly. But in reality, it is inconvenient to reuse plastics because not only is it extremely difficult to convert used plastics to their original monomers for use, but also it is costly. Along with the cost, there are toxic byproducts produced by this process which are harmful. Also, it is not energy efficient to reuse plastics. The alternative to reusing the plastics is to dispose of them by burning them or by burying them underground. The problems with both of these alternatives is that with burning them produces toxins such as hydrogen chloride which is very soluble in water and are very corrosive not only on metals but also on membranes such as ones in the lungs. So companies are faced with the decision of whether or not to burn their plastics or to recycle them. [1]

I believe it is very important that we as a society try to minimize our usage of natural resources and try to recycle our materials as much as possible to preserve the environment. This is tricky however because the pros and cons almost cancel each other for incinerating the used plastics as do the pros and cons of reusing the plastics, I think it would be good to do a combination of both, in other words incinerate some because its cost effective but at the same time recycle some because burning them does pollute the environment. But as with any environmental issue, there is really no completely correct method yet devised.

[1] Baird, Colin. “The recycling of plastic is a controversial issue
” Chemistry in Your Life. W.H. Freeman and company. New York 2006. P. 190-191

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