Plastics

As a part of Monmouth College Chemistry Department's initiative to be more aware of "green chemistry" issues, this page on plastics is being developed. Plastics play an integral role in modern society, but due to their persistence in nature, as well as the petroleum-based starting materials needed, alternatives to plastics need to be developed. The goal of this site is to educate our community about plastics with the end goal of reducing and ultimately eliminating single use plastics. The most common single use plastics are grocery bags, food containers, and straws.

Introduction

The following video is a great introduction to plastics... Plastics 101 | National Geographic

Discussed in the previous video are the two common plastics derived from petroleum:

1) High density polyethylene (HDPE)

2) Polypropylene (PP)

Wikipedia References

Plastics <-- LOTS of info here for reference.

Recycling Codes

National Geographic References' Map Shows the Complicated Landscape of Plastic Bans

Chemical and Engineering New - American Chemical Society (Member Site)

Europe to ban some single-use plastics (May 2018)

EU moves closer to banning single-use plastic cutlery, plates, and straws (Oct 2018)

[https://cen.acs.org/policy/legislation-/EU-leaders-strike-deal-ban/96/web/2018/12 EU leaders strike deal to ban disposable plastic straws, cutlery, and plates (Dec 2018)

Other References Plastics Pollution Coalition

Compostable/Biodegradable

Wikipedia

Compost is material that results from the breaking down of organic matter. For example, when leaves (organic matter) are composted it results in a nutrient-rich (molecular-level) material that can be added to soil to increase its abilities to grow plants. When leaves are composted, it is important to maintain the environment (temperature, oxygen-level, moisture) in order to compost the material in a timely manner; these environmental conditions are also related to the development of microorganisms involved in the breakdown process. A material labeled as "compostable" can be broken down to a molecular level by environmental conditions, but it does not say anything about how long it will take.

Wikipedia

Biodegradation is the breakdown of organic matter by microorganisms, such as bacteria and fungi.

Biodegradation can be divided into three stages:

- biodeterioration: modification of the mechanical, physical, and chemical properties of the material. This step is also a result of environmental condition like, light, temperature, oxygen-level, and mechanical forces.

- biofragmentation: when polymeric bonds are broken resulting in oligomers and monomers.

- assimilation: integration of monomers/oligomers into microbial cells (molecular recycling).

Here is a nice infographic on biodegradable plastics from the Compound Interest: