P.

6 Cuerpo

Project/Sustainability: My Green Museum- Everyday Stuff and Its Environmental Impact

1. Mechanical Pencil
2. Materials
a. Polystyrene (Plastic)
b. Lead mixture of clay and graphite
c. Rubber (Eraser)
d. Metal (Spring)
3. Processes
a. Polymers are created from refining petroleum (Oil) and are used to
form plastic which is injected into a mold, creating the mechanical pencils shape
b. Strips of bark and sap are cut to be processed into a latex
concentrate, then acid is added to create dry stock rubber which is cut into eraser
strips
c. Iron is mined from the earth and smelted into steel which is made
into thin wire. Afterwards, its heated and molded into springs which undergo
compression for elasticity (stretchyness)
d. The final products are brought together and assembled and
packaged into a mechanical pencil
4. Environmental Impact
a. Creating the amount of polystyrene needed for the manufacturing
of one mechanical pencil requires about 22 grams of oil. Use of petroleum based
products leave negative and harmful impacts on the environment.
b. Creating plastic also results in chemical waste, in addition,
although mechanical pencils can be reused, they are not biodegradable and will
likely sit in a landfill as it plastic/petroleum product do not decompose
5. Alternative Solution
a. Wooden Pencil
i.
Wooden pencils dont require the production of
plastic, therefore already having a lower environmental impact.
ii.
Less energy is used when creating a wooden pencil
in comparison to that of a mechanical pencil
iii.
When the pencil does end up disposed, rather than
sitting in a landfill, the wooden pencil will eventually decay and break
down over time, ending up composted and returned to the environment.

P.6 Cuerpo

https://prezi.com/ddstxtqm79gv/mechanical-pencil-manufacturing/
http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/the_green_lantern/2008/09/ecopencils.html