PLASTICS & THE

ENVIRONMENT

Dr Cris Arnold
Materials Research Centre
College of Engineering
Are plastics good for the
environment?
25% 25% 25% 25%
1. Yes
2. No
3. It depends..
4. Dont know

1 2 3 4
 Introduction
We use over 250 million tonnes of plastics
per year worldwide
50 - 100 kg each of us each year
Increasing by over 5% per year
If all the worlds plastic
waste were shredded and
compacted, it would fill
about 40 Olympic
stadiums per year
 Environmental Issues
Manufacture Use Disposal

Gaseous Recycling
Oil & emissions
Gas Use
Chemical
Leaching CO2
Energy
emission
Manufacturing Recovery
emissions
Methane

Landfill Landfill
space
Impact
on
animals Littering
Land & Sea
contamination
Benefits of Polymers
Low density, so lightweight components
Easy (& cheap) manufacture into many
different shapes
Tough and corrosion-resistant
Easily coloured
Can be transparent
Can be flexible
Insulators (electrical, heat, sound)
Plastics use in the UK
Benefits of Plastics - Examples
Packaging use
Extends shelf life and protects foodstuffs from
damage
Reduces food waste
Reduces fertiliser & water use
Reduces transport
There is an optimum amount of packaging
Benefits of Plastics - Examples
Packaging use
Extends shelf life and protects foodstuffs from
damage
Reduces food waste
Reduces fertiliser & water use
Reduces transport
There is an optimum amount of packaging
Benefits of Plastics - Examples
Packaging use
Extends shelf life and protects foodstuffs from
damage
Reduces food waste
Reduces fertiliser & water use
Reduces transport
There is an optimum amount of packaging
Benefits of Plastics - Examples
Automotive and Aerospace components
Any component that saves weight reduces
fuel use
In automotive, 1kg weight saved gives a 10kg
reduction in CO2 emissions
In aerospace, 1kg weight saved gives a
reduction in CO2 emissions of 60 tonnes!!
No data for rail, but will also be important
Benefits of Plastics - Examples
Plastic Pipes
Widespread use of polyethylene pipes
for water, gas, sewerage, drainage
Lighter, easier to install, more durable
Reduction in leaks reduces impact
Less water resource used
Fewer gas leaks (explosive and 20 times
worse GHG than CO2)
Less ground contamination
 Asset Newport: Weholite drainage
system
Uses hollow section plastic pipes
Significant weight reduction
Much lower transport / installation impacts
Benefits of Plastics - Examples
Bridge strengthening using carbon fibre
composites
Allows increased load capacity without
any major work or
replacement
 Manufacturing
Most polymers made from oil & gas
feedstocks
Processing can be energy intensive
67
20
18
16
(kg CO2eq / kg)
GHG Emissions

14
12
10
8
6
4
2
0
Steel Aluminium Polyethylene Nylon Carbon fibre
composite
What do we do when we have used
up all the oil & gas?

Coal
widely used up until 1960s
can produce most polymers, but more
expensive
Natural sources
oils from plants & algae
sugars & cellulose from plants & bacteria
Additives
Almost all plastics have additives
Catalysts for polymerisation
Antioxidants
Heat stabilisers
Flame retardants
Blowing agents for foams
Plasticisers for flexibility
Many have potential to escape during use
and disposal
Additives Phthalate plasticisers
Added to increase flexibility
Compare PVC-U with PVC-P
Can leach out into water
or evaporate to air
Issues as hormone mimics
Affects reproduction and
development in aquatic animals
Concerns with food contact for humans
Additives Phthalate plasticisers
PVC-P no longer used for water bottles
or childrens toys
Still used for some cling-films
Widely used in electrical cabling
Gradual evaporation can lead to
embrittlement
Additives Bisphenol A
BPA used in the manufacture of some
polymers
Polycarbonate and Epoxy resins
Also used as a plasticiser
Has been shown to act as a hormone
disruptor and have some neurological effects
Most significant problems are with steel
use!
Main exposure is with lacquers used to stop
steel food cans corroding.
Additives Blowing Agents
Used to produce polymer foams for
insulation, furnishing, sandwich structures
Previously used CFCs severe ozone
depletors
Now banned under Vienna Convention
HCFCs / HFCs / HCs better but not
perfect
Considerable developments in the use of
nitrogen, carbon dioxide, steam
Additives Blowing Agents
Additives & Health:
A word of caution
Antimony is used as a catalyst for PET
(the main polymer for water bottles)
Recent work published in scientific
literature quantified human exposure
levels & inferred these were harmful
Additives & Health:
A word of caution
To reach the tolerable daily intake level,
you would need to drink at least 300
litres per day.
Your health risks from excessive water
and sodium intake would be far higher.
And you would be broke
Over 100,000 per year on bottled water!
Disposal Options - Littering
Unsightly
Bags can suffocate livestock
Very slow degradation & flotation
Large problem at sea
Disposal Options - Littering
Large problem at sea

Jellyfish or not?
Disposal Options - Littering
Materials slowly break down by action of
sunlight and oxygen
Most plastics fragment before final
degradation
 Marine Pollution
North Pacific Gyre
estimated to contain 100
million tonnes of plastic
Concentrations of
microplastic particles in
the sea are increasing
Many from washing of
synthetic fabrics
Albatrosses eating plastic (one
disturbing image included)
http://pacificvoyagers.org/midway-atoll-
the-plastic-plight-of-the-albatross
The Plastic Bag Debate
Many countries taxing or banning plastic
bags
Main problem is with littering
The Plastic Bag Debate
Reusable bags are better if they are re-
used worse if they are only re-used a
few times
Disposal Options
Disposal options - Landfill
Plastics low density and limited
degradation causes landfill depletion
1 tonne occupies 6m3 in landfill
Potential for generation of carbon
dioxide, methane, leachates
10 million tonnes of plastic goes to landfill
in Europe each year
If nothing else, this is a wasted resource
Some pressure to limit this by legislation
Disposal options Energy Recovery
Incineration complete combustion and
use of energy for electricity / heat
Gasification conversion to combustion
gases
Pyrolysis heating with insufficient
oxygen. Breaks down to oils & gases
(feedstock or fuel)
Depolymerisation chemical process to
recover the starting chemicals
Disposal options Energy Recovery
Does use the high calorific value of
plastics
Many are as good a fuel as oil better than
coal
Issues with some gaseous emissions
Combustion will release CO2
Potential for dioxins (with PVC)
Ash may have concentrations of metals
Disposal options Energy Recovery
Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) has shown
that this is the best option in some cases
Mixed or contaminated materials that are
hard to recycle (eg mixed WEEE plastics &
automotive shredder residue)
Thermosets that cant be recycled
Most rubber (including tyres)
Disposal options - Recycling
Best option in many cases
Material is collected, granulated, re-melted
and formed
Only possible with thermoplastics
Different plastics need separating
Some small loss in properties
Cant remove colour, so need separation
or just make it all black
Plastic Bottle Question
IPC European Games in Swansea next Summer
Will generate 10,000 waste plastic bottles
(Need to have sealed bottles due to doping
regulations, so cant re-use)

Is there anything we can do with them to avoid

landfill or the long travel to the recycling centre?
One idea for example was to grind them up to make
a monument / memorial for the games.
Plastic Bottle Question
IPC European Games in Swansea next Summer
Will generate 10,000 waste plastic bottles
(Need to have sealed bottles due to doping
regulations, so cant re-use)

Is idea:
Bad theretransport
anything we can dowill
impacts with
bethem to than
far less avoid
landfill
those or the new
of making long PET.
travel to the recycling centre?
One idea for example was to grind them up to make
Plant aamonument
tree in the space used for a monument!
/ memorial for the games.
Biopolymers and Biodegradables
Need for clear distinction:
Biopolymers are those derived from
natural sources
Biodegradable polymers break down
biologically under action of natural
environment
Separation between compostable (normal
conditions)
and biodegradable (which may need industrial
conditions)
Biopolymers
Produced from plant material (oils, sugars,
cellulose)
or algae
or bacteria
We can produce many synthetic polymers
from these sources
Biopolymers good & bad points
Dont use fossil fuel starting point
May have lower processing impacts

Gives additional pressure on agricultural

land
May have higher processing impacts
Biodegradable Polymers good and
bad points
Reduce problem of littering
Reduce amount of material in landfill

Biodegradation in landfill produces methane

and carbon dioxide
Wasting energy resource
Biodegradation can release harmful
additives and polymer fragments
Can make recycling harder and less effective
Biodegradable Polymers
Some examples of suitable use
Crop film
Tree shelters
Are plastics good for the
environment?
25% 25% 25% 25%
1. Yes
2. No
3. It depends..
4. Dont know

1 2 3 4
Conclusions
Plastics, rubbers and composites can have
very significant environmental benefits
Many complex environmental issues to
understand
Continued improvement in materials and
processes
We are part of the problem (overuse and
irresponsible disposal)
Lots of bad science out there, from both
sides, so take care!