CHEMISTRY

GRADE 12
Recycling of
Wastes
 Recycling
 Inrecycling some of the used or waste
materials are not discarded after their
initial use but are processed so that
the can be used again.
Purpose of Recycling
The purpose of recycling is to conserve
sources such as raw material and energy.
The volume of the waste is also much
reduced by recycling of the materials.
Recycling Materials

Following are the most domestic materials that are recycled:

Paper
Plastic
Glass
Aluminium

Here we will discuss recycling process of paper and plastic.

 Recycling of
Paper
 The largest item which is
recycled is newspaper.
 In its recycling process the
release of chlorine or other
bleaching acids and organic
solvents is significantly less as
compared to formation of these
compounds during the processing
of virgin newspaper.
 To improve the whiteness of the
recycled newspaper it is blended
with the virgin newspaper or
sometimes treated with
peroxides and hydrosulphites.
 IMPORTANT MCQ
o Newspaper can be recycled again and again by
how many times?
a) 2 b)3 c)5 d)6
Correct answer ©
Because in recycling process the fiber of
newspaper becomes shorter.
 Recycling of Plastic
 The steps included in recycling process of
plastic are as under:
1) Reprocessing
2) Depolymerization
3) Transformation
Recycling of Plastic
 1) REPROCESSING:
 Inreprocessing the used plastics are
remelted and styrene which is used for
manufacturing of different products.

 For Example:
The original use of polystyrene is for the
manufacturing of foam, packaging, cutlery,
furniture, etc.
 2) DEPOLYMERIZATION:

 The depolymerization is a process in which the

used plastics are converted back into their
original components by a chemical or thermal
process so that these can be subsequently
polymerized again.
 For Example:
Polyethylene terephthalate can be thermally
depolymerized in the presence of a catalyst and
heat into its original components.
 3)TRANSFORMATION:
 Thetransformation is a process in which
used plastics are converted into low quality
substances which are latter used for the
production of other materials.
 For Example:
Cracking of polyethylene at high
temperatures gives its monomers which are
used for the manufacturing of lubricants.
The End.