Plastic Lifespan

Before we begin, if you think Polymer is a girls name, check out from monomors to hoovers, how plastic is made then get back here.

(Photo credit: Mary.Do)

Plastic is a wonder substance light weight waterproof and rot proof which  means it doesn’t biodegrade.

Biodegrading is the breaking down of organic substances,  (plants, dead animals, rocks, minerals etc.), by natural means. It  happens all the time in nature. We live, we die, we rot and so we feed the next generation. Even if you are a rock. All plant-based, animal-based, or natural mineral-based substances will over time biodegrade.

Here’s how long it takes for some commonly used products to biodegrade, when they are scattered about as litter:

Paper ~ 2-5 months
Cotton rags ~ 1-5 month
Natural fiber rope ~ 3-14 months
Orange peel ~6 months
Wool socks ~1 to 5 years
Leather shoes ~25 to 40 years
Tin cans ~ 50 to 100 years

However products made from synthetic polymers, that’s the plastic we use everyday, do not. These products can last for years, decades, centuries and  possibly for ever.

Plastic takes so long to break down because the long polymer, the basic building block, is a man-made. Plastic is a Frankenstien freakoid.

“Nature doesn’t make things like that, so organisms have never seen that before ”  Kenneth Peters, an organic geochemist at Stanford University, quoted in Life’s Little Mysteries.

Which means the enzymes and the micro organisms responsible for breaking down organic substances  do not recognize plastic. Therefore plastic products are pretty much indestructible – they do not rot or biodegradable.

Of course plastic breaks, tears  and cracks. It weathers and sunlight makes it brittle, It falls apart – it degrades – but only into smaller pieces of plastic.

This degrading process can go on indefinitely it seems.

Particles of plastic of 20 microns in diameter (a width thinner than a human hair) have been found in the oceans and are being found in increasing amounts.

These tiny pieces of plastics are called micro plastic… and are entering the food chain – more here

Disposing Of Waste Plastic

Because plastic lasts so long it is hard to get rid of.  Find out more at getting rid of plastic.

Background Info

Polymers, how plastic is made and what it is used for

More info on biodegrading

Life’s Little Mysteries article

What is plastic and why start boycotting it?

Its time to review the basics….

The term plastic embraces a wide range of synthetic polymers that are used to make just about everything. Some products can be easily recognised as “plastic” others  are not so obvious.

Carrier bags? Plastic!  Gel ink – what??

Or the plastic in a product is not apparent. Who knew that drink cans were lined with plastic?

Or is that just me? For sure when I  started my plastic boycott I knew very little about plastic. I started it  in the response to the ever-increasing amounts of plastic trash I saw littering the environment, the water bottles washed up on the shore, the carrier bags tangled in the trees and the crisp packets glinting in the hedgerows.

I knew they were plastic, and that plastic was a synthetic substance that didn’t biodegrade. I could see quite clearly that rubbish was increasing exponentially, and that the environment was suffering as a result.

But was I part of the problem? Well yes.

Back in October 2006 I decided to monitor how much of the stuff I actually “used”. I began saving all the disposable plastic that passed through my hands. A sobering 7 days later and I was running out of cupboard space. Want to see my rubbish? Have a look in my  bin .

It shocked me and I decided then  to stop creating plastic rubbish – it was a my response to plastic pollution. And Village Boy agreed except when it came to Pringles. Oh he knew it was wrong but…. that’s another story. I started the blog  to track my progress.

Now, a few years on, we know there is far more to plastic then the rubbish that meets the eye. We know that plastic is ….

NOUN:

1. Any of various organic compounds produced by polymerization, capable of being molded, extruded, cast into various shapes and films, or drawn into filaments used as textile fibers.

To paraphrase, plastic is a man-made, synthetic polymer derived from a naturally occurring material.  Currently most polymers are derived from  crude oil, (though they can also be derived from plants). These man-made polymers are then used to make everything from  fabrics to fluid gels to rigid molded products.

Polyurethanes for example; a huge family of man-made polymers used to make the hard plastic soles of shoes, foam in chairs, and varnish; products with seemingly nothing in common.

In short,  the definition of plastic is considerably broader then I first realised, and involves a good deal more than sweet wrappers.

Plastic is everywhere and in everything. You might be wearing cotton but I will bet you anything the thread used to sew your clothes is man-made, (natural cotton is not very good to sew with). As for the elastic, buttons and velcro – all synthetic. Your table is wood but the varnish is plastic… and so on.

Plastic is an integral part of our lives and has become so without our being  aware of it. It is a great product but there is a downside. We really need to question our relationship with plastic – and not just to stop the rubbish mounting up

Find out more about the problems with plastic here

From monomers to hoovers – how plastic is made

Dont know your polymers from your Pollyannas? Think PETs, think hamster? Lets start with the basics

What is plastic and where does it come from…..

Monomors & polymers

Where do natural and man-made polymers come from

Where do we get ethane and propane from?

How oil is used to make plastic

What is It Used For

Products made from synthetic polymers

Next

The problems with  man-made polymers

Where do polymers come from?

This post is part of the What Are Plastics Anyway? masterclass – a guide to all things plasticky.

Natural polymers are created as part of ongoing biological processes cotton is part of a plant, wool is grown by sheep and leather is the skin of what ever unfortunate animal.

Man made polymers are, as the name suggests, manmade. The key point here is that though the  base material may be a natural product such as oil, the polymers derived from it are not. They are not the result of a natural process but have been created artificially.

Most synthetic polymers that we use today are made from oil. However as oil becomes more scarce and more expensive, synthetic polymers are being derived from all manner of substances including corn, potatoes and even chicken feathers.

More information

Monomors & polymers

Where do we get ethane and propane from?

How oil is used to make plastic

What is It Used For

Products made from synthetic polymers

The big list of plastics and man made polymers

 

Here are some of the products made from synthetic polymers Dont know what a polymer is?  You can find out here.

Biaxially Oriented Polypropylene -BOPP-

When polypropylene – see below is biaxially oriented, it becomes  the crisp crystal clear stuff used for greeting cards, the plastic wrapping round boxes of tea etc.

Bio Plastics

Plastics made from plants rather than oil.

Bio- degradable Plastic

Plastic with addatives to make it bio -degrade

Compostable Plastic

Plastic that has been certified compostable

Halogenated Plastics
Include:
Chlorine based plastics:
Chlorinated polyethylene (CPE)
Chlorinated polyvinyl chloride (CPVC)
Chlorosulfonated polyethylene (CSPE)
Polychloroprene (CR or chloroprene rubber, marketed under the brand name of Neoprene)
PVC
Fluorine based plastics:
Fluorinated ethylene propylene (FEP)

For more on these check out Dioxins and PVC

High-density polyethylene HDPE plastic code 2

HDPE- is used to make supermarket type carrier bags, chemical drums, jerricans, carboys, toys, picnic ware, household and kitchenware, cable insulation, plastic milk cartons, juice bottles, shampoo bottles, and liquid detergent containers

LDPE (Low density polyethylene) plastic code 4

LDPE- used to make soft clear bags for packing of vegetables some bread and frozen food bags, trash cans, and garbage can liners. Also used to make toys and clothes, dispensing bottles, wash bottles, tubing, molded laboratory equipment and corrosion-resistant work surfaces.  Parts that need to be weldable and machinable, parts that require flexibility, computer components, such as hard drives, screen cards and disk-drives are all made from LDPE,

Nylon

A synthetic fibre used to make all sorts of fabrics

PLA poly lactic acid plastic

A compostable plastic.

Polyethylene terephthalate PET or PETE plastic code 1

PET fibers are used with other fibers to strengthen them, to make a fiber filling, for fabrics, and carpets,  automobile tire yarns, conveyor belts and seat belts, for nonwoven fabrics for stabilizing drainage ditches, culverts, and railroad beds, disposable fabrics for use in medical applications and nappies. Its other major use is for bottles and  jars for food processed at low temperatures –PET starts softening at around 70 °C (160 °F).

Polypropylene PP plastic code 5 

Can be used to make ropes, thermal underwear, carpets, plastic parts and reusable containers of various types. Used in the automobile and construction industries, some car battery casings, oil funnels, and plastic drinking straws, laboratory equipment, loudspeakers, automotive components, and polymer banknotes.

Polystyrene – PS  plastic code 6

Polystyrene disposable (ha!) products such cups, plates, bowls, trays, and cutlery; food packaging like fast food clamshells, meat trays, egg cartons and yogurt pots;  protective packaging  such as shaped end pieces used to ship electronic goods and loose fill peanuts. Find out more here

Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) is a synthetic non stick coating for cookware, to line  containers and pipework for reactive and corrosive chemicals, armoured bullets . Goretex and the Millenium Dome incorporate PTEF. It is an efficient lubricant. And  reduces friction,wear, and energy consumption of machinery.

Polyvinyl chloride PVC  plastic code 3

White brittle plastic until you add plasticisers the most common being phthalates then it becomes soft and flexible. It can be used in both its rigid and soft form for electrical cable insulation, inflatable products, traffic cones applications in which it replaces rubber, construction, clothing and upholstery. It is also used for some clear food packages and  liquid detergent containers. Lots more on PVC here

Silicone and silicone rubberMan made polymers made from siicon and rubber – lots more information here

Thermoplastic polyurethanes(TPU)

Used to make  flexible foam in upholstered furniture and rigid foam such as shoe soles. It also comes in a fluid form in  varnishes, adhesives and  sealants.

Plastic Codes

Plastic codes are the number you find on some plastics to identify the polymers used. There are many more plastics than numbers and new plastics are being made all the time. Find out more here

Brand Names

• Bakelite, i.e. phenol-formaldehyde resin
• Kevlar, Twaron, i.e. para-aramid
• Kynar, i.e. PVDF
• Mylar, i.e. polyethylene terephthalate film
• Neoprene i.e. Polychloroprene
• Nylon, i.e. polyamide 6,6
• Orlon, i.e. polyacrylonitrile
• Rilsan, i.e. polyamide 11 & 12
• Technora, i.e. copolyamid
• Teflon, i.e. PTFE
• Ultem, i.e. polyimide
• Vectran, i.e. aromatic polyamide
• Viton, i.e. poly-tetrafluoroethylene
• Zylon, i.e. poly-p-phenylene-2,6-benzobisoxazole (PBO)

Read More

More information on polymers

Monomors & polymers

Where do natural and man-made polymers come from

Where do we get ethane and propane from?

How oil is used to make plastic

Find out more about plastic, the boycott  and us  here

Related articles

• What Common Objects Used to Be Made Of (wired.com)

Monomors and polymers

whitby rainbow

We are going to start right at the beginning – before plastic there were polymers – before polymers it was monomers..

A monomer is a
molecule that can join with other molecules to form a chain of molecules.

A chain of monomers (or molecules) is called a polymer.

So, a polymer is a chain of monomers or molecules.

Chains of polymers bond or stick together to form stuff like cellulose, the woody stuff in plants,  and PET, the  plastic stuff in bottles. However while cellulose is a natural polymer, PET is a manmade polymer

To conlcude

Natural polymers occur in nature and can be extracted. They include silk, wool, DNA, cellulose, starch and proteins.

Synthetic polymers are made by scientists and engineers. They include many of the products we class under the one big heading of plastic

and can be used to make a vast range of products.

Find them listed here

 

More information here

 

Where do natural and man-made polymers come from

 

Where do we get ethane and propane from?

 

How oil is used to make plastic

 

 

This post is part of the What Are Plastics Anyway? masterclass – a guide to all things plasticky.

With thanks to the following sites

science for kids , Australian Acadamy Of Science and Wikipedia