Where should the plastics industry go?

Plastic type

The synthetic polymers produced globally are mainly polyolefin-polyethylene and polypropylene.

There are two types of polyethylene: "high density" and "low density." On a molecular scale, high-density polyethylene looks like a comb with regularly spaced short teeth. In contrast, the low-density version looks like a long-toothed comb with irregular spacing; if viewed from a height, it looks a bit like a river and its tributaries. Although they are all polyethylene, the difference in shape allows these materials to behave differently when molded into films or other products.

There are several reasons for the advantages of polyolefins. First, they can be produced using relatively inexpensive natural gas. Second, they are the lightest synthetic polymers produced on a large scale; their density is so low that they can float. Third, polyolefins are resistant to damage from water, air, grease, and detergents—all of the problems these polymers can encounter when used. Finally, they are easily molded into products that are strong enough that the boxes made of them are not deformed in transport trucks that are exposed to the sun all day.

However, these materials have serious drawbacks. Their degradation rate is very slow, which means that polyolefins exist in the natural environment for decades to centuries. At the same time, waves and wind erosion mechanically wear them, creating particles that can be swallowed by fish and animals that move toward us along the food chain.

Recycling polyolefins is not as straightforward as people hope because of collection and cleaning problems. During reprocessing, oxygen and heat can cause long chain damage, while food and other materials can contaminate the polyolefin. Continued advances in chemistry have created new grades of polyolefins that increase strength and durability, but they cannot always be mixed with other grades during recycling. More importantly, polyolefins are often combined with other materials in multi-layer packaging; although these multilayers work well, they are not recyclable.

Due to the growing shortage of oil and natural gas, the production of polymers has been criticized. However, the proportion of natural gas or petroleum used to produce polymers is very low; less than 5% of the oil or natural gas produced each year is used to produce plastics. In addition, ethylene can be extracted from sugar cane ethanol, as Brazil's Braskem does commercially.

How to use plastic

Depending on the function, the package consumes a total of 35% to 45% of the total polymer. Polyester ethylene terephthalate dominates the beverage bottle and textile fiber markets.

Houses and civil buildings consume 20% of the total polymer produced, with PVC pipes predominating. PVC pipes are lightweight, can be glued without soldering or brazing, and are extremely resistant to the damaging effects of chlorine in water. But unfortunately, the chlorine atoms that give this advantage to PVC make recycling very difficult—mostly discarded at the end of their useful life.

Polyurethanes are a complete group of related polymers that are widely used in foam insulation materials and architectural coatings for household and electrical appliances.

The automotive industry uses more and more thermoplastics, primarily to reduce weight and achieve higher fuel efficiency standards. The EU estimates that 16% of the weight of a typical car is a plastic part, the most important being the interior parts and components.

More than 70 million tons of thermoplastics are used annually for textiles, mainly clothing and carpets. More than 90% of synthetic fibers (mainly polyterephthalate) are produced in Asia. The growth of synthetic fibers in clothing is at the expense of natural fibers such as cotton and wool, which require the production of large amounts of farmland. Clothing and carpets in the synthetic fiber industry have seen significant growth due to special performance requirements such as stretch, moisture wicking and breathability.