Electronics Recycling

Electronics Recycling

With the rapidly changing technology for electronic devices and cheap production of electronics a serious issue arises regarding the disposal of them. We are disposing of electronics at a record pace in our modern society. As society becomes more dependent on electronic products to make life more convenient, the stockpile of used, obsolete products grows. Proper electronic disposal and electronic recycling is something each individual and each business needs to participate in if we are going to cut down on electric waste going to dumps and landfills.

Television TV Disposal and Recycling:
LCD and Plasma TVs are becoming very common now. Unfortunately that leaves many of the older television sets more unpopular to the consumer. We end up discarding of them when we no longer want or need them. CRT televisions are no longer worth fixing, so they end up in landfills more frequently. Televisions are one of the main sources of electronic waste. There are several reasons why television recycling is important. Like old computer monitors, televisions have a device inside that enables the viewing of the image. Before LCD screens came to market, the viewing device used inside a monitor was a Cathode Ray Tube or CRT. Contained within the CRT inside your old computer monitors and televisions, there are large quantities of lead, phosphorous, cadmium, barium and mercury. When a computer monitor or TV is land filled, large equipment is commonly used to crush the waste. As a finished product, these hazardous materials are sealed, however, the crushing of such waste causes the hazardous materials to be released into the soil and a leaching process occurs as a result. Eventually, these hazardous materials may find their way into a water supply or our food chain. When monitor glass is crushed by trash facilities, the lead-bearing particles become an airborne hazard. There are some companies that specialize in television and computer monitor recycling and diverts 100% of the components from landfills. Although most electronics contain hazardous materials, most parts of any electronic device can be recycled. Everything from the monitor glass, to the plastic casing, to the copper, power supply, and even the processor can be recycled. The panel glass and funnel glass that are removed from a TV is recycled to make new cathode ray tubes. Even the steel and other metals that televisions contain are recycled to make other products. It is important to utilize the services of a recycler that specializes in monitor and television recycling. In addition to TVs, many VCRs are ending up in landfills and dumps since that technology is being phased out. Millions of remote controls for these electronic devices get discarded as e-waste every year as well. If you have an old VCR or DVD player that you no longer want there are many charities and non-profit organizations that you can give them to. There are also probably some companies in your area that recycle old VCRs and even newer DVD players that would otherwise be thrown out in the dump. It is the goal of electronic manufacturers to always come out with new features and functions on televisions and DVD players. They want us to keep buying new units so their profits keep increasing. Now with mass production and relatively low prices it makes it easier for consumers to dispose of electronics they no longer want. Unfortunately much of this e-waste ends up in landfills.

Camera Recycling:
You should not throw old cameras away. Working cameras have secondhand value, and can be found at many camera shops. Disposal cameras are something we should avoid when possible. Recent studies have shown that, despite the recycling claims on the boxes, more than half of disposable cameras are never actually recycled. Enough cameras have been tossed to circle the planet, stacked end-to-end. Local film developers often have little or no incentive to return the camera bodies to the manufacturers, and not all parts of the cameras can be recycled.One huge advantage of digital cameras is that we tend to hang on to them longer. As well only photos that we want are printed out, so that cuts down on paper waste. Batteries are a huge concern with digital cameras. Since digital cameras are a huge drain on batteries we should only use rechargeable batteries for them. Digital cameras contain many of the same potentially toxic materials found in laptops and computers. Like recycling computers, digital cameras need to be recycled as well. You can donate old cameras or if they don’t work at all there may be someone in your area that recycles old digital cameras. In addition, more and more vendors are providing easy ways to recycle their old products. Some “waste management sites” will collect, store, and dismantle the products into the form of common raw materials where they can be bought and sold on the global market. Kodak is an example of one company that has made a commitment to protecting the environment . Kodak's various waste reduction activities is its "One-Time-Use Camera" recycling program. The program allows Kodak to refurbish used single-use cameras and offer them for resale. After Kodak launched the program in 1990, the camera recycling rates increased dramatically, reaching 77 percent in the United States and 67 percent worldwide.

Cell Phone Recycling:
The number of discarded cell phones, which contain lead, arsenic and cadmium, has been growing as cell phone use rapidly increases. Millions of used cell phones wind up in landfills, leaking toxic metals and chemicals into the ground every year in North America alone. Because cell phones and their batteries contain many hazardous materials that can harm the environment if not disposed of properly, it's important to know how and where to recycle e-waste in an environmentally responsible way no matter how old and busted it is. Like many other modern electronic devices, cellular phones contain circuit boards, batteries and LCDs that each contains a number of harmful materials in them. When cell phones are dumped in landfills, these elements eventually break down and seep out into the environment. Lead, cadmium and mercury pollution could potentially cause deadly side effects as far as human health and the environment is concerned. Certain states like California have made cell phone recycling mandatory for any retailers that sell mobile phones.Many used cell phones get refurbished or recycled under donation programs that help charities, but it's a tiny fraction of the millions of cell phones that are retired each year in North America. While the cell phone industry recently launched a new initiative to publicize recycling, existing efforts by individual wireless companies with collection boxes in their stores have so far attained only modest success. And even those phones that are refurbished raise environmental concerns because they still may eventually end up in the garbage, especially if sold in poorer nations with no recycling programs, as many of refurbished phones are. Charitable recycling programs encourage the donation of used cell phones and will provide a monetary contribution to charity for each cell phone donated.

Household Appliance Recycling/Stove & Fridge Recycling
In our modern society we often throw away household appliances when they no longer work. They include microwaves, toasters, blenders, juicers, coffee makers, vacuum cleaners and many other household appliances. Add to this the disposal of old refrigerators and stoves that go to the dump after they don’t work anymore. Due to the impact of the amount of Ozone Depleting Substances (ODS) found in your fridge and freezer their disposal is now tightly controlled by regulations. Ozone depleting substances are tightly controlled because of their harmful effects on the earth’s ozone layer and their contribution to global warming. Older fridges contain chlorofluorocarbons (CFC's) but in the 1970's it was discovered that CFC's cause a thinning of the earth's protective ozone layer. Newer models of refrigerators use hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFC's) and hydrofluorcarbons (HFC's). These chemicals don't deplete the ozone layer to the same extent as CFC's, but they do contribute to global warming. Stoves along with washers and dryers should also be recycled when they no longer work. We need to be careful on how we dispose of home air conditioners. Older air conditioners used chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) as their refrigerant, but because these chemicals are damaging to Earth's ozone layer, CFC production stopped in the United States in 1995.Today's main refrigerant for home air conditioners, HCFC-22 (also called R-22) also contributes to ozone depletion.

Battery Disposal:
People are using more and more household batteries. The average person in North America throws out about eight household batteries per year. About three billion batteries are sold annually in the U.S. averaging about ten per person. A battery is an electrochemical device with the ability to convert chemical energy to electrical energy to provide power to electronic devices. Batteries contain heavy metals such as mercury, lead, cadmium, and nickel, which can contaminate the environment when batteries are improperly disposed of. When incinerated, certain metals might be released into the air or can concentrate in the ash created by the combustion process. Batteries produce many potential problems or hazards. They pollute lakes and the water supply and contribute to heavy metals that potentially may seep from landfills. They also contain strong corrosive acids, which are an environmental, and health hazard. Dry-cell batteries include alkaline and carbon zinc (9-volt, D, C, AA, AAA), mercuric-oxide (button, some cylindrical and rectangular), silver-oxide and zinc-air (button), and lithium (9-volt, C, AA, coin, button, rechargeable). On average, each person in the United States discards eight dry-cell batteries per year. Secondary batteries (rechargeable) include lead-acid, nickel-cadmium, and potentially nickel-hydrogen. Americans purchase nearly 3 billion dry-cell batteries every year to power radios, toys, cellular phones, watches, laptop computers, and portable power tools.

In landfills, heavy metals from batteries have the potential to leach slowly into soil, groundwater or surface water. Dry cell batteries contribute about 88 percent of the total mercury and 50 percent of the cadmium in the municipal solid waste stream. In the past, batteries accounted for nearly half of the mercury used in the United States and over half of the mercury and cadmium in the municipal solid waste stream. When burned, some heavy metals such as mercury may vaporize and escape into the air, and cadmium and lead may end up in the ash.
Using rechargeable batteries are one way to cut down on toxic waste caused by the reckless disposal of batteries. These are known as secondary cell batteries and are commonly used for cameras, rechargeable appliances such as portable power tools, camcorders, computers, portable radios and tape players, cellular phones and other hand held devices. Unfortunately there are not many ways to recycle non-rechargeable batteries and most get discarded as waste. However the use of rechargeable batteries such as Nickel cadmium (NiCd), nickel Metal Hydride (NiMH) and Lithium Ion (Li ion) is increasing at a rapid pace. These batteries last longer. They should also be recycled. The NiCd battery is one of the more hazardous batteries in terms of disposal. If used in landfills, the cadmium will eventually dissolve itself and the toxic substance will seep into the water supply, and into the food chain causing serious health problems. Our oceans are already beginning to show traces of cadmium along with other toxins, but the source of the contamination is unknown. Under no circumstances can batteries be incinerated as this can cause them to explode. Although NiMH batteries are considered environmentally friendly, this chemistry is also being recycled. The main derivative is nickel, which is considered semi-toxic. NiMH also contains an electrolyte that, in large amounts, is dangerous to the environment.

Other Electronic E-Waste:
There is other electronic waste or e-waste that many people throw out. Stereos, clocks, alarm clocks, radios, watches, hairdryers, smoke detectors, lamps, portable heaters and other consumer electronics are being thrown out at a record pace.
Smoke alarms are items we need to discard of properly. The most common type of smoke detector contains a small amount of Americium 241, a radioactive material. On your wall this presents little threat. When broken open in an incinerator or landfill, the material can pose a serious health hazard. Also we throw away a lot of damaged and unwanted CDs. Damaged CD's can be repaired, and repair or reuse is definitely a better environmental option than recycling. Obsolete or unrepairable CD's can be recycled. Also we have thrown away unwanted vinyl records that we no longer use along with cassettes and other sources that hold media.We normally dispose off used light bulbs along with the household garbage which is dumped in landfills. By disposing of this e-waste in this manner toxins are released in the air and gradually reach our water system. CFL or Compact Flourescent Bulbs are dangerous if not disposed of properly. Even though they lower greenhouse gas emissions but a used CFL bulb contains hazardous componds and if a bulb breaks at home harmful compounds are released. It contains mercury vapour which is injurious and poisonous. Mercury in any form is injurious to humans and can lead to serious complications including impairment of the nervous system, major organs and numerous other ailments including effecting brain development in children.The amount of this e-waste is very toxic to the environment and contributes to human health issues and even global warming.

Electronic Environmental Fees:
Some areas in North America and Europe have imposed environmental fees
These environmental fees are used for the collection, transportation and recycling of unused and unwanted electronics. It's also used for research into new recycling technologies, and public information and awareness-building programs as well.
To achieve the highest environmental outcome, e-waste items must be manually dismantled into individual materials and components. This is labour intensive and expensive, as difficult waste streams such as glass, mercury, batteries and wood must be forwarded on at a charge for environmentally friendly recycling. The costs involved, are higher than the returns from the materials contained within electronic waste. Therefore to provide this service a fee must be charged to cover the gap between the costs of disassembly and revenue earned from the components and materials of the discarded electronics. Recycling electronics involves processing the materials and recovering metals, glass and plastics that can be recycled into new products. Other disposal methods may be cheaper or free. The electronics will be transported to a consolidation centre where they will be sorted for processing. From there,all material will be transferred to approved processingand recycling facilities. Recyclers will be required to meet quidelines which outlines the requirements for environmentally sound recycling in accordance with appropriate health, safety and export provisions.These are most likely to result in large volumes of material which can be recycled and toxic materials often contained in electronic waste going to landfill. Disposal routes for e-waste which are cheap or free do not reflect the true cost of recycling this material. If we do not recycle electronics and reduce the pace of electronic disposal, the environment and communities living in future generations will bear the expense of living and cleaning up contaminated land and water. One individual may think that his or her decision to either recycle or to throw out electronic items may not make an environmental impact. Multiply one individual by a few billion people and you can see we have a potential environmental catastophe to deal with. There is certainly an environmental price to pay for our modern lifestyle in North America and many other parts of the world.

Recycling-Plastic Recycling

What exactly is a plastic? What are the different kinds of plastics? How are each type of plastic recycled? How can plastic waste be turned into energy? Can plastic be harmful to our health and the environment? Does continuous heavy disposal of plastic contribute to global warming? Plastic plays a big part of our everyday lives here in North America. Let’s examine some uses of plastics and how we can all play a part in recycling plastic.

Types of Plastic:
Today plastics are used in thousands of products ranging from computers, automobile parts and important medical equipment, to toys, cookware, sports equipment, and even clothes. And the plastics industry continues to grow rapidly. Just where do plastics come from? Plastic is one form of polymers that are composed of a long chain or line of smaller molecules that are known as monomers. Monomers themselves are made of atoms that are usually extracted from natural or organic substances, and are generally classified as petrochemicals. All sorts of monomers can be utilized in the creation of plastic. Crude oil and natural gas are often the source of some of these elements, which include monomers such as styrene, vinyl chloride, and vinyl acetate. Plastic products, plus hundreds of the other products we take for granted, are made from petrochemicals. One of the main ingredients in petrochemicals is oil. For example, In the United States, 10 percent of the petroleum consumption goes to make plastic. As you can see the North American appetite for oil goes beyond filling our vehicles. We need oil to manufacture plastics, which are a major part of our modern lifestyle. There are different types of plastics for different products and applications and the process in plastic manufacturing varies.

There are many types of plastic in common use. Plastic must be sorted by type for recycling since each type melts at a different temperature and has different properties. The plastics industry has developed an identification system (or identification codes) to label the different types of plastic. The identification system divides plastic into seven distinct types and uses a number code generally found on the bottom of containers.

Polyethylene terephthalate (commonly abbreviated PET) is one of the common types of plastic. It is type #1 for recycling purposes. It is a thermoplastic polymer resin of the polyester family and is used in beverage, food and other liquid containers, thermoforming applications, and engineering resins often in combination with glass fiber. PET Plastics are generally clear, tough and are a good barrier to gas and moisture. PET also has a good resistance to heat. PET Plastics are a good choice for product packaging because of its many desirable favorable characteristics. PET is available in a wide range of colors shapes and sizes. PET is highly resistant to dilute acids, oils, and alcohols. PET is a recyclable polymer that can be successfully recycled and used in many applications, meaning that virgin material does not have to be produced.

High Density Polyethylene (HDPE) is plastic type # 2. Common uses of HDPE include detergent bottles, milk jugs, and grocery bags. Most curbside recycling programs accept rigid narrow neck containers.

Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC) is plastic type #3. Common uses include plastic pipes, outdoor furniture, shrink-wrap, water bottles, salad dressing and liquid detergent containers. Recycling centers almost never take #3 plastic.

Low Density Polyethylene (LDPE) is plastic type #4. Common uses: dry cleaning bags, produce bags, trash can liners and food storage containers. Some recycling centers that accept HDPE (#2) also accept LDPE (#4) bags.

Polypropylene (PP) is plastic type #5. Common uses: aerosol caps, drinking straws. This type of plastic is seldom recycled.

Polystyrene (PS) or Styrofoam is plastic type #6. Common uses include packaging pellets or peanuts, cups, plastic tableware, meat trays, and to-go containers. Many shipping/packaging stores will accept polystyrene peanuts and other packaging materials for reuse. Cups, meat trays, and other containers that have come in contact with food are more difficult to recycle

Other types of plastics are considered type #7. Common uses include certain kinds of food containers and Tupperware. This plastic category is any plastic other than the named #1-#6 plastic types. These containers can be any of the several different types of plastic polymers. Recycling centers do not take plastic #7.

Plastic Uses:
Many types of plastic can be recycled. One huge example is plastic shopping bags. Plastic shopping bags revolutionized how people shop for food and essentials. They are everywhere we shop. Over a million plastic bags are consumed per minute, worldwide. How to we recycle plastic bags and cut down on waste? Many organizations have programs in place to recycle plastic bags. Many retail outlets offer an at-store collection program for plastic shopping bags. This means that shoppers can bring back their bags to these retail locations so they can be recycled. You can also use them the second time around for household use, for example, using them in a trash container. Buy or make a couple of cloth bags and say no to plastic carrier bags in the future. Certainly the 3Rs “reduce, reuse and recycle” should be practiced by all in relation to plastic bags.

Another common use for plastic is for beverage containers. Much of our soda pop, juice, water, milk and other drinks come in plastic. Unfortunately a lot of these plastic containers are thrown in garbage bins, and even on the ground and waterways. An irony today, is that due to polluted water caused by pollution, we are drinking more bottled water than ever before. The majority of this bottled water comes in plastic containers. It is tragic that tap water is no longer fit to drink in many parts of North America. Therefore, more plastic is needed to keep up with the ever-increasing demand of bottled water. Many of these plastics can be further recycled, depending on the type of plastic. There have been reported health risks from plastic beverage containers, so we need to consume beverages in them in moderation. This would not only prevent possible human health issues, but also would cut down on plastic containers in landfills and help our environment and even offset global warming.

A lot of the foods we purchase come in plastic containers. Whether it is microwave dinners, pasta, and other foods, they are put in plastic, ready to be put into the microwave. Many fast food restaurants use plastic to serve food in to customers. Unfortunately most of these types of plastic containers are not recyclable and end up being disposed of as plastic waste. We should attempt to reuse and recycle these types of plastics when possible.

Most of our health and beauty products come in plastic. Cosmetics, such as lipsticks, and other beauty items come in plastics. Shampoo, dental products, and hair and body products come in plastics. Most of these types of plastics eventually end up as plastic waste as well. Many containers including garbage cans, totes, hampers, and other large containers are made from plastic. Recycling containers and recycling bins are often made of plastic. Automobiles, trucks, boats and other vehicles have a large amount of plastic in them. Plastic is used in parts of a vast array of other consumer items.

Most electronic devices such as televisions, computers, stereos and computer peripherals are housed in plastic casings. These products are even wrapped in plastic when you purchase them new. Most of the toys we purchase for our children for Christmas are made of plastic. Unfortunately when we get tired of these items or they wear out, they end up in landfills and cause environmental damage. Also take into account that most consumer items we purchase are paid for with plastic whether it be a credit card or debit card. Most of us have many consumer loyalty plastic cards as well. When these cards get damaged or expire they get thrown out. It may not seem like a lot if it is one person, but multiply the amount of plastic cards by a few billion and that is a lot of plastic going in the trash.

Plastic Recycling Obstacles:
Recycling plastics as opposed to glass or metallic materials, poses some exceptional challenges from a recycling perspective. Plastics or plastic bottles are much harder to break down, which is due to the high molecular weight of large polymer chains. Another way of stating this problem is that, since a macromolecule interacts with its environment along its entire length, its enthalpy of mixing is large compared to that of a small organic molecule with a similar structure; thermal excitations are often not enough to drive such a huge molecule into solution on their own. Due to this uncommon influence of mixing enthalpy, polymers must often be of nearly identical composition in order to mix with one another. To take representative samples from beverage containers, the many aluminum-based alloys all melt into the same liquid phase, but the various copolymer blends of PET from different manufacturers do not dissolve into one another when heated. Instead, they tend to phase-separate, like oil and water. Phase boundaries weaken an item made from such a mixture considerably, meaning that most polymer blends are only useful in a few, very limited contexts.

Another barrier to plastic recycling is the widespread use of dyes, fillers, and other additives in plastics. The polymer is generally too viscous to economically remove fillers, and would be damaged by many of the processes that could cheaply remove the added dyes. Additives are less widely used in beverage containers, plastic bottles and plastic bags, allowing them to be recycled more frequently.

The use of biodegradable plastics is slowly on the increase. Plastic recycling companies are starting to develop, however most plastic recycling to date is very little and in most places none. There is issues with recycled friendly plastics for recycling, the recycled plastic is less valuable and cannot be mixed with plastic that is not good for recycling.

Many such problems can be solved by using a more elaborate monomer recycling process, in which a condensation polymer essentially undergoes the inverse of the polymerization reaction used to manufacture it. This yields the same mix of chemicals that formed the original polymer, which can be purified and used to synthesize new polymer chains of the same type.

Part of the issue in recycling plastics is the cost. Prices for virgin resin soared, and the demand for recycled plastics increased. There are success stories in plastics recycling, nonetheless. In recent years, several plastics recycling companies have closed their doors. Soft-drink bottles, however, are one success story in plastics recycling. Of course, plastics are generally very lightweight. Putting plastics into landfills is not always the best disposal method.

Look for the number 1 or 2 in a triangular recycle symbol on the container. Only plastic #1 and #2 items with a neck are recyclable as a general rule. Recycled plastics are tomorrow's commercial materials, available today. Coupled with this increased consumer participation is a rising interest in the commercial applications of recyclable plastics. Energy concerns have drawn attention to used plastics as an alternative source of energy for industry. One reason that a greener plastics industry is possible is the thermoplastic elastomers. Plastic scrap recycling began with the PET in plastic soda bottles and the HDPE found in milk jugs in part because these plastics are able to be cleaned, broken-down, and returned to the thermoplastic elastomers can be recycled at every stage in the manufacturing and use- cycle. At the plastic recycling company, scrap pieces can be cleaned, melted down and put back into the supply; at home, consumers can clean out their soda bottles and participate in a community scrap recycling program which reclaims the plastics for another cycle of use

Biodegradable plastic is a degradable plastic in which the degradation results from the action of naturally occurring microorganisms such as bacteria, fungi, and algae. Hydro-biodegradable plastics tend to degrade and biodegrade somewhat more quickly than oxo-biodegradable ones but the end result is the same both are converted to carbon dioxide, water and biomass. Degradable Plastic are plastics designed to undergo a significant change in its chemical structure under specific environmental conditions resulting in a loss of some properties that may vary as measured by standard test methods appropriate to the plastic and the application in a period of time that determines its classification. This results in their physical disintegration and a drastic reduction in their molecular weights. No toxic by-products are known to result from PHB or PHV. With a little bit of care much plastic can be recycled, and collection of plastics for recycling is increasing rapidly.


Plastics Impact on Health and Environment:
Plastics are the fastest growing component of the waste stream. Plastic does not biodegrade in the natural environment. When littered, items that had been designed for useful life of minutes at most, many of these plastics degrade the environment for a lifetime as litter. Plastic litter has killed thousands of marine birds and mammals and threatens endangered species like sea turtles that mistake them for food. Plastics have historically suffered from a low recycling rate.

Although plastics have had a remarkable impact on our culture, it has become increasingly obvious that there is a price to be paid for their use. In the western world plastic plays a part in our everyday life and most of that plastic gets discarded as plastic waste. These wastes may pose a potential hazard to the human health or the environment (soil, air, water) when improperly treated, stored, transported or disposed off or managed.
The material used in bottled water – a thermoplastic polymer known as PET – can take hundreds of years to break down in a landfill. Recycling doesn't capture all the empties.

Plastic waste in the oceans poses a potentially devastating long-term toxic threat to the food chain, according to marine scientists. Studies suggest billions of microscopic plastic fragments drifting underwater are contributing to pollutants.

PVC is a commonly used type of plastic found in baby shampoo bottles, packaging, saran wrap, shower curtains and thousands of other products—yet there is very little public awareness of its serious health and environmental dangers. PVC is the most harmful type of plastic. In the United States as much as 7 billion pounds of PVC are discarded every year. PVC disposal is the largest source of dioxin-forming chlorine and phthalates in solid waste as well as a major source of lead, cadmium and other toxins–which pose serious health hazards. PVC production poses serious environmental health threats due to the manufacture of raw chemicals, including chlorine and cancer-causing vinyl chloride monomer. PVC includes high amounts of toxic additives, which are released during use and disposal, resulting in elevated human exposures to chemicals. Disposing of PVC in landfills poses long-term problems of toxic additives getting into groundwater. When burned, PVC plastic forms dioxins, a highly toxic group of chemicals that build up in the food chain, can cause cancer and harms the immune and reproductive systems. PVC is very difficult to recycle because many additives used in PVC products make it impossible to retain.


Bisphenol A is another dangerous type of plastic. Adults exposed to higher amounts of the plastic compound bisphenol A are more likely to be afflicted by cardiovascular disease, type-2 diabetes, and have liver enzyme abnormalities, according to a study by the Journal of the American Medical Association. Those with high levels of the BPA type of plastic had nearly three times the odds of developing heart disease and 2.4 times the odds of diabetes, compared to people will low exposures. Biphenyl A is a hormone disruptor. Studies have linked low-dose BPA exposure with such effects as: permanent changes to genital tract; increase prostate weight; decline in testosterone; breast cells predisposed to cancer; prostate cells more sensitive to hormones and cancer; and hyperactivity.

Bisphenol A, a chemical that doesn't occur in nature and is derived from petroleum, is commonly made into plastic, and companies frequently used it in consumer products such as beverage containers. It has since become one of the highest volume chemicals, with annual output of more than 3 million tonnes. Besides its food contact use, it is found in a ton of applications in such products as food wrap, cars, sports helmets and DVDs

What is Being Done on Plastic Reduction and Recycling?
Some countries as well was local municipalities are taking steps to reduce the amount of plastic in our landfills and incinerators. The city of Toronto, Canada is considering tough action to curb waste generated by overly packaged consumer products. From an outright ban on materials used in food takeout to a tax on retail plastic bags to city-run deposit-return programs, Toronto is considering many options. Other Canadian municipalities have moved on specific products, such as a recent bottled-water ban at city-owned buildings in London, Ontario. Many jurisdictions have implemented deposits on soft drinks and juice at the retail level to encourage consumers to return plastic bottles to recycling depots for a refund. In the United States, Seattle recently banned plastic foam in food packaging, with an alternative suitable for composting to be in place by 2010. San Francisco became the first city in North America to ban the use of traditional plastic grocery bags in 2007, a step that municipal leaders hope will spread across the country. In most parts of Switzerland throwing away rubbish costs money - each rubbish bag has to have a sticker on it and each sticker costs at least one euro (60 pence). Plastic PET bottles are the most common drinks containers in Switzerland, and 80% of them are recycled - far higher than the European average of 20 to 40%. These are a few examples of governments getting involved to entice people to recycle plastic. We need to all play a part to keep plastic out of landfills. We are paying the price to live a convenient lifestyle. We seem to live a disposable society. If we want to offset global warming and reduce pollution and toxins going into the environment we need to make adjustments to our lifestyle. The term “reduce reuse and recycle” certainly applies to plastic.