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RECYCLING PLASTICS
Introduction
How many times each day do you use something made out of
plastic? From a toothbrush to a soda pop bottle, from a
grocery bag to a garden hose, plastics are part of our daily
lives. You probably know that plastics are made from
petroleum, a nonrenewable resource. When plastics are thrown
away, they become part of the solid wastes that end up in
sanitary landfills. Today, many solid wastes, including
glass, paper, and aluminum, are being recycled rather than
thrown away. Some communities are choosing to recycle
plastics as well. However, recycling plastics is a bit more
complicated than recycling glass, paper, or aluminum.
There are many different types of plastics, and each type
requires different handling in the recycling process. The
next time you pick up a milk jug or 2-liter plastic soft
drink bottle, look at the bottom. Do you see a triangle made
out of three arrows? This symbol means that the plastic can
be recycled. Inside the triangle you will see a number or
perhaps an acronym made up of several capital letters. The
numbers and acronyms are part of a coding system that
identifies what type of plastic the item is made out of, and
how it should be handled in the recycling process. What
exactly is a plastic? What are the different kinds of
plastics? What is each type of plastic used for? How can
each type of plastic be recycled? These are some of the
questions you will be able to answer when you have completed
this WebQuest on recycling plastics.
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Task
Your job in this WebQuest is to learn about the different
types of plastics and how they can be recycled. You will
explore the history of plastics and find out what properties
make a material a plastic. You will identify the seven
different classes of plastics, and discover what each class
is normally used for. You will also learn what kinds of
items can be made from recycled plastics. Finally, you will
fill out a table that lists all of the information you have
learned about recycling plastics.
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Resources
Look at the Web sites given here to find the information
that will enable you to complete the table on recycling
plastics.
- Hands
On Plastics: Background Information for Students.
Visit this site by the American Plastics Council
to learn about the history of plastics and polymers and
about the chemistry of the polymers that make up plastics.
This is an excellent site to begin your exploration of
plastics.
- Recycling Plastics - Is the
Chemistry Right? [Updated link
coming soon.]
Visit this site to read about the
chemistry of plastics and the ways different plastics can
be treated in order to be recycled or reused. Scroll down
to feedstock recycling to find out how plastics can be
turned into a gas.
- Cleaning
Up the Waste Stream - Recycling Plastics.
Visit this site for a brief discussion of the
difficulties inherent in recycling plastics. Scroll down
to see a chart of the plastic container code system and a
description of each type of plastic that can be recycled.
- Recycling
Plastics.
Go to this site by Ecology
Action to read about the code numbers used on the bottoms
of plastic containers that identify how each container
should be handled in the recycling process.
- Buying
and Recycling Plastics.
Visit this
Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection site
to learn more about recycling of PET and HDPE plastics.
Scroll down and click on plastics acronyms to see a
descriptive list of other plastics and what they are used
for.
- Recycling
Plastics is as easy as .1, 2, 3 (4, 5, 6, 7)!
Go to this New York State Department of
Environmental Conservation site to see another list of the
codes used to identify types of plastic for recycling. The
site also describes two methods by which plastic
containers are made - blow-molding and injection molding.
- Recycling
Plastics.
At this Colorado School of
Mines site you can read a brief discussion of how plastics
are made, and about the chemistry of plastics. You can
also read about the benefits of using plastic packaging
here.
- History
of Plastics.
Visit this site to learn more
about the history of the plastics industry. The site
discusses the inventions of materials such as celluloid,
bakelite, rayon, cellophane, nylon, polyvinyl chloride,
saran, teflon, and polyethylene.
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Time
1 class period for research and filling in the table
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Process
Now that you have completed your Internet research on
recycling plastics, prepare a table that lists all seven
types of plastics. In the left column, write in the code for
each of the seven plastics. At the top of the rows, write in
the material that each code stands for and the abbreviation
used for that type of plastic, then the items the plastic is
normally used to make. In the last row, write in what the
plastic can be recycled to make. The table is started for
you below. You will receive extra points for listing more
than one item under how normally used and can be recycled
as, up to a total of six items under each heading.
Table 1. Recycling Plastics
| Code |
Material &
Abbreviation |
How Normally Used |
Can Be Recycled
As |
| 2 |
2 Polyethylene
teraphthalate,PET, PETE |
soft drink bottles |
soft drink bottles,
paint brushes,
carpeting, egg cartons
|
| 2 |
High density
polyethylene
HDPE |
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| 3 |
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| 4 |
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| 5 |
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Complete the table by adding the appropriate information
for all seven types of plastic.
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Conclusion
In the process of completing this WebQuest, you've become
informed about what plastics are, what types of plastics
exist, and how each of these can be recycled. You have
learned a little about the history of plastics, and about
the chemistry behind the plastics that you use every day.
Finally, you have completed a table that lists each type of
plastic, what each is normally used for, and what items each
type of plastic can be recycled into. How does recycling
plastics compare to recycling of materials such as glass,
paper, and aluminum?
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