Plastics are everywhere, in our home, school, work, playground, parks, and beaches. It is such a popular material because it is flexible, lightweight, moisture resistant, and inexpensive. Even if plastics are found deep inland, they eventually find their way to the sea or ocean through rivers and streams. The global consumption of plastic was 260 million tons in 2010. It is estimated to reach 297.5 million tons by 2017.

1. Plastic Overview
Plastics are everywhere, in our home, school, work, playground, parks, and beaches. It is such a
popular material because it is flexible, lightweight, moisture resistant, and inexpensive. Even if
plastics are found deep inland, they eventually find their way to the sea or ocean through rivers
and streams. The global consumption of plastic was 260 million tons in 2010. It is estimated to
reach 297.5 million tons by 2017.
Introduction
Municipal solid waste in India contain 1-4 per cent by weight of plastic waste. India’s rate of
recycling of plastic waste is the highest (60%) in the world as compared to other countries
(China 10%, Europe 7%, Japan 12%, South Africa 16%, USA 10%). As a source of hazard to
environment, plastic account for 16% of chlorine in the environment and have 54 carcinogens,
polythene bags for disposal if burnt irresponsibly releases highly toxic gases like phosgene,
carbon monoxide, chlorine, sulphur dioxide, nitrogen oxide, besides deadly dioxin.
Polymers are gradually replacing natural materials like metal, timber and fibres and thereby
conserving the natural environment. Polymers are now finding diversified uses through blends
and alloys and giving higher standards of performance and life cycles to various products.
Plastics waste forms a wide range. Predominantly it is film packaging and polythene carry bags,
followed by blow moulded containers, and broken and discarded moulded items. The range is
wide and includes –
 discarded PVC chappals/shoes in varied colors and grades of plastics material.
 discarded PVC mineral water bottles/PET mineral water and liquor bottles and PS
icecream/cold drink cups/disposable catering plates and grays and expanded PS and PE
foam packagings.
 PE, PVC, PP films, packages, shopping bags, and medicine foils, used and discarded
moulded items like containers and range of household non-durables, combs, ball point
pens, tooth brushes etc.

2. Pollution problems of plastics
Industrial practices in plastic manufacture can lead to polluting effluents and the use of toxic
intermediates, the exposure to which can be hazardous. Better industrial practices have led to
minimizing exposure of plant workers to harmful fumes.
There is growing concern about the excess use of plastics, particularly in packaging. This has
been done, in part, to avoid the theft of small objects. The use of plastics can be reduced
through a better choice of container sizes and through the distribution of liquid products in more
concentrated form. A concern is the proper disposal of waste plastics. Litter results from careless
disposal, and decomposition rates in landfills can be extremely long. Marine pollution arising
from disposal of plastics from ships or flow from storm sewers must be avoided.
Recycling of plastics is desirable because it avoids their accumulation in landfills. It is evident
that the success of recycling is limited by the development of successful strategies for collection
and separation. Recycling of scrap plastics by manufacturers has been highly successful and has
proven economical, but recovering discarded plastics from consumers is more difficult.
5 Gyres:
Garbage Patch
A gyre is a system of rotating currents on the ocean caused by circular wind patterns. Gyres
rotate clockwise in the Northern Hemisphere and anticlockwise in the Southern Hemisphere.
 There are five major gyres:
 1. North Pacific
 2. South Pacific
 3. Indian Ocean
 4. North Atlantic
 5. South Atlantic
A gyre acts like a vortex, pulling in pollution from the continents into the centre.
The name “garbage patch” is given to the accumulation of garbage in each of the mentioned
gyres.
As garbage travels towards the garbage patches, it breaks up into little pieces and releases toxic
chemicals into the water.

3. The garbage patches are made up mostly of very small pieces of plastic, but they cover a large
area. For example, the Great Pacific Garbage Patch is estimated to range from 700 thousand km
to 15 million km..
Indian Scenario
Plastic waste is a major environmental and public health problem in Indian set up particularly in
the urban areas. Plastic shopping or carrier bags are one of the main sources of plastic waste in
our country. Plastic bags of all sizes and colors dot the city‘s landscape due to the problems of
misuse and overuse and littering in India. Besides this visual pollution, plastic bag wastes
contribute to blockage of drains and gutters, are a threat to aquatic life when they find their way
to water bodies, and can cause livestock deaths when the livestock consume them. Furthermore,
when filled with rainwater, plastic bags become breeding grounds for mosquitoes, which cause
malaria. We have become so accustomed to the ubiquitous presence of plastic that it is difficult
to envision life when woods and metals were the primary materials used for consumer products.
Plastic has become prevalent because it is inexpensive and it can be engineered with a wide
range of properties. Plastics are strong but lightweight, resistant when degraded by chemicals,
sunlight, and bacteria, and are thermally and electrically insulating. Plastics have become a
critical material in the modern economy; the annual volume of plastics produced exceeds that
volume of steel. The kind of recycling practiced in India is quite different from what is practiced
in the rest of the world, in that state of the art technologies are not employed here. The starting
point is the sorting of plastic waste (based on colour, transparency, hardness, density and opacity
of the scrap). The sorted waste is then sent to the granulators to obtain granules using with the
traditional mechanical and grinding techniques. The converters use these granules to make
finished plastic products. The majority of such units (granulators and convertors) are often
located in slums, and function single machine extruding units. Scrap storage is done in the
backyards, and washing is done in open drums. These activities are often termed as backyard
recycling. The technologies used in these industries are also old and local. Of the types of
plastics recycled in India, PVC (polyvinyl chloride) accounts for 45%, LDPE (low density
polyethylene) for 25%, HDPE (high density polyethylene) for 20%, PP (polypropylene) for 7.6%
and other polymers such as PS (polystyrene) for 2.4%. This recycling is usually results in the
down cycling of plastics into lower-quality products that have higher and more 4 leachable levels
of toxic additives. During recycling, the plastic scrap is cleaned to remove the dirt and foreign
matter adhering to it. The wastewater generated used for this purpose is finally disposed of into
open drains. This wastewater has high pollution load in terms of BOD, COD, and TSS. The final
stage in the life cycle of plastics is disposal. In India, there are three common ways of getting rid
off plastics - by dumping them in landfills, by burning them in incinerators or by littering them.
In the case of littering, plastic wastes fail to reach landfills or incinerators. It is the improper way
of disposing plastics and is identified as the cause of manifold ecological problems. Incineration
of plastic wastes also significantly reduces the volume of waste requiring disposal. It is believed

4. that the volume reduction brought about by incineration ranges from 80 to 95%. But the burning
of these chlorine-containing substances releases toxic heavy metals and emits noxious gasses like
dioxins and furans. The latter two are two of the most toxic and poisonous substances on earth
and can cause a variety of health problems
Fish
Causes:
 They may ingest the toxic chemicals leached from plastics
 When small fish eat plastic and a bigger fish eats many of these little(contaminated)
 fish, the big fish ends up with an accumulation of plastic in its system
Consequences:
 Ingestion of plastic causes intestinal injury and death
 Entangled fish cannot move to escape predators or to look for food
 Fish and marine mammals wounded by plastic rings or ropes may develop infections in
their open wounds.
Turtles
Causes:
 Jellyfish are a turtle’s favourite food! But, turtles can’t tell the difference between a
jellyfish and a floating plastic bag
 Turtles also ingest plastic ropes, Styrofoam, and other plastic fishing equipment
 They may ingest the toxic chemicals leached from plastics
 They become entangled in plastic rings and fishing nets
Consequences:
 Plastic ingestion causes blockage in the gut, ulceration, internal perforation, and death
 Turtles may feel full because of the plastic, causing them to starve to death
 Entangled turtles cannot move to escape predators or to look for food
 Turtles that get trapped in plastic rings eventually grow around them, causing their bodies
to be deformed and their organs to not develop properly
Coral Reefs
Causes:

5.  Plastic pollution from the land gets carried into the sea and other water bodies
 Plastics may be carried into the sea through rivers, streams, and storm drains
 Ships may also be a source of pollution out at sea
Consequences:
 When plastics from land move to the sea, they bring along sediments that smother
 corals Pesticides from land carried on plastics affect coral reproduction and growth
 Sewage carried on plastics to the sea introduce pathogens into coral reefs
 Fishing gear (e.g. nets) become entangled on corals and organisms in coral reefs
 Waves may break off pieces of corals where debris had been attached
 Plastic items can weigh down on corals and break them
 Plastic pollution blocks the sunlight that is essential for the survival of corals
STATUS OF PLASTIC MANAGEMENT-AT A GLANCE

6. Preventive Measures
RECYCLING
Recycling means making new products out of the waste materials. All types of plastics cannot
be recycled. If we recycle the ones that can be, the environment will be saved to some extent.
Plastic recycling involves the process of recovering scrap plastic and this waste plastic is then
reprocessed to form new materials that may be different from their original state. Compared to
other materials like glass and metal, recycling of plastic is expensive and complex. This is due to
the high molecular weight of the large polymer chains that build the plastic material. Heating
plastic doesn't dissolve the polymer chains and hence a tedious and complex process is essential.
Different types of plastic cannot be mixed together because they phase separate. Such a resulting
melting product cannot be recycled to make another plastic product. While making plastic

7. products many fillers like dues and other additives are used. These fillers cannot be separated
from the plastic using inexpensive techniques. This makes the process more complex.
Advantages of recycling:
Use of nonrenewable fossil fuels is reduced by recycling as manufacturing new plastic materials
require more of these fuels. Consumption of energy is also reduced as already prepared plastic is
recycled for new use.
 Amount of plastic that reach the landfill sites are greatly reduced. This will eliminate land
pollution to some extent.
 Carbon emissions are reduced as manufacturing units emit more carbon.
Cutting back on global warming, preventing air and water pollution and saving our energy
resources, are the reasons why we should recycle. Factories and industries that produce goods

8. that have become an indispensable part of our lives, add an appalling amount of waste to the
environment and recycling seems the only way to save our planet.a ton of cans will reduce 70%
of CO2 production in landfills.
To Reduce Global Warming: Carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas that is a major contributor to
global warming. Manufacturing certain products releases a lot more carbon dioxide than
recycling them would. Aluminum is the best example of this. Manufacturing new aluminum
goods produces 95% more carbon dioxide than recycling old aluminum objects. For each ton of
paper that is recycled, 15 trees are saved from being felled! We are aware of the fact that trees
use up carbon dioxide from atmosphere to make food through the process of photosynthesis. It is
estimated that one tree absorbs almost 250 pounds of carbon dioxide each year. Here are some
more points that would explain why recycling is encouraged these days.
To prevent air pollution: We are already aware of the amount of gaseous waste that industries
spew out every day. Factories and industries manufacturing items made from plastic and metals
release large amounts of toxic gases. With continuous increase in population, demand for these
goods also keeps rising. If we do not recycle these objects then we have to set up new industries
to manufacture these goods. This means more air pollution.
To solve the problem of scarcity of landfills: Lot of our garbage is disposed of in landfills. But
the rate at which we are producing trash, is overwhelming. We are already running out of areas
that could be used as landfills and soon there might not be any left either. This crisis is severe in
the cities and suburbs. There, the problem is so pressing that landfills are slowly creeping closer
to crowded human settlements. This is making human beings vulnerable to diseases.
To Prevent Water Pollution: This problem is related in part to landfills. The waste that is
disposed in landfills is not treated. Contaminants from the products in the landfills seep down to
lower levels of the soil where they reach groundwater and pollute it. Other than polluting
groundwater, scarcity of landfills and the overwhelming amount of waste that we produce has
not left us with any choice but to dump waste in seas and oceans. The devastating effect of
release of industrial waste in these water bodies coupled with civic waste that are being dumped
in the seas and oceans, on marine ecology, is well-known to us. Environmental preservation is
one of the most important benefits of recycling.
To Save Energy: Another reason why you should recycle is that it saves energy. Recycling most
of the products that we use involves much lesser amount of energy than making them anew. For
example, recycling paper saves almost 65% energy than making new sheets of paper. If instead
of making new products, one pound of steel is recycled then it saves enough energy to light a 60
watt bulb for 24 hours straight.

9. RECYCLING FACTS
There are reasons enough for us to recycle plastic. One of them is that plastics are a major
source of environmental pollution and are much easy to be recycled that generally thought. Do
you know that Americans alone throw away 2.5 million plastic bottles every hour?
On an average, one person uses up two pine trees worth of paper each year.
 To produce one ton of paper, 390 gallons of oil is used up.
 For every ton of glass recycled, one ton of resources used to make it is saved.
 With increase in use of electronic goods, people are also resorting to recycling them. These
form a considerable portion of trash that is dumped in landfills. Needless to say that the amount
of plastic and other electric components that are used to manufacture these products, are making
them a potent source of toxins being released to the environment.

10. After learning about the various environmental changes that are the direct result of human
activity, one should help create awareness about reducing pollution and saving energy. Buying
recycled products is an important part of the recycling procedure which helps complete the loop.
By doing so, you can take part in the 'Save Earth' campaign and can make it a success. Your
contribution is very important for the success of the mission. It can help save the resources and
can help keep the earth green, pollution-free and beautiful. You can use 'wet garbage' to produce
manure for your garden. Thus, you can save a lot of energy and money. By using wind energy or
solar energy, you can save other important resources on the earth. You can easily avoid
unnecessary use of plastic bags and bottles. Last but not the least, recycling has helped create
millions of new jobs. So, it is beneficial for all. The government has already set up units for the
same. However, besides sending all the trash to these units, we ourselves could contribute to the
process by reusing used products and checking the amount of waste that we generate.
Basic steps that are involved in the recycling:
The basic steps that are involved in the recycling of plastic are;
Step 1: Collecting plastic waste from households as well as industrial wastes as well.
Step 2: Sorting the plastic waste in different categories such as PET bottles, bags, containers, etc.
Step 3: The Plastic is cut into tiny pieces.
Step 4: The tiny pieces are thoroughly washed for any dirt or unwanted particles on them.
Step 5: The washed pieces are melted and poured into small containers for reuse .
Reduced use of plastics
Plastic pollution can be reduced by using less plastics products and switching to alternatives.
Each year, an estimated 500 billion to 1 trillion plastic bags are consumed worldwide. That
comes out to over one million per minute. Billions end up as litter each year or in landfills. Now
focus on another important part of eco-friendly living: reduce your use of plastic.Source
reduction (Reduce and Reuse) can occur by altering the design, manufacture, or use of plastic
products and materials. For example, the weight of a 2-liter plastic soft drink bottle has been
reduced from 68 grams to 51 grams since 1977, resulting in a 250 million pound decrease of
plastic per year in the waste stream.
Tips for safer, more sustainable use of plastics:
• Beware of cling wraps especially for microwave use.
• Avoid plastic bottled water.
• Minimize the use of canned foods and canned drinks.

11. • Purchase baby bottles and sippy cups or glass options.
• Bring your own cloth bags to the grocery store or any store.
• Don’t buy beverages bottles in plastic.
• Carry your own reusable steel or ceramic beverage container.
• Don’t buy convenience foods packages in plastic.
• Buy bread from bakeries that package in paper.
• Buy laundry detergent in boxes, not liquid in plastic containers.
• Buy farm fresh eggs in reusable paper containers.
• Package your leftovers in corning ware.
• Store all your food in glass containers instead of plastic containers.
• Buy bulk cereal; bring your own paper bags.
• Compost your trash; reduce your use of plastic trash bags.
• Line small trash bins in your house with paper bags.
 Use cloth rags for clean up around the house.
• Use matches instead of plastic encased lighters.
• Use cloth napkins. They reduce your waste and use of plastic trash bags.
• Use baby bottles made of glass.
• Use rechargeable batteries to reduce buying batteries packaged in plastic.
• Make a compost heap to reduce your food waste and put it back into the earth.
• Use a reusable cloth bag to carry your lunch to work or school.
• Spread the word, tell people about the harmful chemicals in plastic and help reduce
plastic use.
Chemical decomposing
Chemical decomposing is otherwise a very effective solution to plastic pollution, since the non-
biodegradable property of plastic is the main cause of plastic pollution. However, no technology
has been developed yet to set up an economical and effective large-scale plastic decomposing
facility. But chemical decomposing is still a field that has a great potential to develop in the
future.
There are mainly two ways to decompose conventional plastics. Decomposing plastics by
microorganisms is one of them. Daniel Burd, a Canadian high school student, found out that
there are three kinds of microorganisms in the earth from a landfill that can break down the
molecules of plastic bags. However, since this is a relatively new discovery, it is not applied
industrially yet. Its economical applicability still needs to be discussed, but according to Burd,
this decomposing method is possible to be applied on an industrial scale. Another way to
decompose plastics is by combustion. This is a relatively easy and inexpensive way compared to
using microorganisms, however, odor and toxic gases produced during combustion is a big

12. problem. Currently, some companies have already applied this method, and Wheelabrator
Technologies Inc. is one of them.
In Wheelabrator’s clean energy plants, waste are burned and heat generated from combustion is
turned to electricity with emission air control. These waste-to-energy plants not only handle
municipal waste environmentally, but also provide electricity to households and businesses.
Alternative solutions
Biodegradable Plastics (BDP): This is one of the options to the conventional plastics. One of
the common constituents of BDP is polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA). The BDP are similar to
conventional plastics in all aspects with the additional quality of being able to naturally
decompose and break into natural and safe byproducts. Hence if all plastics in the city waste
were biodegradable, it could simply be allowed to decompose along with the food and other non-
recyclable but biodegradable articles like wet paper and cotton fibers
Since the technologies to manufacture BDPs are relatively new and not widely prevalent, the
production cost is higher. Therefore, further research in areas of more cost effective and energy
efficient manufacturing methods for biodegradable plastics is the call of the hour. The
incorporation of BDP is a progressive approach to a greener, healthier, and a better environment.
The progressive development of several biopolymers over the years has stirred the plastic
industry. The induction of biodegradable plastics is a promising and progressive prospect and
will greatly reduce the dependence on fossil fuels. At the present time, it is only an option over
traditional plastics, but if it is to replace traditional plastics completely, people would have no
other option but to use them. Incorporating biodegradable plastics in everyday use would not
only take the pressure off fossil fuels but also encourage agricultural producers who are
interested in exploring and developing the natural fiber processing industry. A lot of income
from agriculture can be generated if biodegradable plastics can be made mainstream. Aside from
the obvious economic and environmental benefits, biodegradable plastics are progressive from
scientific point of view as well. In addition to being useful for everyday life purposes,
biodegradable plastics also have a great scope to be used in medicinal field.
What sets biodegradable plastics one step ahead of conventional plastics is the fact that they can
be manufactured by using renewable biomass instead of biofuels. This will be of huge advantage
because as “renewable biomass”, will include “agro-industrial” wastes that are not only cheap,
but their conversion solves another problem by turning waste materials into useful products. This
makes production of biodegradable plastics possible even in the countries that lack the scope for
crop expansion. In return, they are being benefitted economically and ecologically. At present
biodegradable polymer technology can only offer a limited range of materials. It is due to this
limitation that biodegradable plastics have not been able to go mainstream yet.

13. Bioplastics:
A bioplastic is a plastic that is made partly or wholly from polymers derived from biological
sources such as sugar cane, potato starch or the cellulose from trees, straw and cotton. Some
bioplastics degrade in the open air, others are made so that they compost in an industrial
composting plant, aided by fungi, bacteria and enzymes. Others mimic the robustness and
durability of conventional plastics such as polyethylene or PET.

14. Bioplastics - partly or wholly made from biological materials and not crude oil - represent an
effective way of keeping the huge advantages of conventional plastics but mitigating their
disadvantages. However, that does not imply that bioplastics can naturally decompose like
biodegradable plastics. The prime benefit is that it gives some respite to our depleting petroleum
reserves.
Hence, further research should focus on developing bioplastics that are both biodegradable and
also energy efficient to produce. Recycling is almost always more energy efficient and releases
less carbon dioxide than making a new product. One major problem with efforts to recycle
bioplastics is that if they become mixed with petroplastics they can contaminate the whole batch.
Polymer Blended Bitumen Roads: The non-wetting property of plastics is also being
implemented successfully in road construction business. Bitumen film is often stripped off the
aggregates because of the penetration of water, which results in pothole formation. When
polymer (plastic waste) is coated over aggregate, the coating reduces its affinity for water due to
non-wetting nature of the polymer, thereby obstructing the penetration of water. Polymers also
shows higher softening temperature, thereby reduce the bleeding of bitumen during the summers.
To get rid of plastic waste disposal problems, Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) has taken
initiative to use the plastic waste in manufacturing units through co processing. Co-processing
refers to the use of plastic waste materials in industry process such as cement, lime or steel
production and power stations or any other large combustion plants. Co-processing refers to
substitution of primary fuel and raw material by waste. Waste material such as plastic waste act
as alternative fuels and raw material (AFR). Thus these units save fossil fuel and raw material
consumption, contributing the more eco-efficient production. After getting encouraging results
CPCB has granted permission to many cement plants to co-process the hazardous and non-
hazardous (including plastic) waste in their kilns after trial burns.
1. While some people are busy developing plastic substitutes, others are bent on making
conventional thermoplastics biodegradable. By throwing in additives called Prodegradant
concentrates (PDCs). PDCs are usually metal compounds, such as cobalt stearate or manganese
stearate. They promote oxidation processes that break the plastic down into brittle, low-
molecular-weight fragments. Microorganisms gobble up the fragments as they disintegrate,
turning them into carbon dioxide, water and biomass, which reportedly contains no harmful
residues. When added to polyethylene (the standard plastic bag material) at levels of 3%, PDCs
can promote nearly complete degradation; 95% of the plastic is in bacteria-friendly fragments
within four weeks.
2. Researchers are revitalizing the idea of converting casein, the principal protein found in milk,
into a biodegradable material that matches the stiffness and compressibility of polystyrene. The
modern milk-based plastic doesn’t crack as easily, thanks to that silicate skeleton, and they even

15. made the stuff less toxic by substituting glyceraldehyde for formaldehyde during the process.
Scientists have found a way make the protein less susceptible to cracking, thanks to a silicate
clay called sodium montmorillonite.
3. Chicken feathers are composed almost entirely of keratin, a protein so tough that it can give
strength and durability to plastics. It’s found in hair and wool, hooves and horns -- and we can all
appreciate how strong a horse’s hoof can be without having the pleasure of being kicked by one.
Researchers decided to tap into keratin’s superstrong features by processing chicken feathers
with methyl acrylate, a liquid found in nail polish. Ultimately, the keratin-based plastic proved to
be substantially stronger and more resistant to tearing than other plastics made from agricultural
sources, such as soy or starch, and scientists are clucking excitedly about chicken-feather plastic.
After all, inexpensive, abundant chicken feathers are a renewable resource.
4. Next up is a promising new bioplastic, or biopolymer, called liquid wood. Biopolymers fake
it; these materials look, feel and act just like plastic but, unlike petroleum-based plastic, they’re
biodegradable. This particular biopolymer comes from pulp-based lignin, a renewable resource.
5. The next three entries on this list are all biodegradable plastics called aliphatic polyesters.
Overall, they aren’t as versatile as aromatic polyesters such as polyethylene terephthalate (PET),
which is commonly used to make water bottles. But since aromatic polyesters are completely
resistant to microbial breakdown, a lot of time and effort is being pumped into finding viable
alternatives in aliphatic polyesters. polycaprolactone (PCL), a synthetic aliphatic polyester that
isn’t made from renewable resources but does completely degrade after six weeks of composting.
6. Polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) polyesters, the two main members of which are
Polyhydroxybutrate (PHB) and Polyhydroxyvalerate (PHV). These biodegradable plastics
closely resemble man-made polypropylene. While they’re still less flexible than petroleum-based
plastics, you’ll find them in packaging, plastic films and injectionmolded bottles.
Conclusion:
Lots of innovations in recycling of waste plastics have been introduced in many countries. We
have to see, we should not pollute environment while going for recycling and use of recycled
products.
Related Links:
http://marinedebris.noaa.gov/
http://www.algalita.org/index.php

16. http://5gyres.org/ http://www.seeturtles.org/
http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/campaigns/ocean_plastics/index.html
http://serc.carleton.edu/NAGTWorkshops/health/case_studies/plastics.html
http://www.prokerala.com/going-green/ill-effects-of-plastic.php
http://celebrating200years.noaa.gov/visions/coral/side.html
http://www.nrdc.org/oceans/plastic-ocean/
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2873017/