Recycling plastic waste

Recycling plastic waste

Abstract

This paper is to analyze the design/product/concept, (DPC) of recycling plastic waste. Recycling of plastic waste is an essential subject of environmental, social, and economic significance. The importance of plastic products to humanity cannot be over-emphasized because plastics have been around for a long time. However, plastics have significant adverse environmental and social effects, which, if not properly managed, can result in problems. Failing to recycle plastic waste is unethical, and as well, banning the use of plastics can lead to chaos due to the dependency of people on plastic products. The utilitarian ethical theory fits the arguments behind the recycling of plastic waste since it provides the greatest good to the greatest number. The paper argues that it is justifiable to continue and implement recycling of plastic waste.

Background

Recycling plastic waste is a process of recovering different types of plastic materials with the aim of processing them into new plastic products for re-use. Plastic recycling is necessitated by the fact the component materials are non-biodegradable, and hence failure to recycle them is an environmental disaster. The process of recycling plastic follows a series of coordinated steps that comprise a collection of plastic waste, sorting out, cleaning, shredding, identification and classification, extruding, re-molding.

Collection of plastics existing in various forms from plastic bottles, containers, bags, industrial plastic, etc. takes place in various designated plastic collection centers and landfills and taken to collection yards where packing is done before they are sent to plastic processing plants. At the processing plant, plastic is sorted into categories depending on their resin content and color. Cleaning or washing is then done to get rid of impurities and contaminants to enhance the quality of the finished product. Shredding follows, which tears the plastic into small pellets that would be easier to mold into various finished products. The next process is the identification and classification of plastic after laboratory analysis to grade the plastic into different quality classes. After grading, the plastic is extruded, a process that involves melting the shredded plastic so that it can be extruded into pellets that are used to make different products. The final process requires re-molding the pellets into desired shapes and sizes according to the desired products.

There are two major recycling technologies in plastic recycling, heat compression, and monomer technologies. In the heat compression process, the technology recycles all plastic types at once without the need to sort and clean them. The monomer process, on the other hand, is a reverse polymerization reaction which recycles the same type of condensed polymer.

The process of recycling plastic waste is a collective responsibility of all citizens with the intention of reducing the prevalence of solid plastic waste in the environment. In most jurisdictions, however, the burden is vested in the municipal councils and private businesses who have ventured into the recycling business for profits.

Recycling plastic waste is intended to address fundamental environmental concerns. By recycling, the pressure exerted on natural resources is significantly reduced since recycled plastic provides ready raw materials hence conserving energy and natural resources. Reducing the presence of plastic waste in the environment is possibly the most important reason for recycling plastic. Being that plastics are non-biodegradable, their presence in the environment poses a threat to humans and the ecology since they have been linked to blocked sewerage systems, drainage, and damage to marine environments, among others. Also, recycling eliminates the problem of unnecessary landfills. In general, recycling plastic waste has a two-fold dimension; environmental conservation and economic development.

Stakeholders in the recycling of plastic waste industry

The plastic waste recycling industry has numerous stakeholders, direct and indirect.  Some of the major stakeholders in the sector include manufacturers, consumers of plastic products, governments, businesses dealing in plastics, local authorities, and citizens in general.

Manufacturers own processing plants for plastic products, and most of them undertake to recycle plastic to obtain the raw material. Plastic manufacturers either have their means of collecting plastic waste from collection centers or buy directly from plastic waste vendors. The manufacturers benefit by having the cheap raw material for their processing hence improving their revenues. However, manufacturers incur huge initial costs to set up recycling plants, which is a drawback.

Consumers of plastic products are essential stakeholders in the recycling industry. Plastic is available in almost every household in one form or another, from furniture to utensils, to electronics, among others. The emergence of the recycling of plastics has proved to be beneficial to the consumers since recycled plastic products are much affordable than those from original raw materials; hence, they offer value for money. Recycled products have, however, been linked with a shortened lifespan, and this presents a disadvantage on the consumers.

Governments are also essential stakeholders in the recycling sector. Most governments grapple with problems of solid waste management in their jurisdictions, and therefore plastic recycling is a relief for them. Also, being custodians of their countries’ natural resources, they encourage recycling so as to conserve scarce resources. Besides, recycling provides thousands of employment to several citizens hence contributing to the socio-economic empowerment of countries. One drawback on the part of governments is the fact that most governments give tax subsidies to recycling plants, and as a result, they end up incurring substantial annual revenue losses. Also, the kinds of jobs created by the sector for the citizens are largely low qualities that undermine human labor.

Businesses dealing in plastic products are also stakeholders in the recycling sector. Many companies trade in plastic products, and for the most profits come from products that are recycled since they are affordable and enjoy a broader market share. Some businesses have been established to collect and sell plastic waste to manufacturers, and in most cases, such businesses create employment opportunities for young people. Dealers of plastic products have the limitation of incurring losses when consumers cannot buy low quality recycled products occasioning losses for them.

The general citizenry is an essential stakeholder in plastic waste recycling. Citizens yearn for a clean environment that is free of solid waste. Some people re-use plastic products to reduce the amount disposed into the environment. Through recycling, citizens are assured of a safe and clean environment. However, some recycling projects create a false promise of a clean environment that is never achieved. Besides, many dumpsites and recycling sites may end up being mismanaged, resulting in unhygienic conditions that expose citizens to even higher risks.

Another stakeholder in the recycling of plastic wastes is the local authorities, which have myriads of challenges in dealing with solid waste management. Recycling plastic waste not only saves them the cost of disposal but ensures that residents in their jurisdictions have a clean environment.

Ethical analysis

To use or not to use plastics presents a moral dilemma. On the one hand, plastics are essential components in our daily lives while, on the other hand, they present serious environmental concerns. Recycling of plastic waste is part of how to address the existing ethical dilemma. By implementing plastic waste recycling programs, several ethical issues are addressed about plastic utilization. According to statistics, only a small percentage of plastic waste in the world is recycled while the rest ends up being discharged into water bodies, burned, dumped into landfills, or littering the environment. Considering the social and environmental problems that are associated with the prevalence of plastic waste, it is perceived unethical not to participate in recycling.

Recycling of plastic wastes should be a concern for everyone at an individual or corporate level. Some of the ethical issues of concern that need to be solved by setting up plastic waste recycling are as follows. Science has proved that plastics degrade at prolonged rates, taking millions of years to break down completely. As a result, their presence in the environment poses a variety of threats to wildlife through entanglement and consumption. Besides, plastics accumulate up the food chain and find themselves in seafood.

Recycling turns waste into raw materials for the production of new products. Plastics are made from natural resources such as crude oil, cellulose, and coal. By recycling plastic waste, it reduces the pressure on natural resources, enhancing sustainable utilization, which makes the resources available to future generations.

With the numerous adverse effects of plastic waste in the environment, it would require that the production of such products be banned. However, plastics have been around since time immemorial, and their usefulness cannot be ignored. Due to this fact, prohibit the production of plastics would prove suicidal for the human race. The best approach to deal with the plastic menace is to reduce their amounts in the environment by re-using and recycling until it will come to a point when their use will be sustainable.

The Utilitarian theory is premised on the belief that the most ethical choice is the one that will produce the greatest good for the greatest number. In recycling to get rid of plastics from the environment and associated threats, the theory is most appropriate because a clean environment presents greater good for the masses and other organisms within the ecosystem. Besides, it also produces greater good for future generations when recycling is to reduce pressure on scarce non-renewable resources. The theory is also applicable in this aspect since banning of plastic production would hurt many people, which would present another ethical dilemma. Recycling slowly reduces the number of plastics from the environment until a level where they would be sustainable, which produces the greatest good for the people.

Elements of the NSPE Code of Ethics that are most relevant to the deployment of plastic waste recycling include the aspect of rules of practice which dictate that a person shall hold paramount the safety, health, and welfare of the public. Recycling of plastic waste falls under this ethical tenet since it is an action towards greater public protection.

Social impact analysis

Specific knowledge and skills are required to successfully implement the recycling of plastic waste so that the most significant benefits are realized in the long term. Essential knowledge and skills include an understanding of the environmental and social impacts of the recycling process. Also, there is a need to be aware of all the technical operations, including operational capabilities required to make the process effective. Essential skills also include operation and control of processes, critical thinking, monitoring, and evaluation. Others include quality control analysis processes, awareness of the social perceptiveness, and excellent financial and management skills.

Being an important undertaking, recycling of plastic waste would require several interdisciplinary perspectives to help identify innovative and non-obvious solutions to issues that might arise in implementing the project. These interdisciplinary perspectives include the sociocultural leaning of host communities, awareness of the legal provisions of the government, international conventions, and treaties guiding environmental management.