When was the last time you bought a drink in a plastic bottle at the gas station?  Chances are, you threw out that bottle when you were done—without a second thought.  That’s what most of us do, even though all plastics can be recycled—and there are serious environmental consequences for throwing them away.  Here are a few reasons why you should recycle that plastic drink bottle next time, instead of tossing it in the trash.

People in the U.S. throw away 2.5 million plastic bottles an hour. Plastic is one of the most disposable materials in U.S. culture.  We throw away our milk bottles, soda bottles, water bottles, trash bags, grocery bags, product packaging, and more every day without giving it a second thought.  Plastic makes up much of the streetside litter found in cities and throughout the countryside, and it’s rapidly filling up our landfills as well.

Making new plastic requires significant amounts of fossil fuels. Studies suggest that between 7% and 8% of the world’s fossil fuels are used in producing new plastics.  This doesn’t sound like a great amount, but it accounts for millions of tons of fuels per year.  Recycling could preserve these fuels—even reuse them in other markets.

Plastic is easy to recycle – although few people do it. All plastic can be recycled.  But it’s not being recycled as much as it should be.  Some studies show that only 10% of plastic bottles created are recycled, leaving that extra 90% to take up space in landfills and killing ocean life.

Plastic bottles take up space in landfills. Our country’s landfills are closing at a rate of around two per day.  The landfill-space crisis is especially problematic in cities, where inner-city trash dumps are often filled to capacity, and surrounding communities are unwilling to allow new landfills to come to their neighborhoods.  Many coastal cities use the ocean as a dumping ground, resulting in depleted fish stock, polluted beaches, and other health issues for the inhabitants.  Plastic bottles make up approximately 11% of the contents of landfills.

Incinerating plastic contributes to greenhouse gases. To save space at landfills, plastics are often burned in incinerators.  When this is done, chemicals, petroleum, and fossil fuels used in the manufacturing process are released into the atmosphere, adding to greenhouse gas emissions.

Plastic in the oceans is responsible for the deaths of millions of sea animals. Plastic bottles floating on the surface of the oceans can look like food to larger sea life—often with fatal consequences.  In addition, fish, sea birds, and other ocean creatures often get caught in plastic rings that strangle them or constrict their throats so that they cannot swallow.

Plastic takes a long time to degrade. Nobody is quite sure how long it takes for plastic to biodegrade—it hasn’t been around long enough, and the first plastics made are still around today.  Scientists believe, however, that plastics will take hundreds of years to degrade fully—if not longer.  Plastics as we know them have only been around a hundred years, and they are already a problem.  Imagine five hundred years’ worth of plastics in our landfills.

Plastics contain harmful chemicals. These include cadmium, lead, PVC, and other pollutants in the form of artificial coloring, plasticizers, and stabilizers.  Some of these have been discovered to be harmful and are not in currently-manufactured plastics, but the older, more toxic plastics are still filling up our landfills and floating around in our oceans, releasing pollutants into the environment.  These can seep into groundwater from landfill runoff and cause health risks for both wildlife and humans.

Recycling plastic saves energy. Studies show that the energy saved by recycling a single plastic bottle—as compared to producing a new one from scratch—is enough to power a single 60-watt bulb for six hours.  Think of those 2.5 million bottles thrown away per hour in the U.S.—we could practically power our homes on the energy savings we’d gain by recycling every one of those plastic bottles.

Recycled plastic is useful. Recycled plastic is found in many unexpected places—including carpeting, the fuzz on tennis balls, scouring pads, paintbrushes, clothes, industrial strapping, shower stalls, drainpipes, flowerpots, and lumber.  It also contains oils that could be recycled and reused as fossil fuels.

The bottom line why we should recyle plastic is this: recycling plastic is a good idea.  It’s good for the environment, good for energy savings, good for the health of wildlife and humans alike.  So next time you buy a bottle of soda or water, don’t just throw it in the trash.  Recycle it—and do one small thing for the environment.  If you do this every time you buy a bottled drink, your small contributions will definitely add up to a big difference.

Information cited by the following link:  http://www.professorshouse.com/your-home/environmentally-friendly/why-recycle-plastic.aspx

by Michael Kanellos

If you’ve never thought of IBM as a plastics company, you’d be wrong.

Big Blue was one of the world’s hotbeds of polymer science in the 80s and 90s as part of its overall commitment to material science. This week, IBM and Stanford researchers published a paper describing how they have found ways to employ new forms (organocatalysts) to develop new types of polymer molecules. Ideally, these catalysts could be used to recycle plastic or develop new types of materials.

Organocatalysts have been studied for years, but a surge in published research began toward the beginning of the decade. Companies essentially were looking for a way to phase out metal oxide catalysts, which can sometimes stay behind in the final polymer. IBM’s new catalysts become bystanders after the reaction occurs.

What to do about plastic will likely become a larger question over the next few years. Landfills are piling up with plastic, oceans continue to get clogged with it, and the fossil fuels used to make it aren’t getting any cheaper. Some of the more novel ideas for recycling plastic are transforming it into railroad ties and building products (Axion International (AXIH.OB)) and feeding it to genetically modified organisms that will transform PET plastic into recyclable plastic (Ireland’s Bioplastech).

Like it does with its water technology and lithium-ion battery inventions, IBM will license the technology to manufacturing partners and collect a royalty. But it could find a home in-house: the material could play an instrumental role in a new, unannounced type of lithography, according to Jim Hedrick at IBM Research.

Meanwhile, in the more traditional computing world, Sentilla released a third version of Sentilla Energy Manager. The software builds a model of a data center, determines what the power consumption should be, and then monitors your power consumption to make sure you’re not consuming too much.

“Power is half of your operating expense so you should look at it as an asset,” said CEO Bob Davis.

One of the more interesting aspects of Sentilla is that it doesn’t employ sensors to get a read on data center power consumption. Sentilla’s software will take information directly from the meter whenever possible but will then provide a fairly precise estimate of the other equipment. The company gets within a few percentage points of actual power consumption, but lets data center managers avoid a massive upgrade headache. Imagine unplugging every server so you can put a sensor on it. One customer had 20,000 servers, said Davis.

Overall, Sentilla says that it can cut power consumption in data centers by 25 percent by detecting things like “rogue” servers (i.e., servers that are plugged in but not doing anything) and finding ways to virtualize more applications.

Someday, it may use its inference engine to analyze building power consumption.

The Department of Defense has also given $40 million in grants to Westinghouse (WAB) and General Atomics to study nuclear plants that can provide electricity and heat. That “smoke” you see coming out of nuclear reactors is actually steam. Around 16 percent of the greenhouse gases emitted in the U.S. come from facilities producing industrial steam. Nearly half of the electricity emitted in the U.S. also gets dissipated as waste heat.

Disclosure: No positions

If you have a home renovation or remodeling project that involves a change in the floor then you need to consider what type of flooring product is needed for the project. Some of the criteria for a new floor might be the look of the flooring, the cost and how heavily it will be used. A new option is to use recycled flooring products. These are products or materials that have been re-purposed from another industry to create flooring for the home. This article will cover some of these materials and some of the considerations when selecting a material. It will also touch on green flooring products as they have the same principle in mind as recycled flooring – to utilize resources that are recycled or sustainable and thus reducing the strain on natural resources.

There is a wide variety of recycled flooring products available these days. Materials include rubber, wood, metal and glass. This is particularly the case for tiling. Many tiling products are made from recycled glass taken from standard glass bottle recycling or for glass used in industry. Recycled metals can also be used to make original looking tiles. Glass tiles come in many colors and designs and can also give a distinctive look to a bathroom or kitchen.

Rubber floors are useful in industrial environments or maybe for the garage, utility room or shed. You can get flooring that is made from recycled tires. This flooring is durable and hardy. For more standard flooring products you can find many laminate floors that are made from recycled wood. This includes cork flooring that is an option for kitchen flooring. Flooring products made from bamboo are popular because of the sustainable nature of the bamboo plant. It is a fast growing plant that can be renewed in a short space of time.

Recycled flooring products are priced at a competitive price to non recycled materials. In some cases they are cheaper. This may be a consideration for you when considering a large renovation project. Or maybe you are just interested in the idea of reusing materials for environmental reasons.

It is important to establish a budget when doing a home renovation. The cost of the flooring material will have to be factored into the overall cost of the project. This will include other materials and appliances that you may be using and the cost of labor.

Another consideration with flooring products is the amount of traffic that the room is likely to get. If the room is the kitchen then you can safely say that it will get a lot on feet on it. If it is a bedroom then this will not be the case. If you have kids and pets then the floors may get more heavily used. This should be considered. Recycled wood products like bamboo are durable. Recycled tiling is also durable and will be able to handle heavy use. These types of flooring materials are easier to clean up and do not get stained or dented easily.

If you want to breathe new life into your home or are simply looking for a bit of inspiration then visit http://www.finehomeideas.com The site gives tips and advice for home renovation and interior design.

Plastic Sheeting is the result of plastic extrusion. This is formed by means of a high range manufacturing process – melting and deforming a raw plastic that results to permanent file of plastic sheets.

The ranges of plastic products are compatible for the construction and engineering substances. Display sheets, prints, and signs have diverted into plastic sheeting. Special designs in fabrication of plastic sheets are in extensive service globally. These plastic products have different kinds of classification from window frames to outdoor roofing applications.

Plastic sheeting is the best alternative for the more expensive steel.

There are many types of plastic sheeting. The Acrylic Plastic Sheet combines the most reliable quality for the visor or helmet. It has the most precise optical clearness. The intensity of the color of this product combines a good illumination in a wide range of opaque colors, transparent and translucent.

You can create a design depending on your project because acrylic is easy to shape. It is blended well with tough hardness and finish surface and is resilient to chemical and weather. It is easy to clean and maintain. It is largely utilized for aquariums or tanks at homes or commercial establishments. Acrylic plastic is also best for exterior lenses of automobile lights and appropriate watcher protector.

The Plastic Aluminum Composite Sheet catches the ultimate color of red, blue, green, yellow, metallic, black and white. This generous selection of colors grabs the eye of customers. These are lightweight, making it perfect for loading. It is also rust-proof and weather-proof. The material in aluminum plastic sheet is considered as first class thermal insulation. It has the best proven properties of light polythene core and varnish of baked aluminum polyester. It is ideal for all around indoor and outdoor purposes.

Plastic Aluminum Composite Sheet is recommended to use as panels for canopy and ceiling, display boards and billiards, stand for exhibitions and showrooms, copings for parapet walls, covers for column, wraps for beam, parts for furniture, elevators and stairways, panels for partition, and cladding canopy and balcony

The Polycarbonate Plastic Sheeting is the most natural among all plastic products. It comprises of clear and translucent quality and is heat resistant up to 145 degrees. It is unaffected by acids and water substances. These types of plastic sheeting are best for electronic application such as conduction of electrical properties.

The polycarbonate sheets are stabilized in advanced engineering practice to meet the reinforced shape, a great advantage for those who want to fabricate their own forms of design. Polycarbonate plastic sheeting substance has the best dimensional stability suitable for food exposure. It has the advantage of having superior resistance against heat and temperature and has massive mechanical potency. It also provides high endurance and strength compared to glass.

Polycarbonate plastic sheets are suitable for insulating electrical parts. It can be used also in components for medical and pharmaceutical apparatus, for glazing task, and tough materials for electrical engineers.

Polypropylene Plastic Sheets come in natural, beige, grey, black and white. It possesses superb resistance to solvents and degreasing substance as well as in the attack of electrolytic. The polypropylene Sheets are preferred for all applications exposed to cold state. It is lightweight, easy to form, bendable and welded.

These are used mainly in packaging purposes, cassette holder, pipes, tanks and linings, shells for seats and other automotive parts, containers and fibers.

The underground piping market in North America has seen tremendous growth over the last 30 years in the use of thermoplastic materials. Benefits such as corrosion resistance, improved hydraulics, and reduced installation costs have been paying large dividends for owners of watermain, sanitary and storm sewer systems.

The most widely used and accepted of this group of nonmetallic polymers is Polyvinyl Chloride, also known as ‘PVC’ or ‘vinyl’. Vinyl has a successful track-record in the application of underground pipe dating back to the rebuilding of post-WWI Germany. It has long been considered to be one of the most durable polymers for both underground and above-ground piping systems.

Another thermoplastic used in the underground pipe market is High-Density Polyethylene (HDPE). This material has been used for well pipe, gas piping and drainage tubing before recent entry into the watermain and sewage forcemain markets.

HDPE and PVC are remarkably similar in their nature of responses to such stress loadings as internal pressure and soil loads. Although responses are similar, they are not identical. In fact the magnitudes of their respective strengths are dramatically different.

This report is intended to investigate some of the similarities and differences between the design of PVC and HDPE in terms of the application of underground pressure piping.

PRESSURE RATING

The long-term pressure rating of a thermoplastic pipe is defined as the maximum internal pressure at which the pipe can operate continuously. The ratings of both PVC and HDPE are found using the ISO Equation for thermoplastics:

Equation (1) P = 2S / (DR-1)

where P = pressure rating of the pipe

S = design stress of pipe material

DR = dimension ratio of the pipe, (OD/t)

The main difference between PVC and HDPE pressure capacity lies in the value of the design stress. For PVC 1120 compounds, the design stress is 2000 psi while that of HDPE 3408 is only 800 psi. These design stresses were both derived in exactly the same fashion. A factor of safety of 2.0 was applied to the long-term hydrostatic strength (i.e. the Hydrostatic Design Basis – HDB) of each material. The HDB for PVC 1120 is 4000 psi while that of HDPE 3408 is 1600 psi.

The following examples illustrate the use of the ISO Equation to determine pressure ratings.

Example 1 – Find pressure ratings of DR21 pipe for both (a) PVC, and (b) HDPE.

Solution – use equation (1)

P = 2S / (DR-1)

(a) for PVC, S = 2000 psi

Substituting, P = (2) x (2000 psi) / (21 – 1)

= 200 psi

(b) for HDPE, S = 800 psi

Substituting, P = (2) x (800 psi) / (21 – 1)

= 80 psi

Example 2 – (a) Find the pressure rating of PVC DR41 and then (b) find the equivalent DR of HDPE to yield the same rating.

Solution – use equation (1)

(a) P = 2S / (DR-1)

= (2 x 2000 psi) / (41-1)

= 100 psi

(b) rearranging equation (1),

DR = (2S / P) + 1

= [(2 x 800 psi) / 100 psi] + 1

= 17

Therefore, to obtain a 100 psi pressure pipe, the 2 options would be PVC – DR41 or HDPE – DR17.

The following points can be concluded from the above information:

(a) The ratio of PVC to HDPE in terms of tensile strength is equal to the ratio of the design stresses, i.e. 2000:800 which is 2.5:1, and
(b) The wall thickness of HDPE must be 2.5 times thicker than that of PVC to obtain pipe with equal pressure ratings.

Below is a summary of long-term pressure ratings for both PVC and HDPE derived using the ISO Equation and a S.F. of 2.0.

Table 1 – Pressure Ratings
PVC HDPE
DR Rating (psi) DR Rating (psi)
51 80 21 80
41 100 17 100
32.5 125 13.5 128
25 165 11 160
21 200 9 200
18 235 7.3 254
14 305 6.3 300

Although CSA B137.3, AWWA C905 and ASTM D2241 all use a S.F. = 2.0, there is one PVC standard that uses a S.F. = 2.5, namely AWWA C900-97 (note – this standard will soon be changing to be similar to AWWA C905). As well in this C900 standard, the pipe is further de-rated by a 2 ft/s surge. (Designers should not confuse the ‘Pressure Class’ terminology of C900 with the long-term ratings of HDPE.) If one wishes to select a HDPE pipe that is equivalent to a particular PVC Pressure Class, the identical design criteria should be used to determine a Pressure Class of HDPE. In other words, the design stress must be derived using S.F. = 2.5, and the pipe must be de-rated with the surge of a 2 ft/s velocity. To determine equivalent pressure classes of HDPE and PVC, refer to Table 3 presented later in the text and use Equation (2) shown below.

Equation (2) P.C.= P’- 2 Ps

Where P.C. = pressure class of pipe

P’ = pressure rating of pipe using S.F. = 2.5

Ps = surge pressure for 1 fps velocity change

Note: Ps for PVC and HDPE are given in Table 3.

Example 3 – (a) Find the pressure class of DR25 PVC and (b) find the DR of HDPE to give the same pressure class.

Solution – First solve for new design stresses.

PVC: S = HDB / S.F.

= 4000 psi / (2.5)

= 1600 psi

HDPE: S = HDB / S.F.

= 1600 psi / (2.5)

= 640 psi

Now use equation (2) and the values of Table 3 to solve.

(a) PVC DR25

P.C. = [2S / (DR-1)] – 2 Ps

= [(2)(1600 psi) / (25-1)] – (2)(14.7 psi)

= 100 psi

(b) HDPE – trial and error using equation (2)

try DR11,

P.C. = (2) (640 psi) / (11-1) – (2)(13.4 psi)

= 100 psi

Below is a table of minimum DR’s of HDPE to be equivalent to the pressure classes of PVC as defined in AWWA C900.

Table 2 – Pressure Class DR’s

Pressure Class (psi) PVC-DR HDPE-DR

100 25 11

150 18 7.3

200 14 6.3

SURGES

Another tremendous benefit of using thermoplastic piping is that surges created are lower than those associated with more rigid materials such as metallic or concrete cylinder pipe. The inherent flexible nature of thermoplastics allows transient shock waves to be easily dampened and absorbed. This minimizes surge effects on the entire system.

Positive pressure surges in pipelines can be approximated by using the following two equations.

Equation (3) a = 4660 / [1 + (k/E)(DR-2)]^0.5

where,
a = wavespeed of surge wave (fps)
k = fluid bulk modulus (= 300 000 psi for water)
E = modulus of elasticity of pipeline material (psi)
DR = dimension ratio (= OD/t)

Equation (4) Ps = aV / (2.31) g

where,
Ps = pressure surge (psi)
a = wavespeed (fps)
V = velocity (fps)
g = acceleration due to gravity

= 32.2 ft/s^2

The Modulus of Elasticity of PVC 1120 at 73.4°F is 400 000 psi, while that for HDPE 3408 is 115 000 psi. The table below summarizes the surge pressures expected for every 1 ft/s instantaneous velocity change in both PVC and HDPE. For velocities other than 1 ft/s, the surge will be equal to the values in the table multiplied by the actual velocity in ft/s (i.e. if V = 3 ft/s, surge = 3 times the table value for the given material and DR).

Table 3 – One Ft/s Surges

PVC HDPE
(E=400 000 psi) (E=115 000 psi)

DR Ps (psi) DR Ps (psi)
51 10.8 21 8.8
41 11.4 17 9.9
32.5 12.8 13.5 11.3
25 14.7 11 12.7
21 16.0 9 14.3
18 17.4 7.3 16.3
14 19.8 6.3 17.9

Although HDPE is by nature a more flexible material than is PVC, the surges created in pipe of equivalent pressure ratings are very similar. For example, for a 100 psi pipeline, the surge created by a 1 ft/s velocity change would be 11.4 psi for DR41 PVC and 9.9 psi for DR17 HDPE.

Overall, the surges for both materials are well below the values of metallic pipe which typically generate surges of 50+ psi for every 1 ft/s instantaneous velocity change. Continuous pressure surges should not be ignored in any pressure pipeline design, regardless of material.

BUCKLING RESISTANCE

The ability of a soil surrounding a flexible pipe to strengthen the pipe is numerically known as the Soil Stiffness (E’). E’ numbers are derived empirically to represent the quality of soil and degree of compaction as a ‘psi’ value. E’ values are described in detail in standards ASTM D 2321 or CSA B182.11. A brief summary is presented below.

Table 4 – Soil Stiffness

Soil Stiffness E’ (psi) Material Compaction (S.P.D.)

3000 Manuf. Angular 90%

2000 Clean Sand/Gravel 90%

1000 Sand/Gravel/Fines 90%

500 Sand/Gravel/Fines 85%

Buckling may occur in any pipe if the total load in the inward direction (i.e. static soil + traffic + vacuum) exceeds the critical buckling resistance of the pipe. A thermoplastic pipe must be designed to have sufficient strength to resist inward structural collapse, or buckling. Tremendous strength can be added to any pipe’s resistance by having solid lateral soil support in the Haunch Zone of a buried pipe trench, i.e. a high soil stiffness.

Below is a summary of the critical buckling strengths of various DR’s of PVC and HDPE for (a) Pcr, an unsupported condition (i.e. subaqueous or above-ground) and (b) Pb, a buried trench condition with a specified soil stiffness, E’ (for this example, = 500 psi).

Table 5 – Buckling Strengths

PVC DR Pcr (psi) Pb (psi)

14 425.8 530.6

18 190.2 354.6

21 117.0 278.1

25 67.4 211.1

32.5 29.8 140.4

41 14.6 98.3

51 7.3 69.5

HDPE DR Pcr (psi) Pb (psi)

6.3 266.2 419.6

7.3 171.2 336.5

9 91.4 245.8

11 50.0 181.8

13.5 27.0 133.6

17 17.6 107.9

21 7.2 69.0

26 3.8 50.1

32.5 2.0 36.4

To investigate a typical situation, a pressure pipeline is buried 10 feet in soil with a density of 120 lb/ft^3 and subjected to a momentary negative 10 psi vacuum due to a transient shockwave. A total negative load of (-)18.3 psi would be created. As can be seen from the above table, this negative pressure would exceed some of the Pcr values of PVC (DR41 and 51) as well as HDPE (DR17, 21, 26 and 32.5). By having a minimum soil stiffness of 500 psi, the values of Pb for all DR’s of both materials will easily exceed the total negative load and buckling will not occur.

If any of these pipes happened to have significant voids in their backfill, it is conceivable that buckling failure could occur. It is imperative that lower pressure rated thermoplastic pipe be installed so as to have a minimum soil stiffness, E’, of 500 psi. Voids in the haunch support zone can be prevented by using proper bedding material and light compaction. This point is especially relevant if ever considering assembling thermoplastic pipe above the trench and rolling it in before backfilling. Buckling is a situation far less likely to occur if the pipe is installed using a conventional open trench with moderate compaction beside the pipe as the line installation progresses.

SUMMARY

To do a thorough comparison of PVC and HDPE, many other factors would have to be considered such as: material cost, installation cost, connection methods, and manufacturing test requirements. The designer should also ensure that each material has a successful track record for the application being considered.

This report has offered a snapshot comparison of the 2 thermoplastic materials used most often for pressure pipe in North America – PVC and HDPE. The capacity of each material was illustrated in terms of their pressure ratings, surge performance and buckling resistance to allow designer an equal comparison between PVC and HDPE.

Polyethylene thermoplastic made with the help of petroleum is known as High Density Polyethylene aka HDPE or PolyEthylene High-Density aka PEHD. If we talk in terms of raw materials to be used, about 2 kg of petroleum is used to produce one kg HDPE. The product is normally recycled with 2 being its recycling symbol.

HDPE is a bit branched substance that gives it a stronger intermolecular force. Also the tensile strength is greater than other polyethylene substances. It is hard and opaque and can easily withstand higher temperatures. However, HDPE cannot withstand autoclaving surroundings. Less branching is guaranteed by selecting right catalysts and the appropriate conditions for carrying the reactions. The product is rich in carbon and hydrogen.

Applications of HDPE plastic are many. This is mainly because of the fact that HDPE is solvent-resistant. It is used for manufacturing containers, bottles for laundry, jugs and jars. It also acts an active part in the manufacturing of fuel tanks, containers for keeping chemicals, pipes, and pipes for heat transfer, gas and water supply and distribution. HDPE is also applied to produce folding chairs and tables, sheds and plastic poly bags. The substance is highly used to produce heat-resistant mortars, cable insulators, rails, boxes, fences, hula hoops, and protector from corrosion to steel pipes.

Apart from numerous above mentioned applications, this substance is also used in the cell liners in sanitary landfills. In this area, large sheets of the substance are welded either extrusion or wedge type that helps to form a chemical-resistant barrier. This protects the product by the harmful pollution present in the soil as well as groundwater.

One of the prime and most common uses of HDPE is in the composites of the wood plastic and composite wood. This is done with the help of recycled polymers that makes it an eco-friendly process. This extremely marvelous substance also finds its use in the pyrotechnics trade world. The mortars produced by HDPE are preferred by many over steel pipes or even PVC tubes. This is because HDPE is a very durable substance and it is also very safe if compared to the other two. If any problem is encountered in the mortar, HDPE tears apart instead of shattering and scattering into infinite sharp pieces that are very harmful. This is also one of the reasons behind HDPE being so popular in so many fields.

Influenced by recycling proponents around United States, the Society of the Plastics Industry, Inc. introduced Resin identification coding system. It was in 1988 when this scheme of separating (or grouping) plastic resin types to make it easier for recyclers to sort them out and to have a more systematic waste management system, was introduced.

Guidelines in the Use of Recycling Number

The Society of the Plastics Industry in cooperation with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) agreed on the following guidelines in using the code:

This complies with the laws in 39 states wherein the code must be used on bottles and rigid containers. This is used to identify resin (a type of plastic) content only. The code, while it helps in waste management and recycling activities, must not be conspicuous so as to affect sales of a product.

The code must, in any way, never be altered. No additional markings such as “recyclable” may be placed near the symbol, nor should there be any claims of any products recyclability placed anywhere near it.

The ½” symbol, whenever it would fit, must be molded or permanently imprinted on all gallon containers from 8 ounce to 5 gallon capacity>

Placement of the symbol must be as close to the center of the container bottom

To help you recycle efficiently, below are the 6 different symbols that are helpful in creating your own household waste management and the description of plastic items that are good for recycling.

1 PET (or PETE) – Poly(ethylene terephthalate) PET is a clear, and tough resin that can contain gas and moisture. These are commonly used in bottles and other injection molded product containers. This resin is a good candidate for recycling as they come in great volumes in waste management systems, in the form of bottles for beverages, catsup, beer, jams, peanut butter, etc. Major industries recycle these for major uses such as textiles, carpet, films, ink cartridges and moldings.

2 HDPE – High-density Polyethylene – HDPE commonly found in may types of plastic bottles. Its high resistance to chemicals makes it the preferred material for packaging household and industrial material such as detergents, conditioner, shampoo, bleach, etc. Proper waste disposal, i.e., segregating, would have these items for recycling and become plastic shopping bags, wire and cable covering, re-usable shipping containers, etc.

3V Poly (vinyl cloride) – commonly known as PVC, these are categorized into two groups, namely, rigid and flexible materials. While used containers made from these are also highly sought for recycling, these have many industrial and household uses. .

4 LDPE – Low-density Polyethylene – commonly found in film application uses because of its toughness, it is relatively transparent and flexible.

5 PP – Polypropylene – this is good for containing very hot fluids as it has very good chemical resistance and is a strong material. A very good example would be Tupperware products (which have their own recycling system), diapers, bottle caps and closures, etc.

6 PS – Polystyrene – this is a very versatile plastic material that can either be rigid or foamed. Examples are coffee cups, bakery shells, Styrofoam insulation, etc. Polystyrene can also be combined with rubber to produce high impact polystyrene, which is good for uses that require toughness.

7 OTHER – this means that the package is made up of a resin type that is not included in any of the above-mentioned six, or it usually is a package that contains a combination of the previously mentioned codes.

This Article is written by James Kara Murat, the contributor of PrintCountry Printer Ink Related Articles Read more about the subject at What Does the Recycling Numbers Mean and related resources can be found at PrintCountry Recycling Program

Plastic welding is the ability to take two pieces of plastic and weld them together. This is a type of weld that will be done on children’s toys, lawn furniture, automobile parts and other types of plastic equipment that you may use everyday or commercially.

This type of welding is used to join thermoplastics when they are heated and under pressure. Generally the pieces are fused together with filler material, but some instances do not require filler material.

Plastic often has a shorter lifespan than most types of products because there are so many things that can go into how it is maintained. Elements from nature like cold weather, UV rays from the son or chemical contamination can create damage with plastic. Plastic can also receive damage if it is hit hard like in a car bumper or other hard surface, but the purchase of the new parts can be cost prohibitive; this is when it may be a good idea to repair it instead.

There are different types of plastic so it is important to know which one you are working with in order to make sure that the proper welding material is used. It is a good idea to understand the difference between thermoplastics and thermosets because thermosets cannot be welded.

The type of plastic that needs repair will require different welding rods and if you use the wrong rod for the plastic you need to repair, there will be no bond. Materials like Polyolefines have a lower surface energy so this means they cannot usually be repaired with an adhesive or other types of glue. There are a special group of polyolefine adhesives that can do this job.

When you are making repairs on plastic there are usually two types that you will come up against — you will either have to repair a crack or a broken part. If you find a crack, it means that there is some type of stress affecting the inside of the material you are using. This means that you will have to repair the crack and make sure it doesn’t continue through the piece.

There are several types of plastic welding. A few of them are:

Hot gas welding uses a welding gun that has electric heating elements within in it that produce a heat of hot gas.

Hot plate welding uses a hot plate between the two surfaces that are being joined. Ultrasonic welding uses a high frequency acoustic vibration to weld the pieces together. These are placed under high pressure and then exposed to the vibrations until the weld is completed.

Spin welding where friction is used to weld two cylindrical parts as these parts are rotated. At a certain time the rotation stops and the weld is completed.

Vibration welding takes to pieces of plastic and exposes them to a frequency called an amplitude. The two pieces are under pressure which causes a friction that generates heat.

All of these types of welding work on plastic and they are geared towards working with a variety of polymers.

The word plastic is derived from the Latin word plasticus which means “capable of being molded.” Indeed, plastics are moldable synthetic materials made up of a large organic molecule that can be formed into a variety of products. Depending on its purpose, plastics can be made as hard as stone or as pliable and elastic as rubber. Plastic can also be made to be as strong as steel, impact-resistant and heat-resistant. The processes involved in manufacturing the different kinds of plastic varies, and like metals, may be alloyed, or even combined with other materials. The other qualities that make plastics more distinct are being lightweight, waterproof and chemical resistant; they may also be produced in almost any color. More and more types of plastic are being studied and developed daily to further enhance the quintessential product that everybody benefits from.

Plastics also come in a variety of kinds, although all share the common characteristic of malleability or plasticity, they differ in properties, production costs, and the process of making them. Although plastics may be classified in many ways, they are commonly categorized based on the polymer element that is used as the basis in their production.

Common Plastics and How We Use Them

Inevitably, plastics have become a part of our lives. Life would certainly be very difficult without them. The countless kinds of plastics have found their way into industries and our homes and have gained permanency in both settings. The most commonly used plastics are: polyethylene, which has a wide range of uses and is very inexpensive; polypropylene used for the production of food containers and appliances; polystyrene (or Styrofoam) commonly used for disposable food containers; polyamide or nylon for toothbrush bristles and fishing lines; polyester for textiles. There are also special purpose plastics such as Teflon used in frying pans and water slides; polyurethane for insulation and upholstery foams; Bakelite insulation for electrical fixtures.

Despite all the advantages of using plastics, its threat on the environment has become increasingly intense since it degrades very slowly and when burned produces toxic fumes. Also, plastic production creates chemical pollutants which affect both the air and water and uses up the limited supply of fuel fossils. In order to alleviate the losses of the environment, it is always best to recycle plastics to either be used again to be re-processed into other products.

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