Can Plastic Manufacturing Be Eco-Friendly?
Plastics have been getting a bad reputation over the last decade or so, and not without reason. Plastic containers, bottles, and bags fill our landfills and pollute our planet’s waterways. Plastic manufacturing uses a great deal of energy and resources and creates pollution as well. Many people are stepping away from using plastic products at all to protect the planet. But it’s hard to avoid plastic entirely, which is why many companies are looking for ways to make plastic and the plastic manufacturing process more eco-friendly. Keep reading to learn more about how plastic is changing and how significant industrial plastic users can take advantage of plastic recycling in Tennessee.
Plant-Based Bioplastic
One of the significant environmental issues with plastic is that it only does not break down. It can sit in a landfill for literally hundreds of years. In some cases, plastics can take up to a millennium to decompose completely. But with the new emphasis on environmentally-friendly products, researchers have begun to develop more biodegradable plastics that would allow consumers to continue using familiar products, but with bioplastic in place of traditional plastic materials.
Most bioplastics are made of plant materials. This allows them to break down quickly when they’re disposed of, with less chemical pollution for the environment. However, plant-based plastics require a great deal of land to grow the plants needed for bioplastic production. This presents some other environmental concerns; however, overall, plant-based plastics are a solution worth considering.
Other Biodegradable Plastics
Plants aren’t the only alternative method for producing plastic materials. More recent efforts have even discovered a way to turn landfill waste into biodegradable plastic. Using engineered E. coli, students from the Imperial College of London have found how to extract plastic materials from waste and turn it into usable plastic. Though this method isn’t yet viable in large-scale situations, it’s a step in the right direction to reduce existing landfill waste while producing more environmentally friendly plastics.
These biodegradable options provide an excellent alternative to traditional plastics. But let’s take a look at how even traditional plastic can be more eco-friendly.
More Efficient Plastic Recycling
Recycling is the best way to avoid having your plastics sitting in the dump for 1,000 years. But even recycling creates some pollution. One of the significant issues with recycling plastics is that they lose a lot of their quality and durability during the recycling process, so recycled plastics have limited uses. But a new company called Ambercycle, Inc. is working to change that by breaking down plastic waste into its chemical components and creating new plastic resin while maintaining a higher quality of the product.
At Seraphim Plastics, Inc., we work to make our recycling processes as efficient as possible while minimizing environmental impact. If you’re looking for a plastic recycler in Tennessee to take your industrial-grade plastics and break them down for repurposing, contact us. We’ll provide a quote for your plastic materials, pay you by the pound, and recycle your plastics to protect the environment from unnecessary plastic waste. Call us for a quote today!