Chemistry+Applications+Essay+8

==== Everyday, more than sixty million plastic water bottles are being thrown away In the United States; this is enough to cause people to rethink their way of disposing their waste. An obvious alternative to throwing out these water bottles would be to recycle them. People all over the world are constantly advocating the recycling of all materials to rebuild a “green” planet. However, they are attempting to find an Eco-friendly way to recycle all these materials without much excess waste. There are certain materials that are simpler to recycle than others. ====

==== Basically, recycling plastics deals with the use of chemicals to break down all of the long polymer chains within plastics back into the original materials for all new plastic bottles and any other product. The process of breaking down these polymer chains with chemicals is named “organocatalysis”. However, before this process of organocatalysis can happen, the plastic materials must be separated into groups determined by their different properties. This stands to be a major recycling challenge to this day. In attempts to combat this problem, almost all manufacturing companies have developed a universal coding system; containing a stamped code which indicates the type of plastic that they are made of. This makes it easier to sort the different types of plastics in the recycling process. Typically, the symbol for the code is the recycling triangle with a number in the middle of it. Each number indicates the type of polymer of which it consists. The number one stands for Polyethylene terephthalate (PET or PETE), which is the easiest material to recycle. Number two stands for high-density polyethylene (HDPE). Number three stands for Polyvinyl chloride (V or PVC). Number four stands for low-density polyethylene (LDPE). Number five stands indicates polyproplylene (PP). Finally, the number six signals polystyrene (PS), which is the most difficult material to recycle. Generally, the lower the number, the easier it is to recycle. PET is one of the easiest plastics to recycle. Consumers immediately recognized the value of this product. In 1979, 8 million pounds of bottles containing PET were recycled. 11 years later in 1990, 225 million pounds of PET bottles were recycled; displaying an increased concern over wasting plastics and a growing interest in recycling these plastics. ====

==== The use of chemicals to break down the polypeptides within these plastics is the process of plastic recycling. This process is increasingly used throughout the world in order to improve our environment, and it is important to understand the chemical process so that researchers can find better ways to make recycling more efficient than it already is. Recycling makes a serious dent in Americans' waste output, and will continue to do so as it evolves. ====