Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
in future not only because of these resource limitations but also because of
sustainability considerations.
4.2 PLASTIC PRODUCTION, USE, AND DISPOSAL
Plastics industry is the third largest manufacturing industry in the United
States. While infrastructure, organization, and management styles in the
industry can be different worldwide, the basic steps involved in production
are the same. These steps can be thought of in terms of three phases in the
life cycle of plastic products: production, use, and disposal. This last phase
is an equally important aspect of the industry. Concerns on the growing
fraction of plastics in the municipal solid waste (MSW) stream and in urban
litter has recently promoted the notion that the manufacturer's
environmental responsibility and stewardship does not end at the gate (or
when the product is delivered to the consumer). An integral part of the
design process is therefore to ensure that viable waste management routes
exist for post-consumer disposal of the product as well. Educating the
consumer as to what these options might be is also increasingly expected
of the manufacturer. Volunteer guidelines adopted by industry members,
the publicization of the issue by watchdog groups, and moves to regulate
concern on plastic waste management.
Figure 4.4
shows the activities that fall into each of the three phases in
the life cycle. Sustainability considerations suggest that industry pay equal
attention to all three and streamline their operations to be consistent with
identified environmental goals to ensure that it survives robust and
profitable in the future. The plastics industry has the obligation to make
their entire operation environmentally benign and sustainable in the long
run. The broad sustainable development guidelines within each phase can
be derived using the sustainability discussion developed in
Chapter 2
and
might be summarized as follows:
Sustainability considerations in the production phase
1. Minimize the use of energy, especially fossil fuel-based energy, in
manufacturing resins, fabrication of products, transportation, and
disposal of plastics waste.
