Which Plastics to Use and Avoid

Plastics are very important in day-to-day lives due to the numerous applications associated with them. Some of the common uses of plastics include packaging of items. Packaging industries must realize which plastics to use/avoid thus protecting the environment from harmful plastics. Generally, plastics are non-biodegradable hence they do not decay. For this reason, plastics fill the earth and cause water run off when they accumulate in soil. Because of this reason, packaging industries must use the appropriate plastic. The advantage of using plastic for packaging is because plastics offer a good barrier to many elements including oxygen and water.

Many governments, because of its pollution effects, ban thin plastic use. Thin polythene is not recycled after use; it thus ends up in the garbage heap thus polluting the environment. On the contrary, high-density plastics do not damage the environment due to recycling; this reduces pollution of the environment. Apart from conserving the environment, many employment opportunities crop up and sparing of raw materials thus boosting the economy. Another vital use plastic is in building and construction however, majority of construction work uses high-density plastic that is renewable. Polyvinyl chloride makes pipes as well as sliding sheets. Insulators, computer hardware as well as many handles are made of high-density plastics. These plastics never damage the environment because they are recycled. Apart from recycling, the plastics are multipurpose.

Industries use high-density plastics to manufacture of automobiles, trucks as well as airplanes seats and bumpers. Another use of plastics is in electric appliances and electric wire coatings. Due to inability of plastics to conduct heat or ectricity, they are widely used as insulators. Majority of these plastics are high-density plastics. Low-density plastics on the other hand lead to flooding. This is so because thin plastic fills the ground, thus no water percolation in the ground. Thin plastics harbor water that is breeding grounds for harmful insects like mosquitoes.

Thin plastics have some advantage because they are very cheap and they are produced fast. Plastics both high and low-density have general benefits to man and they include, flexbility. Tailoring plastics is easy thus attaining many different forms and shapes of products. Plastics have lightweight thus excellent for transporting purposes. This leads to reduced fuel consumption. When well kept, plastics are durable because they do not rust nor rust. Plastics are excellent building materials because they are resistant to water and chemical damage. Medical equipments and foodstuffs are packaged using plastics due to cleanliness of plastics. Plastics contain chemical compounds that are harmful to human body, thus, they are not ideal for food covering. An alternative plastic like bio-plastics solves this problem.

Scientists are researching on a new form of plastic called bio-plastic made from plant polymers. The advantage of this plastic is that microorganisms have the ability of degrading it. Bio-plastic are friendly to the environment thus it has no issues of filling the soil. Bio-plastics are also the ideal plastics because they have no harmful effects to the body due to chemicals present in the synthetic plastics. With these facts in place, an individual must decide which plastics to use/avoid depending on activity on hand.

Tagged as: Avoid, Plastics