Page 59 - Plastics News Issue December 2024
P. 59
IN THE NEWS
Plastics and Food Safety:
Advances in BPA-Free and Food-Grade Materials
ue and quality than the original item. When used
in the context of plastics, this means taking post-
consumer plastic waste that is destined for the
landfill or the environment and converting that
waste into something that is more valuable or
useable. While recycling tolerant tends to create
products of inferior quality for potential reuse,
upcycling is aimed at enhancing the value of the
plastic to create products of desirable usability
than those produced by conventional manufac-
turing processes.
Why is Plastic Upcycling Important?
Scalogram of the plastic waste produced in the
world can be described as impressive. It is es-
timated that 380 million metric tons of plastic
ischarge of plastics in the planet is one is manufactured every year in the world, and
of the greatest misconceptions of radi- much of it goes to litter. Despite recycling initia-
Dcal modernity. Yearly, millions of tons of tives, the overall rates of recycling remain rela-
plastic wastes end up in landfills and the water tively depressed especially with regard to bags
sources impacting animals and humans, and and bottles, caps and various packages requir-
their living environment. However, as the world ing single use. Conventional recycling results in
faces this mounting crisis, a promising solution downcycling or changes in the use-value of the
has emerged: plastic upcycling. While recycling material, hence plastics are used in the creation
includes the process of emulsion, shredding, and of lower value products like benches and carpet
reforming plastic waste products in new prod- fibers that find their way to the landfill or the fur-
ucts, upcycling involves converting wastes into nace.
valuable and higher products. This article will
focus on how new technologies are transform- In contrast, upcycling offers several environmen-
ing the method of upcycling plastics and turning tal and economic benefits:
waste into wealth. ♦ Reduction in Waste: Upcycling enables peo-
ple to reduce the amounts of plastics that
What is Plastic Upcycling?
end up chocking the landfills, rivers and seas.
Upcycling is known as the action by which waste ♦ Resource Conservation: With upcycling, one
is transformed in a product that has a higher val-
is able to prevent the cancellation of useful
December 2024 PLASTICS NEWS 59
