Page 70 - Plastics News October 2018

tEChnoLogy

Plastics packaging helps cut waste generation says a study

study from City College of New York shows that even packaging professionals to estimate the weight and volume
A as the United States becomes more prosperous, savings, as well as the potential to reduce municipal solid
the amount of trash being created is rising at a lower waste.
level.A new study by the Earth Engineering Center at
City College of New York (EEC|CCNY) finds that plastics IIT scientists develop material
play a role in creating an environment where municipal
solid waste (MSW) generation rates decline, even when that can harvest water from fog
income and consumption rises. Historically, the amount
of MSW produced by a country he research team led by Dr Venkata Krishnan,
or region rises with the economy TAssociate Professor of Chemistry at the School of
or personal consumption Basic Sciences, IIT Mandi, studied the intricate structures
expenditures (PCE). In the mid- on plants which capture water from the air, and mimics
1990s, the rate of MSW generation them to build materials that can harvest water. ate
stopped tracking along with PCE Material That Can Harvest Potable Water From Fog! The
in the United States and began to IIT research team
slow. This phenomenon is known studied a specific
as decoupling, EEC says. In 2010, plant–the Dragon’s
the amount of waste produced in the U.S. declined despite lily head (Gladiolus
a rise in consumer spending. The study’s authors attribute dalenii)–for its
the decoupling to the increased use of plastic in packaging. unique surface
“We knew that the overall amount of plastics in the waste property. The
stream increased substantially over time due to increased surface patterns
consumer use. We extensively studied the potential for on the leaf were
energy recovery and have quantified the impact there,” evaluated on
says Marco Castaldi, director of the EEC|CCNY. “We were micrometre and nanometre scales, in relation to their
surprised to learn in this study just how much of an impact water harvesting properties, and the patterns were
plastics had on solid waste weight and volume reduction replicated on a polymer material. While studying
over the years." EEC|CCNY also looked at scenarios where the surface, the researchers found some interesting
observations like well-arranged conical spines with
other types of packaging was used in place of plastic sharp edges and gradient grooves which were arranged
packaging to understand plastics’ potential impact on the in order. They also found that the conical spines give a
total MSW generation in the U.S. On average, products larger surface area, hence more fog gets deposited, and
made with alternatives require 3.2 times more material the grooves were used to transport the water that was
than plastics. For packaging specifically, the combined once fog. Replicating this design on a polymer material
weight of alternative materials is about 4.5 times more using a lithographic technique, the researches could
than the weight of plastic packaging. "Plastics have an mimic the particular structural trait. With this, the team
important role to play in delivering sustainable outcomes," experimented to see how much fog could be harvested
says Keith Christman, managing director of plastics with the developed material.
markets for the American Chemistry Council (ACC), It was found that there was an increase of about 230
Washington. "By using less material, plastics help reduce per cent on the fog harvesting performance of the
greenhouse gas emissions and waste generation, as well as patterned samples, compared to an unpatterned control
save energy. And our industry is working to further realize sample. Speaking about how this method could be
plastics’ sustainability benefits through our commitment adopted nationwide, Krishna said “Collaborative efforts
to recycle or recover all plastic packaging by 2040." between scientists, industry and policymakers can enable
To accompany the study’s release, ACC has developed furthering of this technology to provide drinking water
a new interactive packaging substitution calculator for to some or all of the 12 per cent of the underprivileged
in the country.”

70
Plastics News October 2018ews October 2018 74
Plastics N