Waste Plastic Management – A Step Towards Circular Economy

Abstract

Plastic, the most utilized synthesized organic material, is the product of spectacular developments in the area of polymer science and technology. The penetration and acceptance of plastics into social network has revolutionized the universe with its widespread usage to the extent that it is now difficult to imagine a life without plastics in our day-to-day life. Positive aspects of plastics have also created a negative impact in our life because plastics do not degrade and reutilizing waste plastics is a major problem. Waste plastic is mainly composed of low-density polyethylene plastic bags and other plastic scrap. Five hundred trillion bags are consumed every year in the whole world and this is just being thrown away without any proper disposal. This is the main cause of plastic pollution. Incineration of the waste plastic bags causes environmental pollution. 3 kilograms of carbon dioxide is released if 1 kilogram of plastic is burnt and that attributes to global warming. Disposal of plastic waste to dumping sites may take approximately 500 years to completely degrade. The aim of this research work is to utilize waste plastic scrap for fabricating interlock paver tiles or partition tiles which can be used as an alternative to conventional tiles. Various issues concerning plastics, like mechanical strength, flame retardancy, water permeability, UV- protection from sunlight, acid, and alkali resistance, and antistatic response have been analyzed for the purpose of the research.