Executive summary
The plastic industry is one of the leading economic industries which is still growing. A sustainable product must be social, economical, and environmentally sustainable. Plastic is making a creative contribution to sustainability. Recycling plastic bottles is one of the sustainable ways of keeping plastic waste out of landfills. According to the findings, plastic is responsible for the death of sea life, human health, and environmental pollution. With the current help of technology, the impacts can be reduced with advanced recycling. Recycling ensures the conservation of materials through recovery, thus cutting back on materials that get to plastic production.
This paper examines critical stakeholders involved and the economic, social, and environmental production impacts. Some negative side of production is revealed.
Introduction
Among the pressing environmental issues is caused plastic pollution. The advantage of jars and plastic bottles is that PET and HDPE are recycled, making the circular economy integral. Raw materials production saves energy compared to the point used in creating power, thus significantly lowering carbon emissions. Recycling plastic bottles is a small crucial step but the great significance to the Environment (Baldowska-Witos et al. 2019). Landfills in the Environment are a complex problem to handle with. Non-biodegradable manufacturing products remain for centuries in the landfill sites emitting harmful gases to the Environment. Recycling ensures limited resources are sustainably used. Recycling plastic bottles save a barrel of oil up to 16.4. Life cycle assessment is a technique used to assess aspects of the Environment associated with the product life cycle. The following life cycle of plastic bottle production is recycled plastics is discussed. This paper examines critical stakeholders involved and the economic, social, and environmental production impacts. Some negative side of production is revealed.
Project life cycle
In the production life cycle of plastic bottles, the first stage is the extraction of crude oil. Two different methods can be used, either drilling or mining. The extracted materials are, after that, shifted to the refinery. This is where building blocks of plastic are derived: propane from natural gas ethylene. Polyethylene and ethylene are chemically modified to resins through polymerization. Resins are the core ingredients for producing flexible and durable plastics (Horowitz et al., 2018). The product is then distributed to the consumer. The used plastic bottles are disposed of in the landfill site. It is the responsibility of the municipality to collect waste plastic bottles for recycling and reuse.
The following stages of plastic bottles production have been identified, and the central aspect of each step are:
Extraction of oil: oil used in molding plastic containers is drilled. Production of oils starts with extracting natural gas and oil from the Environment. It can be removed using gas pressure or a water system.
Manufacturing: chemical processes are employed to turn refined oil into plastic. It is after that shape to bottles. They are shipped to the bolting plant for packaging.
Transportation: manufactured bottles are packaged after disinfecting, ready for distribution. Formed bottles moved from the manufacturing company to where they are used to hold whatever they were made for. It goes through sterilization on arriving at the using company before filling with oil, soft drink, or drinking water.
Product use: the product is realistically used when utilized in holding what it was made for. The product is used in the market after it has been bought and the content is used.
Dumping and recycling: bottles are cut back to flakes, cleaned, washed, and sold to the companies used. In most cases, recycled plastic bottles end up in the clothing and carpeting industry.
Key stakeholders
In all product life cycles, stakeholders are always present, interested in producing a particular product. The identified vital stakeholder in the production of the plastic bottles are as follows:
- Government
- Plastic importing and packaging companies
- Plastic manufactures
- Municipality
- Private sector
Social impacts of plastic bottle production
The use of plastic bottles has delivered public benefit to society. They have facilitated clean water supplies for drinking and are used in medical facilities to facilitate medical devices such as drips and surgical equipment. Plastic bottles provide good packaging, thus reducing food wastage and prolonging the food life (Bello et al., 2017). Owing to the lightweight plastic, there is diminished transportation, and therefore, costs and emission of greenhouse gases are reduced, contributing to sustainability. Besides the positive impacts, plastic pollution on marine has a wide range of social effects. The social cost associated with plastic bottle production includes reducing the aesthetic value and recreation of the Marine Environment. There are threat impacts posed by plastic pollution, including toxic substances and plastic broken splinters. The poisonous substance has the potential of bioaccumulation with the food chain, which impacts the health of humans when they consume seafood.
Environmental Impact of plastic bottles production on Environment
Among the most wasteful products are the used plastic bottles. Plastic bottles require the expenditure of manufacturing energy and resources enormously. Disposing of used plastic bottles presents an asset to environmental problems. The durability of PET is among the significant issue. It is resistant to degradation, thus taking valuable space in landfills. There is a tendency for waste plastic to migrate to the ocean (Proshad et al., 2018). Every stage of plastic bottle production requires transport from one place to another; there is staggering burnt fuel when it travels, thus releasing greenhouse gases to the Environment, which are toxic. It causes air pollution and land pollution on the plastic waste disposed at landfill sites. Besides pollution, a lot of water required for recycling is three times the amount a bottle can hold.
How the Impact can be Reduce on the Environment.
Recycling is an essential process of turning waste into new resources. The durability of plastic bottles is one of the advantages of recycling. It ensures the conservation of materials through recovery, thus cutting back on materials that get to plastic production. It helps in reducing emissions associated with plastic production. Creating public awareness is another way of reducing impacts on the Environment. Organizations, governments, and individuals have chances of increasing efforts to educate on plastic bottles’ downsides.
Economic Impacts of Plastic Bottle Production
The plastic industry alone generates good-paying jobs to about 580,000, especially manufacturing, packaging, and recycling operations. PET bottles are the best option whenever public water supplies are destroyed. Plastic bottles are incredibly versatile, cost-effective, and light choice for packaging, widely used worldwide. However, the plastic material is notoriously difficult to break down, and when it does, it leads to micro-plastics which are increasingly hitting the hard on ecosystem.
Plastics that are mismanaged and discarded rather than recycling, incinerated in the landfills, are drained down the water system and river, and end up in the sea (Zhang et al. 2019). Accordingly, plastic pollution in the water system leads to a decrease in the aquaculture and fishing sectors’ revenue. Additionally, there’s a reduction in the tourism trade. Because of marine pollution, the aesthetic value of the Environment is lost, leading to economic loss as there is a decreased value of the real estate in the waterfront housing.
Key report discussions.
Plastic bottles production has significant environmental and social impacts. The production of plastic bottles has boosted the public’s health, especially in medical facilities and clean drinking water storage. However, besides the positive effects, plastic pollution on marine has a wide range of social and environmental impacts. The durability of PET is among the significant problem. It is resistant to degradation, thus taking valuable space in landfills. There is a tendency for waste plastic to migrate to the ocean. With the current help of technology, the impacts can be reduced with advanced recycling. Recycling ensures the conservation of materials through recovery, thus cutting back on materials that get to plastic production.
References
Baldowska-Witos, P., Kruszelnicka, W., Kasner, R., Rudnicki, J., Tomporowski, A., & Flizikowski, J. (2019). Impact of plastic bottle production on the natural Environment. Part 1. Application of the ReCiPe 2016 assessment method to identify environmental problems. Przemysl Chemiczny, 98(10), 1662-1667.
Bello, B. S., Shuangqin, L., & Dalibi, S. G. (2017). Social impacts of packaged and bottled water businesses in Nigeria. Int. J. Econ. Commer. Manag, 5(6), 591-603.
Horowitz, N., Frago, J., & Mu, D. (2018). Life cycle assessment of bottled water: A case study of Green2O products. Waste Management, 76, 734-743.
Proshad, R., Kormoker, T., Islam, M. S., Haque, M. A., Rahman, M. M., & Mithu, M. M. R. (2018). Toxic effects of plastic on human health and Environment: A consequences of health risk assessment in Bangladesh. International Journal of Health, 6(1), 1-5.
Zhang, R., Ma, X., Shen, X., Zhai, Y., Zhang, T., Ji, C., & Hong, J. (2020). PET bottles recycling in China: An LCA coupled with LCC case study of blanket production made of waste PET bottles. Journal of environmental management, 260, 110062.