Look around the neighborhood or at school, and you may see many things that are made of plastic. Plastic is everywhere in our daily lives — from vibrant toys to handy water bottles! Have you ever paused to consider what plastic is made of? The building blocks of plastic, known as raw materials, have been called an essential part of something we use so much of when we buy plastic products.
Plastic is made from basic ingredients called raw materials. They originate from various sources, including oil, gas and vegetation. These items are not readily found, they are taken from their origin with care. This process is known as extraction. You can imagine extraction as digging for treasure. Once raw materials have been extracted, they must be converted into a usable form for the creation of plastic products.
A process known as cracking is one of the methods used to convert raw materials into plastic. This house-cleaning process involves breaking down large molecules into smaller ones. This is done by applying extreme heat and pressure to the food, similar to cooking it on the stove. The big molecules break apart into small parts, called monomers. Both are monomers, or small units that combine to create various types of plastics. These monomers are combined to form polymers, a bit like building blocks can be connected to create different shapes.
Let’s take a little closer look and examine some of the most common chemicals found in plastic. One really, really popular material is polyethylene. This material is produced from a monomer known as ethylene. Polyethylene is utilized in items we see on a daily basis such as plastic bags at the store and containers for food storage. It is useful because it is strong and lightweight.
Yet another key material is known as polypropylene. This is created from a different monomer known as propylene. Polypropylene is used to make drinking straws, plastic cups, and even some parts of cars. There are a great many other chemicals that can be used to create plastic, based on what the final product must be like. Some plastics are soft, and some are hard, and that all depends on the types of chemicals used.
To reach this goal, one of the steps companies should take is to use biodegradable materials. Biodegradable materials disintegrate over time. This means they do not harm the environment like some plastics — which can remain in landfills for hundreds of years. For instance, certain plastics have the potential to be derived from natural materials such as starch or cellulose, allowing them to break down and replenish the Earth.
Recycled materials are another important technique for producing eco-friendly plastics. A more radical way of recycling, this involves taking plastic products which people have already used and turning them into plastic products that they can use again. Recycling will also significantly reduce the amount of plastic flowing to the landfills and end up in the oceans. That is vital to keeping our planet clean and safe for wildlife.
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