CONCEPT – UNEP ON PLASTIC WASTE

Excellent study material for all civil services aspirants - begin learning - Kar ke dikhayenge!

 CONCEPT – UNEP ON PLASTIC WASTE

---

Read more on - Polity | Economy | Schemes | S&T | Environment

---

• What is a “Plastic”? It is a lightweight, hygienic and resistant material which can be moulded in a variety of ways and utilized in a wide range of applications. The two main types are Thermoplastics and Thermosets.
• Properties of Plastics: Unlike metals, plastics do not rust or corrode. Most plastics do not biodegrade, but instead photodegrade, meaning that they slowly break down into small fragments known as microplastics.
• Beaches and oceans: The fragmentation of large plastic items into microplastics is common on land such as beaches because of high UV irradiation and abrasion by waves, while the degradation process is much slower in the ocean due to cooler temperatures and reduced UV exposure.
• Single-use plastics: Often also referred to as disposable plastics, these are commonly used for plastic packaging and include items intended to be used only once before they are thrown away or recycled. These include, among other items, grocery bags, food packaging, bottles, straws, containers, cups and cutlery.
• Main polymers used: To manufacture single use plastic items we use LDPE, PS, EPS, PP, PET, and HDPE. LDPE – Low-density Polyethylene, PS – Polystyrene, EPS – Expanded Polystyrene, PP – Polypropylene, PET – Polyethylene Terephthylate, HDPE – High-Density Polyethylene
• Since the 1950s: The growth in the production of plastic has largely outpaced that of any other material, with a global shift from the production of durable plastics to single-use plastics (including packaging).
• Global consumption of plastic: It can be estimated by observing the amount of plastic waste produced. Plastic packaging is mostly single-use, especially in business-to-consumer applications, and a majority of it is discarded the same year it is produced.
• UNEP war on plastic waste: The UN Environment Programme launched in 2017 an unprecedented global campaign to eliminate major sources of marine litter: microplastics in cosmetics and the excessive, wasteful usage of single-use plastic by the year 2022.

Read more on - Polity | Economy | Schemes | S&T | Environment

---

---

---

---

---

---

---

---

---

---

Join UPSC Self Prep course | Online Course (PT Gurukul)  | Covid Special Course | Join PT courses

* Content sourced from free internet sources (publications, PIB site, international sites, etc.). Take your own subscriptions. Copyrights acknowledged.