When I was a school child,the environmental buzzwords of the day were “reduce,reuse and recycle”. My 4th grade teacher insisted that our lunches be trash free,our apple cores went to compost and we recycled everything we could. Somewhere along the way I feel that design has become geared towards a society that wants to throw away.
But people still fight back. They don’t want to destroy the planet they live on. So they point fingers. One of the products that gets most vilified is plastic. Plastic can be durable to a point of taking hundreds of years to even degrade.
Plastic can be our ally. If we improve our product design,our manufacturing processes,if we utilize new technology to improve recycling,if utilize and improve bioplastics,if we reuse plastics,we can reduce some of their impact.
And plastics can help reduce waste in other areas where we are wasteful. They reduce the weight of cars,of food containers. They help reduce spoilage.
Plastics used in medical fields can save your life.
As for me,I’m a mechanical engineer with a plastics engineering graduate certificate. I hope to continue my studies in medical plastics and bioplastics. I’m a huge fan of plastics used in medical applications and in design for reduced environmental impact.
I use this blog as a way to keep myself engaged in the environmental aspects of plastics and to help educate people about the disadvantages and advantages about plastics. I’m sorry if sometimes my statements seem anti-environmental to the current trends. But I think environmental issues need to consider socio-economic impacts that may hinder progress. I do not claim to be an environmentalist,nor do I claim to be an expert. I am student of the environmental aspects of plastics.
I grew up in Canada and now live in rural Southern New Hampshire with my husband,two cats and a blond Standard poodle. I enjoy hiking,running and doing obedience with my dog.
