By Miriam Wilcox-Barsalou,on August 22nd,2010%  Recently the bioplastics that is most often seen in the press is Poly(lactic) acid,or PLA. It is best known for being made of non-petroleum materials,biodegradable and causing issues with existing waste disposal infrastructure. It is also being used in several bioresorbable medical implants. In fact a lot of people seem to associate bioplastics with a material that degrades in a reasonable period of time either through biodegradation,oxy-degradation or composting. However a bioplastic recently being noticed does not degrade. They are essentially traditional plastics made of renewable feedstock. These plastics are 100% recyclable in mainstream recycling their . . . →Read More:Plastics from Renewable Feedstocks By Miriam Wilcox-Barsalou,on August 19th,2010%  I originally posted this blog post on Greenwala on August 10,2010. When I find myself watching TV I’m amazed by how many disposables are flooding the airwaves. I understand why companies need to market disposable products. By selling inexpensive single use products,they can be guaranteed an income from customers buying the required refills. -Source:Hidden Peanuts To maintain their customer base,companies use germ phobia to encourage people to buy their products. For example,the swiffer wet mop talks about how the mop head harbors bacteria and how washing your floor with it . . . →Read More:Germ Phobia Versus the Environment By Miriam Wilcox-Barsalou,on August 17th,2010% This is the third post in a series to explain the plastics represented by recycling symbols. The first was for #1 – PET. Last week we covered #2 –HDPE. This post focuses on the other commonly recycled polyethylene,LDPE. Recycling Symbol #4 – LDPE source:4 –by mag3737 Full Name:Low Density Polyethylene Type:Semi-crystalline branched thermoplastic History:Polyethylene accidentally synthesized in 1898,first industrially prepared in 1933 Family:Polyethylene The biggest difference between HDPE and LDPE is that LDPE is generally more flexible and transparent than LDPE. Despite newly released plastics LDPE . . . →Read More:Recycling Symbol #4 –LDPE By Miriam Wilcox-Barsalou,on August 16th,2010% I originally posted this post on Greenwala on August 1st,2010. By now you should have heard of the 3 Rs,Reduce,Reuse and Recycle. If you have not,you either live under a rock or I hope your community generates only organic waste. It is a simple concept,school children can grasp it. It is easy to apply in every day life. But it seems that our society enjoys having things new and shiny. Unfortunately recycling almost allows us to feel absolved of our disposable ways. In our cycle of environmental responsibility . . . →Read More:An Order of Operations –Reduce,Reuse,Recycle By Miriam Wilcox-Barsalou,on August 10th,2010% This is the second post in a series to explain the plastics represented by recycling symbols. The first was for #1 –PET. This post focuses on the other very common container plastic,HDPE. Recycling Symbol #2 – HDPE Full Name:High Density Polyethylene Other abbreviations:PEHD (polyethylene high density) Type:Semi-crystalline branched thermoplastic History:Polyethylene accidentally synthesized in 1898,first industrially prepared in 1933 Family:Polyethylene The polyethylene family has many important members and is used in many useful and important applications. The two best known are common packaging products in HDPE and LDPE. But . . . →Read More:Recycling Symbol #2 – HDPE By Miriam Wilcox-Barsalou,on August 6th,2010% Although my blog may be somewhat pro-plastics,I’m not a fan of plastics entering the waste-stream. I do consider a certain amount of recyclables to be waste,especially if reduction and reuse are possible. There are several blogs about attempting to eliminate plastics from their lifestyle. But there are so many ways of reducing our waste without making huge lifestyle sacrifices. 1. Bring your own mug to the coffee shop. Many coffee shops now have huge selections of reusable mugs for sale at a reasonable price. Some even allow you to customize the appearance of your mug by . . . →Read More:10 Simple Ways to Reduce Plastic Waste By Miriam Wilcox-Barsalou,on August 4th,2010%  Turn inexpensive toothbrush into bracelets This project uses a plastics softening temperature to bend the toothbrush plastic into a circular bracelet shape. Visit Kaboose for instructions. Soda Bottle Piggy Bank A quick and easy project. Decorate a soda bottle,give it supports and put a slot for coins on top. This example came from MarthaSteward.com. Make a Terrarium Teach your kids about the plant cycle and reuse a plastic bottle to to it. TLC Family has some instructions. . . . →Read More:Plastic Reuse For Kids Crafts By Miriam Wilcox-Barsalou,on July 27th,2010% This is the first of a series to introduce some of the household plastics with recycling symbols on them. We start with a plastic that has been featured a lot recently both in the Plastiki article and in issues relating to plastic water bottles. Recycling Symbol #1 –PET -Water bottlefaungg Full Name:Polyethylene Terephthalate Other abbreviations:PETE,PETP (obsolete) Type:Amorphous or Semicrystalline Thermopolymer (depending on processing) Patented:1941 Family:Polyester (linear) Plastics have common abbreviations. Can you imagine asking “can this polyethylene terephthalate container go in the recycling bin?”. Never mind . . . →Read More:Recycling Symbol #1 –PET By Miriam Wilcox-Barsalou,on April 13th,2010% People will often approach a plastics engineer with a very simple question:“What is this made of?”. The plastics engineer will furrow his or her brow. He or she will fondle the object,sniff it,scratch at it and maybe even lick it. With a satisfied look on their face the plastics engineer will proudly exclaim:“I’m pretty sure it’s made of plastic”. Of course the questioner then elaborates that they need to know what kind of plastic makes up the object’s composition. Which is a much more complex question. The plastics engineer will probably be . . . →Read More:What do the Recycling Numbers Mean? | CreditsBlog design elements by Kate HadfieldUsed as non-profit generating blog TOU |
