ENGINEERING CHEMISTRY

PLASTIC WASTE MANAGEMENT

BY-ARITRO SINHA(ROLL NO-19BCM0007),RISHABH MEHTA(ROLL NO-19BCM0067)

INTRODUCTION-

Over the years, science has graced us humans with so many precious inventions. On one hand, some of these
treasured gifts have made our life easier but on the other hand, they have harmed us and the very planet we
inhabit and thrive on. Plastic is an ideal example of the aforementioned. Enforced with waterproofing
capibilities and an unusually long life, Plastics have emerged as one of the most potent evils of modern age. Due
to it's structure, it is virtually non decomposable and is the main reason for increased soil, water and air
pollution in the last decade. This document aims to shed light on the direct effects of plastic wastes and to
remedy the damages caused by it. It also aims to yeild the production of non decomposable plastic and suitably
find ideal alternative uses for it.

A GENERAL CASE STUDY-

Mumbai, the financial capital of the fastest growing economy of the world houses 20 million people producing
2000 million litres of sewage daily. This consists of fecal matter, toxic chemical and plastic wastes. To fend off
this abomination, the BMC appoints 30,000 sewage workers at minimal pay grades. That's 66,000 litres of
sewage per worker. But how is it that a developing country like India still appoints human sewage workers to
address the issue?

The Supreme Court of India drafted two Acts(1993 and 2013) overseeing manual scavenging thereby
mechanising the process and rehabilitating it workers. But till this day, manual scavenging is prevalent in the
slums of Mumbai.

Bezwada Wilson : Founder of Safai Karamchari Andolan is a prominent voice in this issue. He raised awareness
about these manual scavengers. Supreme Court declares entering sewage drains as illegal and provides a set of
precautionary measures in case of an emergency. Yet, this practice continues stating it as an "emergency
situation". Mr. Wilson sheds light on the fact that most of these personnel working as scavengers are of "lower
caste" and humble backgrounds. But is the caste angle that big? Yes. According to Mr. Wilson a lot of Indians
are poor and uneducated but not everyone does these jobs. It is evident that they do this out of societal pressure
and guilt. Most of these workers don't survive over the age of 50. But they hardly show any resentment as at that
age they consider themselves as a burden on their family.

Mumbai has storm drains that empty these sewage into the ocean. These drains have manholes where workers
are supposed to enter to declog them. These holes are filled with highly toxic fumes, enough to kill a man. Over
1200 workers are killed in last 2 years. None of their families received any form of compensation. The deaths of
these workers are a direct result of the inaction of the government. Yet, this process is still not mechanised.

These drains contain high levels of methane, hydrogen sulphide, carbon monoxide and ammonia. These reduces
oxygen levels instantly and causes hypoxia that results in an excruciating death in the matter of minutes. On top
of this, the BMC doesn't provide adequate safety gear for the cause. They provide Canister masks which are
little to no help in oxygen deficiency. All this calls for modernization of the process, awareness about the issue
and taking immediate action for regulation and eventual nullification of the practice of manual scavenging.

But most importantly, prevention is always better than cure. Thus, we need to check the use of plastic and
chemical sewage and discover new ways to reuse them.
MODERN PLASTIC WASTE MANAGEMENT TECHNIQUES-

1. Landfilling

To be frank, all plastics can be disposed in landfills. However, landfilling is considered highly wasteful as it

requires a vast amount of space and the chemical constituents and energy contained in plastic is lost

(wasted) in this disposal route. In 2008, 29.2 million tons of plastic was disposed in landfills in the United

States. In countries where landfills are poorly managed, plastic wastes can be easily blown into waterways

or carried out to sea by flood water. In addition, when plastics decompose in landfills, they may leak

pollutants (phthalates and bisphenol A) into the soil and surrounding environment.

2. Recycling

Many plastics can be recycled. and the materials recovered can be given a second-life. However, this

method is not fully utilized, due to difficulties with the collection and sorting of plastic waste. Many

developing (and even some developed countries) have poor waste management facilities which often result

in plastics (and other waste) being recklessly disposed into rivers and waterbodies. Even though recycling is

the most effective way to deal with plastic waste, its effectiveness is highly depended on public awareness,

economic viability, and the implementation of public infrastructures to make recycling more efficient

(recycling bins, specialized waste collecting trucks).

3. Biodegradable Plastics

Biodegradable plastics are plastics that decompose by the action of living organisms. Biodegradable plastics

have the potential to solve a number of waste-management issues, especially for disposable packaging that

cannot be easily separated from organic waste. However, biodegradable plastics are not without

controversy. Even though biodegradable plastics can be completely metabolize by organisms into carbon

dioxide and water, there are allegations that Oxo-Biodegradable plastics may release metals into the

environment.
OUR IDEA OF PLASTIC WASTE MANAGEMNT

Reuse of plastic waste for lightweight concrete

Utilization of thermosetting plastic as an admixture in the mix proportion of lightweight concrete. Since this
type of plastic cannot be melted in the recycling process, its waste is expected to be more valuable by using as
an admixture for the production of non-structural lightweight concrete. The mix design in this research is the
proportion of plastic, sand, water–cement ratio, aluminum powder, and lignite fly ash. The experimental results
show that the plastic not only leads to a low dry density concrete, but also a low strength. It was found that the
ratio of cement, sand, fly ash, and plastic equal to 1.0:0.8:0.3:0.9 is an appropriate mix proportion. The results of
compressive strength and dry density are 4.14 N/mm2 and 1395 kg/m3, respectively. This type of concrete meets
most of the requirements for non-load-bearing lightweight concrete according to ASTM C129 Type II standar

The most important need of the hour is to find a way to properly decompose the plastics in use ,so what we
suggest is converting the plastic into lightweight concrete which is generally used in the skyscrapers or building
to build a wall in between without adding additional weight to the building and this can be removed as when
required. And this method successfully meets the requirement stated by the governing body. This process also
meets the additional requirement of having low cost and hence can prove to be helpful in the coming years.

Now looking at the real estate market it has been predicted that the market is in for a rise in growth with the
various governments of the world aiming to reach certain goals and launching new initiatives to revamp
residential and commercial estates. The market is in in for a rise and hence this particular management
technique for plastics could help us in the future to make the world a better place to live in.

CONCLUSION-

The reason for going for this particular method is simple , it is environment friendly ,can reuse most of the
plastic and most importantly it is cost effective which is why it could prove to be a lucrative way in the near
future with the huge expansion in store due to the continuous increase in human population on this planet. There
were other methods such as depolymerization of plastic using ionic liquid but the major problem is that the
liquid cannot be used again and again hence permitting a maximum use only five rounds of recycling apart from
the other various problems .

BIBLOGRAPHY/REFERENCE-

1. http://blog.nus.edu.sg/plasticworld/2016/09/06/x-methods-of-plastic-waste-disposal-and-
possible-complications/
2. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0956053X07002644
3. https://pubs.acs.org/doi/full/10.1021/ol070886c
4. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y7DfnI0nDUo&feature=youtu.be
5. Hole to Hell - Dr Ashish Mittal