Can you imagine a world without plastic?
ΔPET plastic bottle recycling and sorting
Human beings' basic necessities of life have long been firmly bound to plastics and are inseparable. The fabrics of the clothes we wear contain plastic fibers, the snack packaging bags we buy are made of plastic, and the bus and subway cards necessary for travel are also made of plastic. Ordinary refrigerators at home are made of five different types of plastics.
Δ"The Poems of Bob Dylan" disguised as a potato chip bag
When plastic was born, it was a high-profile star in the chemical industry. It was cheap, versatile, and easy to use... We must admit that with plastic, people's lives are more convenient and better.
However, in the 21st century, the treatment of plastics has been turned upside down. First, was rated as the worst invention of the 20th century by the Guardian . It was the source of all evil that destroyed the environment. Then, various countries successively issued bans on plastics. , plastic seemed to become a notorious white killer overnight.
Δ Artist photographs marine garbage into works of art
So, how did plastic fall out of favor step by step? Now follow Future Jun to explore the past and present life of plastic!
Who invented plastic?
Do you know? Plastic was originally designed to reduce the hunting of rare animals.
html In the early 114th century, billiards became popular among European aristocrats. The first billiard balls were made of warm and delicate ivory. One ivory could only make about 5 billiard balls, and the price was very expensive.
Δ Billiards was a popular sport among European aristocrats
By the late 19th century, billiards had ceased to be a pastime for the aristocracy. It has become a popular entertainment, but because the cost of obtaining ivory is too high, over-hunting has led to a sharp decline in the number of African elephants. In order to reduce production costs, a billiards company issued an announcement: Whoever can invent a material that replaces ivory will receive a reward of ten thousand dollars.
American John Hyatt (John Hyatt) took up this challenge. Hyatt was a printer and amateur chemist. He spent 5 years improving on the basis of previous experiments. invented celluloid , which is the world's first industrial synthetic plastic.
ΔBilliard balls made of celluloid
Subsequently, based on Hyatt's invention, more and more plastic products were created, and the chemist Leo Baekeland (Leo Baekeland) Baekeland investigated an insulating material that could replace shellac and developed Bakelite, a fully synthetic plastic that could withstand extremely high temperatures without melting. This cheap, lightweight material was quickly used in combat readiness, furniture, automobiles and other fields. Since then, plastic has become ubiquitous in our lives.
Δ Chemist Leo Baekeland
Why recycle plastic?
Although the original intention of plastics was to protect the environment and reduce the hunting of rare animals by humans, the impact of plastic products on the ecological environment has run counter to the original goal.
Since 1950, the world has produced more than 8.3 billion tons of plastic, 70% of which has been discarded and remains in nature.
Plastics discarded in nature take tens to hundreds of years to degrade naturally. Among them, PE and PP plastics take 600 years to be completely degraded. These plastics will occupy land for a long time in the future, affecting crops and livestock, and at the same time causing serious white pollution.
ΔThe time it takes for disposable plastic products to degrade naturally
Plastics not only harm our land, a large amount of plastic waste is also flowing into the ocean, according to statistics , about 3% (about 11 million tons in 2019) of plastic garbage enters the ocean every year. There are currently about 14 million tons of microplastics on the entire seabed, which seriously affects the safety and health of marine life.
ΔPlastic in the ocean
Plastic waste will also produce a large amount of toxic gases after burning, causing serious air pollution. Especially in the context of the current global push for carbon neutrality and , the large-scale production of new plastic materials will also produce high carbon emissions and pollute the environment. Behind the high pollution and high emissions of plastics is a huge environmental threat to mankind.
The problem of plastic pollution has become the second largest environmental focus issue in the world after climate change . It is urgent to solve plastic pollution. What kind of answer will mankind hand over this time?
How to recycle plastic?
The first step to solve plastic pollution is to recycle plastic products first.
Δ Workers process and sort recyclable plastics at a resource recycling center
According to statistics, the global plastic recycling rate in 2019 was around 9%, China recycled 18.9 million tons, with an apparent recycling rate of 30% ; The EU recycled 9.46 million tons, with a recycling rate of 32.51%; the United States recycled 2.8 million tons, with a recycling rate of 8.65%; Japan recycled 1.857 million tons, with a recycling rate of 21.84%.
Recycled plastics do not mean that they can be processed completely at one time, because there are too many types of plastics, with seven major categories, and the chemical structures of each category are different. This also means that solutions for each type of plastic need to be "made according to the material" .
Δ Different types of plastic
For example, The plastic paper of the plastic bottle body is PVC material , which will decompose at 180°C, and bottle body PET material needs a high temperature of 265°C to reshape. If the two materials are burned together, PVC will produce HCl (hydrogen chloride) alkaline substances . These substances have a corrosive effect and will not only corrode the garbage incinerator , but may also produce gaseous carcinogens such as dioxins, making the relatively environmentally friendly PET material lose its use value.
Δ Different plastic types of plastic bottles
Therefore, the recycled plastics must be sorted and classified at the recycling center, and then targeted for different plastic materials.
How to deal with plastic?
Currently, plastic solid waste in the world is mainly processed in the following three ways: landfill, incineration, and recycling .
Among them, recycling and reuse are now the main focus of scientists because they are more environmentally friendly. At present, the main material recycling methods used in China include composite regeneration, synthesis of new materials, construction applications, preparation of chemical raw material monomers, production of artificial sand, etc.
ΔPlastic flakes in recycling
Composite recycling refers to the reshaping of discarded plastic products into plastic products after a series of complex treatments.Take plastic bottles as an example. collect → crush → clean → dehydrate → melt at high temperature → cut into cylindrical PET particles → make new plastic products . This series of operations gives plastic a new life and avoids the danger of being abandoned in the natural environment for a long time without being degraded.
ΔThe processing process of plastic bottles
In terms of synthesizing new materials, it puts forward higher requirements for technology, After 10 years of hard work Hungarian scientists finally developed a new technology on how to convert chemical plastic waste into industrial raw materials and reuse it; Guangzhou Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences Under the national "Eighth Five-Year Plan" research project has overcome the method of using polystyrene in waste plastics and chemically modifying it to make high-efficiency water-reducing agent, pumping agent and waterproofing agent for concrete...
Δplastic concrete
Scientists have been investing in the field of plastic recycling one after another, just to find the best solution to plastic pollution.The road of plastic recycling is destined to be difficult, but no matter how difficult it is, we must continue.
"Plastic pollution is a common challenge facing mankind, and no country can be immune to it." Wang Yonggang, secretary-general of the Recycled Plastics Branch of the China Material Recycling Association, said.
Δ by Mexican artist Jorge Gamboa co-created the cover of the June issue of National Geographic
Faced with the rapidly worsening plastic pollution problem, we need to establish a sense of a community with a shared future for mankind. Only by improving our environmental awareness, not littering plastic waste, handing over recyclable plastic waste to specialized recyclers, and promoting the recycling of plastic waste, passing on the concept of green consumption , can we create a more "pure" world.
Lenovo’s environmental answer sheet
As early as 2019, Lenovo launched research on the recycling and reuse of trend sea plastics, and launched the first batch of laptops and packaging containing trend sea plastics in November 2021. Nowadays, when friends open Lenovo's packaging, they can see this little dolphin logo. Its appearance means that it is an OBP-LDPE packaging made of ocean recycled plastic.
Δ Lenovo’s LDPE packaging
OBP- LDPE packaging is the world’s first green packaging material based on ocean recycled plastic (OBP) jointly developed by Lenovo and its partners. uses innovative material modification technology, formula and foaming process to achieve a high proportion of 30% OBP addition, and applies OBP to packaging materials for the first time in the industry, keeping the basic properties of the material the same as ordinary materials, achieving environmental protection while ensuring product quality.
ΔOBP Ocean Plastic Certification
Don’t look at this thin layer of packaging film . It must also undergo strict testing before leaving the factory, including appearance color, mechanical properties, and environmental substances. To ensure that no new pollution is created during the entire production process, attention should be paid to the control of toxic and harmful ingredients in raw fillers and additives, which must comply with the EU's REACH regulations and RoHS directives . At the same time, the packaging must be secure. The manufacturing process is not small. Lenovo not only conquered this technology, even obtained a patent .
Δ Lenovo’s patented technology
Currently, Lenovo’s annual consumption of OBP materials is approximately 60 tons , which means that Lenovo recycles 4 million supermarket shopping bags from the ocean every year and reduces the carbon emissions of 80 tons of packaging materials.The little dolphin on the
packaging is a testimony that you and Lenovo are working together to protect the ocean and build sustainable development.
Δ Lenovo’s OBP material logo
