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From page 253... ... 253 Appendix F The Use of Plastic Scrap in Transportation Applications in the United States Jenna Jambeck University of Georgia With contribution from: Jenny Liu Missouri University of Science and Technology PLASTIC PRODUCTION AND USE Global plastics production in 2017 was estimated at 438 million metric tons (MMT) (348 MMT of polymer resins, 62 MMT of polymer fibers, and 27 MMT of additives) Read the entire page →
From page 254... ... 254 RECYCLED PLASTICS IN INFRASTRUCTURE Plastics are extremely useful, which is one reason why production across market sectors (see Figure F-2) has grown so sharply since being recorded in 1950. Read the entire page →
From page 255... ... APPENDIX F 255 that are needed for fuels and specialty chemicals. For example, ethene, an olefin monomer created from natural gas or refining oil, is used to make specialty chemicals like ethanol and ethylene glycol. Read the entire page →
From page 256... ... 256 RECYCLED PLASTICS IN INFRASTRUCTURE FIGURE F-3 Plastics use (MMT) , baseline scenario from OECD, 2019-2060. Read the entire page →
From page 257... ... APPENDIX F 257 PLASTICS WASTE Generation Similar to production and use, the annual trend over time of plastics waste generation is increasing from 1950 through 2018, primarily driven by the polymers polyethylene and polypropylene (see Figure F-4) Read the entire page →
From page 258... ... 258 RECYCLED PLASTICS IN INFRASTRUCTURE FIGURE F-5 Global annual primary plastics waste generation (in Mt) by sector from 1950 to 2018. Read the entire page →
From page 259... ... APPENDIX F 259 States, depending on what references are examined. Read the entire page →
From page 260... ... 260 RECYCLED PLASTICS IN INFRASTRUCTURE Management Geyer (2020) estimated the global quantities of plastic as recycled and incinerated from 1980 through 2018 (see Figure F-8) Read the entire page →
From page 261... ... APPENDIX F 261 To manage plastics waste, it first must be collected. And plastics waste is collected along with other MSW in the United States. Read the entire page →
From page 262... ... 262 RECYCLED PLASTICS IN INFRASTRUCTURE mixtures of chemical additives that allow for an array of properties; thus, the composition of plastics in MSW is incredibly diverse, which creates challenges in waste management systems, especially when sorting materials for appropriate recycling or composting (NASEM 2021) Read the entire page →
From page 263... ... 263 T A B L E F -3 P la st ic in M SW M an ag ed in t he U ni te d St at es in 2 01 9 Pl as ti cs W as te b y R es in T yp e T ot al P la st ic M an ag ed Pl as ti cs W as te L an dfi lle d Pl as ti cs W as te C om bu st ed Pl as ti cs W as te R ec yc le d D ur ab le (% ) Read the entire page →
From page 264... ... 264 RECYCLED PLASTICS IN INFRASTRUCTURE plastics waste management data produced by Milbrandt et al. Read the entire page →
From page 265... ... APPENDIX F 265 FIGURE F-11 Plastics waste landfilled in 2019 by resin type and state. NOTES: Pie charts correspond to total amount landfilled in each state. Read the entire page →
From page 266... ... 266 RECYCLED PLASTICS IN INFRASTRUCTURE LEAKAGE (MISMANAGED PLASTICS IN THE UNITED STATES) The 2021 National Academies report describes "leaked" waste as "Plastics waste not making it into (e.g., illegal dumping, litter) Read the entire page →
From page 267... ... APPENDIX F 267 MMT and uncollected litter at 0.14 MMT. However, total leakage is reported as two different values: in one case, as 0.24 MMT for plastic leakage from mismanaged waste and litter, and then as 0.56 MMT for all mismanaged and littered macroplastics (see Table F-4) Read the entire page →
From page 268... ... 268 RECYCLED PLASTICS IN INFRASTRUCTURE as well as tobacco-related (e.g., cigarette filters, product packaging, and ecigarette cartridges) and unidentified fragments from larger items (NASEM 2021) Read the entire page →
From page 269... ... APPENDIX F 269 production, export, import, use, and the country's contribution to plastic pollution. Concluding that regular, standardized, and systematic data collection is critical to understanding the extent and patterns of plastics waste inputs to the environment, including the ocean, and how they change over time. Read the entire page →
From page 270... ... 270 FI G U R E F -1 5 Pr od uc ti on , i m po rt s, e xp or ts , u se , d is po sa l, an d le ak ag e of p la st ic s in t he U ni te d St at es in 2 01 7. Read the entire page →
From page 271... ... APPENDIX F 271 RECYCLING IN TRANSPORTATION Environmental Considerations While use in various recycling applications is one way to create a demand for plastics that are currently being landfilled, an increase in recycling does not necessarily create a demand for plastics that are currently mismanaged or leaking into the environment. If the increase in recycling from a new application was great enough to accept all of the plastics in the waste stream or close to it, it might then also promote enough value that it could cause demand for plastics that are leaking out. Read the entire page →
From page 272... ... 272 RECYCLED PLASTICS IN INFRASTRUCTURE disposed of. Research is currently being conducted on the incorporation of recycled (e.g., shredded or pelletized used plastics) Read the entire page →
From page 273... ... APPENDIX F 273 asphalt was not storage-stable, with a high concentration of scrap plastic at high temperatures. In contrast, some low plastic concentration–modified binders have issues related to underutilization of polymer modification. Read the entire page →
From page 274... ... 274 RECYCLED PLASTICS IN INFRASTRUCTURE of scrap plastics in a ton of asphalt mixture (1-4 kg/tonne) Read the entire page →
From page 275... ... APPENDIX F 275 in asphalt could increase the plastics recycling rate from 5 to 8.5 percent at the maximum (using Milbrandt data) and if all plastic that was leaked was used in roads, it would be close to meeting or exceed what is estimated to leak out annually by OECD in 2019 (0.95 Mt) Read the entire page →
From page 276... ... 276 RECYCLED PLASTICS IN INFRASTRUCTURE PET particles (by volume of fine aggregates) presented the best mechanical properties compared to the blends with greater or bigger particle sizes. Read the entire page →
From page 277... ... APPENDIX F 277 Plastic Lumber Plastic lumber has been in use for decades with the exploration of use in 2003 for landscaping (Stutz et al. Read the entire page →
From page 278... ... 278 RECYCLED PLASTICS IN INFRASTRUCTURE the use of 0.04 MMT of plastics. In addition, porches were also popular, with 65.3 percent of new homes constructing porches, and this would add another 0.06 MMT to use of plastics in lumber. Read the entire page →
From page 279... ... APPENDIX F 279 enough to take the 2019 estimated plastics that were leaked from the system (0.95 Mt) Read the entire page →
From page 280... ... 280 RECYCLED PLASTICS IN INFRASTRUCTURE Emrath, P Read the entire page →
From page 281... ... APPENDIX F 281 Milbrandt, A., K Coney, A Read the entire page →
From page 282... ... 282 RECYCLED PLASTICS IN INFRASTRUCTURE Saikia, N., and De Brito, J Read the entire page →

From page 253...

... 253 Appendix F The Use of Plastic Scrap in Transportation Applications in the United States Jenna Jambeck University of Georgia With contribution from: Jenny Liu Missouri University of Science and Technology PLASTIC PRODUCTION AND USE Global plastics production in 2017 was estimated at 438 million metric tons (MMT) (348 MMT of polymer resins, 62 MMT of polymer fibers, and 27 MMT of additives)