Waste Reduction and Recycling - Class VIII

Ahmed khan, a plastic sack manufacturer of Bangalore in 1998, developed polyblend, a fine powder of recycled modified plastic in collaboration with R. V. Collage of Engineering and Bangalore city Corporation. He proved that the mixture of polyblend and bitumen was better for road carpeting as it had better water repellent property. It increased road life by a factor of three.

Deforestation means the felling and clearing of forest cover or tree plantations in order to accommodate agricultural, industrial or urban use. It involves permanent end of forest cover to make that land available for residential, commercial or industrial purpose. Deforestation can also be seen as removal of forests leading to several imbalances ecologically and environmentally. Synthetic products are materials that are made by chemical processes that are formed artificially by chemical synthesis such as plastic bags, chairs, toys, etc. These synthetic materials can last for years and cannot be decomposed by decomposers. These synthetic products like different plastic products are made up of plastic; this creation of man hinders the flow of materials in the biosphere. Improper disposal is one of the reasons why synthetic products become of the problems and causes of ecological imbalance. It destroys ecosystem that can kill the organism and at the same time it causes various problems in the living world such as pollution.

The plastics are the non-biodegradable wastes because they are synthetic polymers which cannot be acted upon by the microbes. The plastics should not be dumped in the soil, river or rubbish dump. The biodegradable plastics should be used which will reduce the pollution and the problems created by the use of plastics. 

K. Ahmed Khan is an Indian scientist and businessman who made success in using plastic for road construction. He is the founder of KK Plastic Waste Management Pvt.Ltd.He along with his brother Rasool Khan, stung by protests to ban plastic, hit upon the idea of recycling plastic and mixing it with bitumen to lay roads. Ahmed Khan proved that blends of Polyblend and Bitumen, when used to lay roads enhanced the bitumen's water repellant properties and helped to increase road life by a factor of three.

Paper is waste that can be easily recycled. Used paper can be collected, out into machines and used as the paper again. This can greatly reduce the number of trees being cut for making paper. A lot of time, energy and money are also saved in this process. So, paper recycling should be carried out more often.

About 80,000-1,60,000 trees are cut down daily to make up to the need of paper products worldwide. Recycling of paper is the process wherein used paper is converted into a resuable form. Recyling has many benifits:

The process of waste paper recycling involves mixing of used paper with water and chemicals to break it down. It is then chopped  and heated, which breaks it down further into strands of cellulose, a type of organic plant material; this resulting mixture is called as pulp or slurry. It is strained through screens, which remove any glue or plastic that may still be in the mixture then cleaned, de-inked, bleached, and mixed with water. Then it can be made into new recycled paper or other products.

Paper is made from the cellulose fibres which are obtained from the wood of the trees. The cellulose fibres are converted to pulp. This pulp is treated with various chemicals and then dried to form the sheets of paper. There are substances like lignin in the wood of trees which results in the paper to become yellow and brittle over some time. So, the yield from the trees for paper production is about 95%. 

Carbon paper is coated with wax and pigments that make it difficult to recycle alongside standard paper products.

Newspaper fibers are short and degrade with each recycling cycle, making them lower grade compared to virgin paper or high-quality recycled paper.

The specific percentage savings vary, but 60% of energy (often cited as energy, not coal) is a common figure associated with paper recycling benefits.

A pulper is the machine used in the paper recycling process to mix waste paper with water to create pulp.

EPA also known as Environmental Protection Agency categorizes papers in five different grades. These are old corrugated containers, mixed paper, old newspapers, high grade deinked paper, pulp substitutes.

Old newspapers can be processed into new paper products, including paper bags, making both A and B correct.

To make paper colorful, one can use edible colors or incorporate already colorful paper scraps into the pulp mixture.

Plastic coated paper contains a layer of plastic that makes it difficult to separate the paper fibers during the standard recycling process. Other options like newspapers and notebooks are made of standard paper and are easily recyclable.

Flower petals contain natural pigments that can be extracted to dye or color paper. This is a traditional method used in crafts and papermaking.

Paper is primarily composed of cellulose fibers, which are derived from plant cell walls. Wood pulp is the most common source of these fibers.

Putrescible organic waste refers to food scraps and other organic matter that decomposes quickly. This type of waste is commonly classified as garbage.

Paper, torn clothes and metallic and plastic discards are recyclable wastes. Recycling is processing used materials (waste) into new, useful products. This is done to reduce the use of raw materials that would have been used. Paper recycling is a process wherein, a paper that is used, discarded by the consumer, is collected and transported to paper mills. Here, it is sorted and is mixed with water and chemicals and converted into paper pulp. Deinking is carried out to remove printing ink from the paper fibers from the pulp and transformed into reusable form.

Recycling is the process by which the product is recycled and made available to use again. The recycling of paper not only saves valuable space in our landfills, but it also helps reduce greenhouse gas emissions and when one recycle, one also have to use fewer resources like water and energy to turn that item into another usable item. If the paper is recycled, fewer trees will be cut down for paper pulp. This will help to maintain the biological equilibrium in the ecosystem.

Carbon tetrachloride (often referred to in older texts as carbon chloride) was historically used in various industrial processes, including the bleaching and cleaning of recycled paper fibers.

The process of waste paper recycling involves mixing of used paper with water and chemicals to break it down. It is then chopped up and heated, which breaks down the paper further into strands of cellulose, a type of organic plant material. This resulting mixture is called as pulp or slurry. This process is called as pulping. 

During the production of paper from the wood pulp, about 7000 gallons of water is used. If the paper is recycled, then this large amount of water can be saved. Studies have proven that one ton of paper is equivalent to seventeen fully grown trees. The paper is made from wood pulp. The trees are cut down for making paper. By saving and recycling of the paper, we can help to prevent deforestation. 

Paper recycling is a process wherein, the paper that is used, discarded by the consumer, is collected and transported to paper mills. The papers are mixed with water and chemicals, broken down, converted into paper pulp and transformed into reusable form. The pulp is colored and bleaching is performed to remove the color. The chemicals which are used for bleaching are hydrogen peroxide, sodium hydrosulfite or sodium dithionite. These chemicals help in deinking of the pulp and increasing brightness. 

Plastic waste does not biodegrade and often accumulates in drainage systems, causing blockages that lead to urban flooding during heavy rains.

Burning paper and plastic releases harmful gases and particulate matter into the atmosphere, contributing to air pollution. Recycling processes can also involve emissions.

Plastic waste in soil prevents water and nutrient absorption, creates physical barriers for roots, and leaches chemicals, all of which decrease soil fertility.

Plastic waste, particularly microplastics and chemical additives, is linked to various health risks including cancer. Other diseases like typhoid, cholera, and hepatitis are primarily waterborne or foodborne bacterial/viral infections, not direct effects of plastic.

Animals often ingest plastic waste, which cannot be digested. This material accumulates in the digestive tract, causing blockages that prevent food intake and lead to starvation.