Polymer Consumption, Environmental Concerns, Possible Disposal Options, and Recycling for Water Treatment

Abstract

The increasing awareness of the environment has raised so much concerns in the way we live and the manner to which we dispose our waste. The rapid growth in polymer production has resulted in increasing concerns about the consumption of nonrenewable resources and the environmental impacts associated with its production and disposal. Polymer waste is one of the major components in municipal solid waste and is increasingly becoming a huge burden in industrialized nations. The rise in the use of plastic, coupled with increasing concerns about its disposal, has led to a renewed interest in its recycling and recovery. The technologies involved in the recovery and recycling of polymers are rapidly growing, however, there is no specific pattern of treating polymer waste. The technology depends on the type of material used in the production and consumption pattern. This chapter, therefore, discusses the patterns of polymer consumption, the environmental concerns, and different modes of recycling polymer waste.