The Binder - Plastic

What are the Raw Materials?

Cellulose, Coal, Natural Gas, Salt, Mainly Crude Oil. Mainly nonrenewable
resources, that we are running out of everyday.

What are the processes converting them from raw material to the form it is now. What types of
energy, water, and other materials are needed in these processes?
Crude oil is drilled. Then the oil is refined into many products. The two need in
plastic production are ethane and propane. Using high temperature furnaces this
are cracked into ethylene and propylene. Then a catalyst is added to either the
ethylene or the propylene, this results in a powder polymer. The polymer is
combined with additives in a blender. Then it is feed into an extruder and melted.
This results is liquid plastic that can be formed into plastic products. In
this case the liquid plastic is from into pellets that are shipped to a separate
factory. In this factory the pellets are melted and poured into the plastic bined
cover. This process requires a lot of energy and releases carbon dioxide into the
atmosphere, through the burning of coal to power to plant. The transportation
process also releases carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.

How long will this product be in use? When it is done, are there alternative uses?
Typically a binder is used for no more than two semesters. Then the binder is
thrown away. The plastic is thrown away to since there is no practical way to
remove the plastic from the binder or ay uses for it. Plastic is non biodegradable,
it ca take up to a 100,000 years to degrade in a landfill. Currently billions of tons
of plastic are rotting away in landfills. The average american throws away 185
pounds of plastic a year. While plastic can be recycled most can not, bider plastic
has to be removed from the cardboard before it can be recycled but it is typically
thrown away with the entire binder.
When it is no longer useful, what will become of these materials? How does it fit in the materials
hierarchy?
The materials typically end up in a landfill. The plastic falls at the bottom of the
materials hierarchy, under disposal.
Can you envision alternative materials to support the same function but which are more
sustainable?
Some alternative materials for the binder cover could be fabric. Then the cover
could be reused after the cardboard in the binder has been damaged to the point where it
needs to be replaced. When the fabric is no longer able to be used as a cover then it can
be used as a cleaning rag.
Resources
"How plastic is made." English. N.p., n.d. Web. 02 May 2017.
Recycle The Facts: Plastic. N.p., n.d. Web. 02 May 2017.