2
K. Ramani et al.
of disposable plastic products overpowers the world’s capacity to deal with them.
Developing Asian and African nations are where plastic pollution is most discernable, mainly due to inefficient or absent garbage collection systems. But developed
countries are also facing trouble in properly collecting discarded plastics due to low
recycling rates. Plastic trash has become so pervasive that it has driven efforts to
write a global treaty negotiated by the United Nations. American Association for the
Advancement of Science (AAAS), has come out with a new observation on plastic,
which points out that 79% of the total plastic waste of 6300 million metric tons
(MMT) is accumulated in landfills or in the natural environment like river systems
and oceans. The study, ‘Production, Use and Fate of all Plastics Ever Made’, highlighted that if existing creation and waste management tendencies endure then around
12,000 MMT of plastic waste will end up in landfills or in the natural environment
by 2050. There are evolving technologies like pyrolysis, which extracts fuel from
plastic waste [2]. But mostly all thermal degradation has been by incineration, with
or without energy recovery. The environmental and health impacts of waste incinerators sturdily hinge on the emission control technology, incinerator strategy and
maneuver [3]. Plastics can be castoff and either contained in a managed system, such
as landfills, or left uncontained in open junkyards or in the natural environment.
The conventional (fossil fuel-based) plastic waste is non-biodegradable and
remains in the soil for several years causing immense pollution in the environment
as life cycle of plastic waste is partial and eventually it is dumped on the land-fill
locations. It is well recognized that all kinds of plastic wastes cannot be recycled.
Therefore, it gets concentrated in open drains, low-lying areas, river banks, coastal
areas and sea-beaches which would inevitably affect soil, ground water and the
surroundings [4]. Here the plastics under environmental stresses degrade into smaller
plastic particulates thereby releasing a number of toxic substances in the process. It
is projected that there are already 165 million tons of plastic debris moving around
freely in the oceans which are a major threat to the health and safety of marine life. An
average of 8.8 million more tons of plastics enter the oceans each year which includes
microplastics, tiny particles less than five millimeters long from cosmetics, fabrics
or the breakdown of larger pieces, which may be ingested by marine wildlife [5].
Most of the plastic trash end up in the oceans because they are carried to sea by major
rivers that flows through land which act as conveyor belts, picking up more and more
trash as they move downstream. Among the plastics used, nitrogen-containing plastics are extensively used for various products and constitute approximately 10% of
total plastic usage [6]. The breakdown of plastics causes the desorption and release
of various chemical compounds which are used as additives in the production of
plastics to increase its durability and flexibility. Various volatile and semi volatile
components are released during the degradation of nitrogen containing plastics [7].
Some of these compounds are nitrogenous in nature. They pose great environmental
risks and proper and efficient wastewater treatments should be used to counter this
menace.
K. Ramani et al.
of disposable plastic products overpowers the world’s capacity to deal with them.
Developing Asian and African nations are where plastic pollution is most discernable, mainly due to inefficient or absent garbage collection systems. But developed
countries are also facing trouble in properly collecting discarded plastics due to low
recycling rates. Plastic trash has become so pervasive that it has driven efforts to
write a global treaty negotiated by the United Nations. American Association for the
Advancement of Science (AAAS), has come out with a new observation on plastic,
which points out that 79% of the total plastic waste of 6300 million metric tons
(MMT) is accumulated in landfills or in the natural environment like river systems
and oceans. The study, ‘Production, Use and Fate of all Plastics Ever Made’, highlighted that if existing creation and waste management tendencies endure then around
12,000 MMT of plastic waste will end up in landfills or in the natural environment
by 2050. There are evolving technologies like pyrolysis, which extracts fuel from
plastic waste [2]. But mostly all thermal degradation has been by incineration, with
or without energy recovery. The environmental and health impacts of waste incinerators sturdily hinge on the emission control technology, incinerator strategy and
maneuver [3]. Plastics can be castoff and either contained in a managed system, such
as landfills, or left uncontained in open junkyards or in the natural environment.
The conventional (fossil fuel-based) plastic waste is non-biodegradable and
remains in the soil for several years causing immense pollution in the environment
as life cycle of plastic waste is partial and eventually it is dumped on the land-fill
locations. It is well recognized that all kinds of plastic wastes cannot be recycled.
Therefore, it gets concentrated in open drains, low-lying areas, river banks, coastal
areas and sea-beaches which would inevitably affect soil, ground water and the
surroundings [4]. Here the plastics under environmental stresses degrade into smaller
plastic particulates thereby releasing a number of toxic substances in the process. It
is projected that there are already 165 million tons of plastic debris moving around
freely in the oceans which are a major threat to the health and safety of marine life. An
average of 8.8 million more tons of plastics enter the oceans each year which includes
microplastics, tiny particles less than five millimeters long from cosmetics, fabrics
or the breakdown of larger pieces, which may be ingested by marine wildlife [5].
Most of the plastic trash end up in the oceans because they are carried to sea by major
rivers that flows through land which act as conveyor belts, picking up more and more
trash as they move downstream. Among the plastics used, nitrogen-containing plastics are extensively used for various products and constitute approximately 10% of
total plastic usage [6]. The breakdown of plastics causes the desorption and release
of various chemical compounds which are used as additives in the production of
plastics to increase its durability and flexibility. Various volatile and semi volatile
components are released during the degradation of nitrogen containing plastics [7].
Some of these compounds are nitrogenous in nature. They pose great environmental
risks and proper and efficient wastewater treatments should be used to counter this
menace.