How does plastic debris make its way into ocean garbage patches?

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via EurekAlert

WASHINGTON, March 2, 2021 — Tons of plastic debris get released into the ocean every day, and most of it accumulates within the middle of garbage patches, which tend to float on the oceans’ surface in the center of each of their regions. The most infamous one, known as the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, is in the North Pacific Ocean.

Researchers in the U.S. and Germany decided to explore which pathways transport debris from the coasts to the middle of the oceans, as well as the relative strengths of different subtropical gyres in the oceans and how they influence long-term accumulation of debris.

Read the full story here: https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2021-03/aiop-hdp022521.php

Discarded Face Masks Used to Improve Road Materials

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via ThomasNet.com

According to a report in New Atlas, the masks are being utilized in a material called recycled concrete aggregate – or RCA – that’s mostly made up of processed building rubble. In this case, the “recipe” is being tweaked and 1% of the traditional RCA is being replaced with the non-woven layers of plastic found in shredded masks.

The scientists are not only able to find a use for the discarded masks that doesn’t involve a landfill or an incinerator, but they also provide a benefit: the end product, which still meets civil engineering standards for road base layers, has improved flexibility over previous formulas. And while a road that’s one percent mask doesn’t sound like it’s making a dent, think of it this way: the scientists say that if their material were used to build a two-way roadway that’s just one kilometer in length, it would divert about 3 million masks from the landfills.

Read the full story here: https://bit.ly/3qdLzIT

Plastics Recycling Company Domino Plastics Expands Operations with an Additional Southeastern Location

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plastic recycling

WILDWOOD, Florida – With a new location now in full operation in Wildwood, Florida, plastic scrap buyer Domino Plastics is able to continue providing fast service to plastics manufacturers in the southeast. The new location helps the company streamline scrap pickups for customers in the region. Domino Plastics has nationwide warehouses to meet the recycling needs of manufacturers of plastic across the United States. The additional location helps the company maintain its expedited, reliable scrap pickups for all the companies they serve.

Michael Domino, COO of Domino Plastics Company commented, “Our goal at Domino Plastics has always been to reduce plastics in landfills and waterways. With the new location in operation we can better manage this region’s volume of scrap pickup and help manufacturers achieve their own sustainability initiatives.”

Founded in 1983, Domino Plastics Company buys and sells plastic materials in the USA, Mexico and Canada, helping plastic manufacturing businesses with their scrap recycling and recycled materials supplies. They deal in most types and forms of plastic materials including polyethylene, polypropylene, nylon, and polyvinyl chloride. 

The company buys scrap materials from a variety of manufacturing companies such as packaging, automotive, injection molders, and thermoformers. Domino Plastics recently supplied recycled polyethylene (rPE) for a paving project.

To learn more about how to recycle plastic scrap or to purchase recycled plastic visit: www.domplas.com.

It’s not just oceans: scientists find plastic is also polluting the air

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via The Guardian

plastic pollution
Photo by Vitaly Vlasov on Pexels.com

For several years scientists were puzzled why Delhi was more susceptible to thick smogs than other polluted cities such as Beijing. New research links this to tiny chloride particles in the air that help water droplets to form. Globally, chloride particles are mainly found close to coasts, due to sea spray, but the air in Delhi and over inland India contains much more than expected.

At first, the sources were thought to be illegal factory units around Delhi that recycle electronics and those that use strong hydrochloric acid to clean and process metals. These are certainly part of the problem, but new measurements have revealed another source.

Read the full story here: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/feb/26/not-just-oceans-plastic-polluting-air-delhi-smog

Sea turtle: Sentinels and victims of plastic pollution in the Adriatic Sea

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via EurakAlert

Sea turtles are witnesses and victims of the high level of plastic pollution of the Adriatic Sea. A group of researchers at the University of Bologna analysed 45 turtles hospitalised at Fondazione Cetacea in Riccione and found plastic debris in their faeces. Besides confirming the role of turtles as ideal sentinels to monitor plastic pollution in the sea, the results of their analysis – published in the journal Frontiers of Marine Medicine – crucially show how the plastic debris in their intestines can dangerously alter their microbiota, eventually compromising their health.

Read the full story here: https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2021-02/udb-sts022521.php

Domino Plastics Supplies Recycled Plastic for Paving Project

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via Canadian Plastics

The U.S.-based Plastics Industry Association has collaborated with Dutch multinational chemical company LyondellBasell to use the use of the equivalent of 71,000 plastic retail bags to pave 2,885 square yards of the LyondellBasell Cincinnati Technology Center parking lot in Ohio using recycled polyethylene (rPE).

LyondellBasell partnered with Colas Solutions, the National Center for Asphalt Technology (NCAT), and Barrett Paving Materials Inc. to bring the repaving project to fruition – Colas Solutions identified an rPE supplier, Domino Plastics; formulated an rPE modified asphalt mixture based on advanced performance testing methods; and then coordinated production and paving with sister company Barrett Paving.

Read the full story here: https://www.canplastics.com/features/plastics-industry-association-lyondellbasell-collaborate-on-first-paving-project-using-recycled-pplastic/

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    Advanced recycling strategies needed to clean up plastic pollution problem, says expert

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    via Phys.org

    Sustainability across the entire value chain—rather than advances in technology alone—is required to solve the United States’ plastic waste problems, according to a new brief from Rice’s Baker Institute for Public Policy.

    The report by Rachel Meidl, fellow in energy and environment at the Baker Institute, argues that the U.S., which is one of the largest contributors to global pollution and has among the lowest recycling rates, needs to improve the quality of its plastics and the economics of collection, sorting and waste management.

    Read the full story here: https://phys.org/news/2021-02-advanced-recycling-strategies-plastic-pollution.html

    New plant-based plastics can be chemically recycled with near-perfect efficiency

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    via The Academic Times

    German chemists have developed two sustainable plastic alternatives to high-density polyethylene that can be chemically recycled more easily and nearly 10 times as efficiently, thanks to “break points” engineered into their molecular structures.

    Read the full story here: https://academictimes.com/new-plant-based-plastics-can-be-chemically-recycled-with-near-perfect-efficiency/

    Fighting the plastics plague, one canoe-full at a time

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    via the Bay Journal

    John Naylor eased his 16-foot fiberglass canoe into the Susquehanna River near a small archipelago of forested and ever-changing mudflat islands known as the Conejohela Flats, once the domain of Native Americans and still a vital stop for migrating shorebirds.

    It’s a placid and beautiful spot on the lower Susquehanna between Lancaster and York counties, PA. But the York city resident was there this day to nibble at a growing sheen of ugliness — namely, single-use plastic containers, especially discarded water bottles.

    Read the full story here: https://www.bayjournal.com/news/people/fighting-the-plastics-plague-one-canoe-full-at-a-time/article_de8ac85a-6a49-11eb-9dbc-cf4d24cc71ee.html

    The Alliance to End Plastic Waste Calls for Submissions for Recycling Technologies

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    via Alliance to End Plastic Waste

    Call for project proposals with innovative solutions in chemical recycling technologies to unlock value for hard-to-recycle plastics

    SINGAPORE, 10 FEBRUARY 2021, The Alliance to End Plastic Waste (the Alliance), an international non-profit organisation, has launched a request for proposals (RFP) calling for projects related to Chemical Recycling Technologies and Business Models.

    Learn more at: https://endplasticwaste.org/en/news/the-alliance-to-end-plastic-waste-calls-for-submissions-for-recycling-technologies

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    Recycle Post-Industrial Plastic Scrap

    Speedy Nationwide Pickup for Scrap Plastics. Sell HDPE, LDPE, PP, PVC, PET, SAN, and more.

    Contact us with material offers for a price quote.