Favoring sustainable and renewable

The most favorable seenario is, of eourse, re-use, followed by the combination of a certain percentage of production effluents with virgin material directly by 

These recycling techniques aside, it is also possible to extend the lifetime of plastics dnring their nsage. It has been shown by certain studies that wood flour/poly(ethyIene) composites used to build public benches could have a more favorable balance than wood itself, which is because of the non-biodegradabihty of PE [HOL 04]. Other authors have observed that the introduction of a certain quantity of wood flour into poly(propylene) helped increase its durabihty and improve its mechanical properties [LAM 08]. 

It is tempting to think that for these short-term applications, biodegradable plastics offer a satisfactory compromise. It is probably true, for instance, with disposable covers or green bin liners for collecting compostable waste. However, as they decompose, these materials can release additives which are harmful for the ecosystem. Thus, we need to look carefully at these aspects [STA 06]. 

these impacts are not absolute measurements - they depend on the way in which they are calculated and on the person who evaluates them. Consequently, this type of assessment is increasingly of political and strategic importance for companies. 

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