General points about the lifecycle of plastics

The phenomena of fashion aside, the aim of this chapter is to touch on the increasingly marked impact of plastics on our environment, but also and above all to put forward solutions to minimize the footprint of such materials. Maity publications on the subject are available, to which readers can refer if they wish for further detail on these concepts pUV 04, ROB 03], After a few general points about the lifecycle of plastics, two concrete examples of ecoplastics are presented one based on biobased materials, and the other solely on recycled synthetic materials. 

Relatively little tends to be said about the reuse of plastic objects, but this is an interesting alternative in terms of prolonging their lifetimes. Imagine the energy gain made if we wash and reuse a plastic item 50 times rather than recycle it 50 times. This point has been demonstrated by the company Solution Plastiques Industrie [MAU 14], which suggested that producers should substitute cardboard egg boxes, which were for single use (to prevent bacterial proliferation), with washable plastic boxes. 

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