Labelling plastics

Recycling polymers is one way to minimize the disposal problem, but not much recycling occurs at present. Only about 25% of the plastic made in the United States is recycled each year, compared with 55% of the aluminum and 40% of the paper. A major obstacle to recycling plastics is the great variation in the composition of polymeric material. Polyethylene and polystyrene have different properties, and a mixture of the two is inferior to either. Recyclers must either separate different types of plastics or process the recycled material for less specialized uses. Manufacturers label plastic containers with numbers that indicate their polymer type and make it easier to recycle these materials. Table 13-5 shows the recycling number scheme. 

The contractor should place any material that is removed and any debris from the work in sealed, leak-proof, properly labeled, plastic bags (6 mm thick) and should dispose of them in a proper land-fill. The contractor should comply with Health Department instructions about how to dispose of asbestos-containing material. 

The fine particle airstream from the cyclone was sampled by two total filters in parallel. A Millipore Fluoropore 47 mm diameter Teflon filter with a 1 pm pore size was used for the first seven samples. Subsequent samples were obtained with a 0.4 pm pore size 47 mm Nuclepore polycarbonate filter because particle absorption measurements and elemental analysis by particle induced X-ray emission (PIXE) were easier and more accurate using the Nuclepore filters. In parallel with the Nuclepore filter, a TWOMASS tape sampler collected aerosol using a Pallflex Tissuequartz tape. The aerosol deposit area was 9.62 cm on the Nuclepore and Millipore filters and 0.317 cm on the Tissuequartz tape. The flow rate was 16-20 1pm through the Nuclepore and Millipore filters and 10 1pm through the Tissuequartz tape. Each Millipore or Nuclepore filter was placed in a labeled plastic container immediately after collected, sealed with Parafilm, enclosed in a ziplock bag, and placed in a refrigerator in the trailer. The tape in the TWOMASS sampler was advanced between samples. The tape sample was removed about once every 8-10 weeks and stored similarly to the Nuclepore filters. The TWOMASS was cleaned at that time. All samples were stored in an ice chest during the return trip to Caltech. Field blanks were handled identically to the samples. Of approximately 100 filter samples collected in 1979, 61 were selected for analysis. The 61 were chosen to span the variation in bjp and to obtain representative seasonal and diurnal samples. Sample times varied from 6 to 72 hours, with an average of 20.1 hours. 

The tips of the test swabs were cut off and placed in labeled plastic vials. One ml of 1M HNO was added, the samples were agitated and allowed to leach for 15 min. A 10 yul aliquot was placed on the tantalum strip and the purge gas flow was started (At alone for Sb and Ar H2 for barium). The atomizer unit was automatically cycled through preset time for drying, ashing and atomization (at 2500°C). Absorbance values were recorded on the chart recorder and results were obtained by comparison with a standard curve prepared for each tantalum strip. 

Each collection interval the excreted urine is collected from the separation device in a labeled plastic bottle. To collect also the dried adherent parts of the urine on the surface, all contaminated devices are rinsed with de-ionized water until the clear plastic bottles are filled to about three-quarters. The weight of the filled bottle is determined and the data stored until evaluation. 

For the samples greater than 0.51 mm, a maximal volume of 500-ml was transferred to a clean, labeled, plastic bottle and sealed the rest of the sample was discarded. If less than 0.51 mm, the sample was also discarded and was lost from the weekly composite of daily results. This will produce some errors in the comparisons with the weekly samples. The daily sample was stored in a refrigerator at about 4°C to minimize degradation. The same procedure was followed for the weekly samples except that these were shipped the same day that they were collected and were not refrigerated. 

Arthur Blank Company is the largest producer of private label plastic cards in North America, printing and personalising more than 850 million plastic cards a year. Manufacturing capacity exceeds 1 billion cards. Major customers include American Airlines, American Express, Amtrak, AT T, Barnes Noble, British Airways, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Costco, Exxon, Hyatt Hotels, IBM, L.L. Bean, Pizzeria Uno, Sears and 7-Eleven. 

Crush the samples with a mortar and pestle. If a 2-mm sieve is available, pass each sample through the sieve so that the samples to be tested have a maximum size of 2-mm diameter. Store dried and sieved samples in a labeled plastic bag or other suitable container. 

Have the class clean up by returning the trays, cups, and goggles (placed in their labeled plastic bags) to the materials center. Ask students to throw away the sealed bags of goo and the paper towels and to wipe desks clean. 

The chemicals needed to carry out the tests described earlier are listed in this chapter. They are available from commercial suppliers. It is recommended that the most important acids, bases, and solvents be ordered in at least 0.5-1 liter quantities. Dilute solutions can be prepared in the laboratory. As for indicator reagents, it is generally sufficient to order 1 - 5 g. For storing chemicals, use only unambiguously identified bottles unless the reagents are supplied in labeled plastic containers. 

Feiiii, J. (1993). Labelling plastic artefacts. In Postprints of Saving the Twentieth Century The Conservation of Modern Materials Ottawa, 15—20 September 1991 (D. Grattan, ed.), pp. 341—350, Canadian Conservation Institute. 

The curbside collection of polystyrene is being examined to assess the economics of its recycling. Fitchburg, Wisconsin, a town with mandatory recycling, has conducted a curbside pickup of PS containers in a nine month pilot program funded by Amoco-Chemical Company. The town additionally collects old newspaper, mixed paper, any 1 labeled plastic (PET), any 2 labeled plastic (HOPE), aluminum, glass and steel cans. In... 

When labelling plastic bags the quality of the label glue should be assessed. Some types of glue can react with the bag plastic. Glue components may migrate into the bag and plastic components may migrate into the label and affect the appearance of the label. 

This International Standard specifies test methods and reqrrirements to determine and to label plastic products and products made from plastics that are designed to be recovered through aerobic composting by addressing fotu characteristics ... 

However, the most definitive tests for biodegradability of plastics involves the use of " C-labelled plastics in long-term simulated-soil-burial procedures. The procedure has been used in medical research for many years to decipher the intricate pathways of important biological reactions involving... 

Pressure Sensitive Tape Labels and decals Packaging, office, nameplates, medical Permanent labels, removable labels, freezer labels, plastic labels... 

Polypropylene (PP) is a thermoplastic polymer used in a wide variety of applications, including textile fibers, packaging and labeling, plastic parts and reusable containers of various types, laboratory equipment, automotive components, etc. PP is normally tough and flexible, especially when copolymerized wilh ethylene. It has good resistance to fatigue, and is unusually resistant to many chanical solvents such as bases and acids. 

The equipment required is rather complex, it must be well guarded and screened being more suited to industrial usage. It has the potential of easier control, but for all that the flame process is widely used, especially as a preparation for printing or labelling plastic bottles, the automated set up handling thousands of items an hour. 

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