Plastics: the "Goods", the "Bads" and the Alternatives
Abraham Chemtob, Enseignant-Chercheur
Institut de Science des Matériaux de Mulhouse
Axe Ingénierie des Polymères Fonctionnels (IPF)
Université de Haute-Alsace (UHA)
17/12/2021, 14h00
IS2M : amphitheater Starcky
Zoom : https://uha.webex.com/meet/benedicte.lebeau
Abstract.
Everyone is talking about plastic wastes and their impact on the environment. However, it is important to resist expedient reactions, because if plastics didn't exist today, humans would invent them.
In this presentation, a polymer chemist will trace the history of plastics, and explain their structure, manufacture, and waste treatment. Plastics are a much larger family than they seem, with some "good" and some "bad" plastics whose danger comes from the fact that their global production has grown so fast that it is now unmanageable.
What are the possible solutions to the problems of certain plastics? Energy recovery, "recycling", biosourced plastics and (bio)degradable plastics are the existing and developing solutions. But wouldn't the best solution be to moderate or even regulate the production/consumption of certain plastics, or to replace them with other materials?
