In the Kitchen
- Benefits Of Buying Local Produce
- Buy Locally Grown Apples
- Don't Pour Kitchen Grease Down The Drain
- ENERGY STAR Refrigerators and Dishwashers Save Energy and Water
- Homemade Baby Food Is A Great Way To Do Your Part
- Organic Produce That's Worth The Money
- Paper VS Plastic
- Recycling Aluminum Cans Makes Good Cents
- The Great Wine Debate
- The Never Ending Glass Recycling Story
- Turkey Talk
In the Bathroom
All Through the House
- Cleaning With Vinegar
- Control Indoor Pests Naturally
- Don't Throw It Away - FreeCycle It!
- Earth 911
- ENERGY STAR products save energy, water and money!
- ENERGY STAR Washing Machine Saves Thousands of Gallons of Water Every Year
- ENERGY STAR- New Homes
- Father's Day Green Gift Ideas
- Get To Know Those Plastic Recycling Numbers
- Green Holiday Table Decorations
- Green Volunteering
- How Plastic Is Made
- How To Properly Dispose of CFLs (Compact Fluorescent Lightbulbs)
- ImagiPLAY For The Holidays
- In With The New and Recycle The Old
- Indoor Air Pollution
- Let the Holidays Shine with LED Lights!
- Mother's Day Gift Ideas
- Put Your Old Cell Phone To Good Use
- Recycle Glass
- Recycling Paper Is A Success
- Recycling Plastic
- Smart Strip Power Strip Saves Energy and Money
- Soap: Bar vs Liquid
- Sponges
- Stop Junk And Other Unwanted Mail
- Terri explains Do Your Part
- The Great Diaper Debate
- Treating Pet Smells and Accidents....Naturally
- Try Baking Soda Instead of Costly Chemical Cleaners
- What do you do with old or unused medicine?
- What Is Do Your part
- Why You Should Buy Organic Cotton
In the Garage
In the Garden
- Fall Leaves
- Go Native in the Garden
- How To Set Up A Rain Barrel
- Keep Mosquitoes Away Naturally
- Kill Outdoor Pests and Weeds Without Using Toxic Chemicals
- Plants That Tolerate Drought Conditions
- Put Those Coffee Grounds To Work In Your Yard
- Reduce amount of energy needed to cool your home
- Save Our Creeks - Don't Over Fertilize
- Test Your Soil Before You Fertilize
- Tree Banding
How Plastic Is Made
All of us use plastics at some point during the day, from the toothbrushes we use in the morning to water bottles we drink out of to the containers we pack our children’s lunches and the bags that hold our groceries.There’s no question that plastics are everywhere. But where does it come from? Well, like the gas that fuels our cars it comes from crude oil. Once its refined, crude oil produces gasoline, diesel and other petroleum products such as plastics.
Here’s how it breaks down.
From one barrel of crude oil:
44% makes gasoline
21% makes diesel
8% makes jet fuel
4% makes heating oil
4% makes heavy fuel oil
4% makes liquefied petroleum gases
and 16% makes other products, such as plastics.
The oil is processed into petroleum products at refineries. Plastics are produced using a process called “cracking.”
“Cracking” converts the components of crude oil into hydrocarbon monomers. Different combinations of monomers produce the many different types of plastics.
So that’s how plastic is made. Once it gets into our hands, only 5% of the plastics produced in the United States are recycled.
Tomorrow, we’ll take a look at how plastic is recycled, potential reasons for why it’s not happening more often and how you can do your part to keep plastics out of our landfills.
