Question

(a) why are the colorful polystyrene and plastic packaging used for protecting the food, considered an environmental menace.
(b) write about the remedy found for the efficient use of plastic waste by Ahmed Khan of Bangalore.

Answer 1

Hint:- Plastic refers to the organic compound which can be semi-synthetic or synthetic, widely used for the packaging as well as the raw material. Polystyrene is a type of hard and transparent plastic that is used in the packaging of food and other materials like laboratory experiments etc. Polystyrene is also used in automobile companies, forming home appliances, toys, etc by mixing it with colorant and other plastic.

Complete step-by-step solution:- Plastic can’t be degraded very easily. The degradation process of plastic includes both manual help and heavy investment of money. Degradation of plastic creates several gases like dioxins, Mercury, polychlorinated biphenyls which are toxic in the environment. These toxic gases can cause several health problems like respiratory disorder, skin disease, etc. That’s why plastic and polystyrene are considered an environmental menace though they are used in a wide range of food and other material packaging.
The Indian scientist, Ahmed Khan is the owner of KK Plastic Waste Management. He has found a unique way to use waste plastic rather than recycling it. He has successfully used waste plastic in road construction. He mixed the waste plastic with the asphalt, creating a compound named polymerized bitumen. It is a more durable product that has been used for 2 decades in several industries.

Note:- There are seven types of plastics found. They are polyethylene terephthalate (PETE), polyvinyl chloride(PVC-U), high-density polyethylene(HDPE), low-density polyethylene( LDPE), polystyrene or styrofoam (PS), polypropylene (PP), and other. Among these plastics, PETE and HDPE can easily be recycled, other plastics are recycled very rarely.