How many fleeces could be made from the plastic bottles wasted in the United Kingdom?

Sophie WILLETT

Abstract


This paper explains and evaluates the process of upcycling PET plastic bottles into fleeces. The ability to do so in the UK would reduce the pressure on landfills and environmental pollution. It was estimated that if the 5.59x109 wasted plastic bottles were upcycled, the UK would be able to produce approximately 2.2x108 fleeces each year. This is enough to give every member of the population 3 fleeces. The paper however recognises that the fleeces themselves are not completely sustainable and could have an impact on the environment once made and worn.


Keywords


Chemistry; Environment; Plastic recycling; Chemical decomposition; Mechanical decomposition

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References


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