Plastics production also involves the use of potentially harmful chemicals, which are added as stabilisers or colorants. Many of these have not undergone environmental risk assessment and their impact on human health and the environment is currently uncertain. Plastics have a low entropy of mixing, which is due to the high molecular weight of their large polymer chains.
A macromolecule interacts with its environment along its entire length, so its enthalpy of mixing is large compared to that of an organic molecule with a similar structure.
Recycling may be the most wasteful activity in modern America: a waste of time and money, a waste of human and natural resources. Recycling the recovered materials is simple for metals and glass; they can be melted down, reformed, and reused. Yard waste can be composted with little or no equipment. Recycling preserves natural resources by reducing the need for virgin materials. So do source reduction and reuse.
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