The news agency “Science in Siberia” asked scientists of SB RAS, including specialists of the Krasnoyarsk Science Center of SB RAS, about how plastic is created, how to recycle it and make it more environmentally friendly.

Plastic mass (plastic) is a material based on high-molecular compounds of natural or artificial origin. In the latter case, we mean compositions obtained as a result of processing natural polymers as well as fully synthetic high molecular weight compounds.

There are seven types of plastic. To find out which of them you are holding in your hands, you need to find the markings on the bottom of the product or on the label. In polyethylene terephthalate (PET, PET (E), 1) water, soda, milk, and butter are sold. Also, transparent bottles for shampoos and disposable food containers are often made from PET. Another low pressure polyethylene (HDPE, PEHD, HDPE, is used for 2): cans, bottle caps, bottles for cosmetics and household chemicalsLow pressure polyethylene (HDPE, PEHD, HDPE, 2): cans, bottle caps, bottles for cosmetics and household chemicals. There is also high-density polyethylene (LDPE, PELD, LDPE, 4) of low density, from which bags and polyfilm are made. Polypropylene (PP, PP, 5): bottle caps, buckets, yogurt cups, lens packaging, rustling plastic packaging. Polystyrene (PS, PS, 6) can be normal and foamed. The foamed one is used to produce foam plastic, containers for eggs, substrates for meat and packaging. Normal polystyrene is employed for yoghurt cups and CD packaging, as well as for almost all disposable tableware. All these types can be recycled.