Project Introduction
This project we are doing will follow the life of an object of our choosing, and we will show each step of its journey using the life cycle. I have chosen to investigate what happens to a plastic toy truck from its start as crude oil to its end in the trash or recycling. I will be showing the five steps of the life cycle, the recycling of the object, and my sources.
Timeline
Raise and Extract
First the toy begins as crude oil that is drilled up from a well. Plastic may also come other means like animal's horns, animal's milk, insects plants, and trees.
First the toy begins as crude oil that is drilled up from a well. Plastic may also come other means like animal's horns, animal's milk, insects plants, and trees.
Process
The crude oil is burned into a synthetic plastic that can be melted down and formed into the desired object. The crude oil is first sits in a boiler until it heats up to 40° C or 104° F. The crude oil is sent to a distillery and the longer it stays in there the wider range of material are available, and they range from heavy oil to light oil to hydrogen gas.
The crude oil is burned into a synthetic plastic that can be melted down and formed into the desired object. The crude oil is first sits in a boiler until it heats up to 40° C or 104° F. The crude oil is sent to a distillery and the longer it stays in there the wider range of material are available, and they range from heavy oil to light oil to hydrogen gas.
Manufacture
After the crude oil is distilled into plastic the pieces are made by melting the plastic and molding it into shapes, and the plastic is sterilized by people to make sure bacteria is removed because it is unknown if the plastic is going to be used for advanced medical purposes or for a simple children's toy. The pieces are then put into machines to assemble the object, the toy truck rapidly.
After the crude oil is distilled into plastic the pieces are made by melting the plastic and molding it into shapes, and the plastic is sterilized by people to make sure bacteria is removed because it is unknown if the plastic is going to be used for advanced medical purposes or for a simple children's toy. The pieces are then put into machines to assemble the object, the toy truck rapidly.
Use
The truck is built and it gets wrapped up to be shipped to retail stores and it gets sold to a child who will play with the toy until it breaks or if they become bored with the toy itself. The truck may either get passed on to other children through donations or garage sales, but at some point the truck will be no longer of use to people.
The truck is built and it gets wrapped up to be shipped to retail stores and it gets sold to a child who will play with the toy until it breaks or if they become bored with the toy itself. The truck may either get passed on to other children through donations or garage sales, but at some point the truck will be no longer of use to people.
Dispose
When plastics are thrown away they won't decompose for years because they aren't a natural product so when people litter plastic it will most likely end up in the oceans. A statistic to prove that is that 90% of trash in the ocean is plastic, and the demand for plastic is still growing and growing. A way to improve our world is to dispose plastics by recycling them, but even that has its own problems.
When plastics are thrown away they won't decompose for years because they aren't a natural product so when people litter plastic it will most likely end up in the oceans. A statistic to prove that is that 90% of trash in the ocean is plastic, and the demand for plastic is still growing and growing. A way to improve our world is to dispose plastics by recycling them, but even that has its own problems.
Recycling or Reuse
When people think that recycling is great it is, but the tough part is to recycle the plastic. Due to the way plastic is made of multiple monomers to form the one polymer so the different types of plastic will melt at different temperatures, so when separating plastics you have to be careful and disassemble pieces to make it work. This greater processing has a downside because due to the longer time it takes it will return more pollution into the air.
When people think that recycling is great it is, but the tough part is to recycle the plastic. Due to the way plastic is made of multiple monomers to form the one polymer so the different types of plastic will melt at different temperatures, so when separating plastics you have to be careful and disassemble pieces to make it work. This greater processing has a downside because due to the longer time it takes it will return more pollution into the air.
Sources
http://www.design-technology.org/plastics.htm
http://www.assemblymag.com/topics/2641-plastics-assembly
http://science.howstuffworks.com/environmental/energy/oil-refining2.htm
http://www.ecomena.org/tag/plastic-waste-disposal/
http://www.design-technology.org/plastics.htm
http://www.assemblymag.com/topics/2641-plastics-assembly
http://science.howstuffworks.com/environmental/energy/oil-refining2.htm
http://www.ecomena.org/tag/plastic-waste-disposal/
Conclusion
A. A product's life cycle is the journey of the materials used to create the product in the first place. Following the materials from nature to the end of the cycle when it' in the dump or being reused.
B. Researching the life cycle of your own product is important because it could be an environmental safety hazard if you are dumping types of materials into nature and you didn't know about it,
C. If I were to change my product it would be difficult due to the massive dependency our world has on plastics and oil, but the feature I would change is its ability to be recycled because a toy truck like the one shown above has to be fully dismantled and tested before it is melted down or shredded into the basic form of plastic because each type of plastic reacts differently.
D. I think that my product may not become obsolete for a long time until there is a safe way to recycle or reuse it, or the amounts of oil could severely deplete so plastics become too expensive to use as cheaply as our society uses it. I don't think plastic will really change at all, and the reason I think that is because in the past few decades we have never changed how plastics are used or made and all we've done is make things thinner and cheaper.
E. A trade-off is when you have to give up something precious in exchange for another object that is more desired. A trade-off may not be the ethical choice to make, but it tends to be the more economical choice.
F. Yes, I think that trade-offs were made because instead of refining the oil more they decided to turn it into plastics and once you do that it can no longer be made into heavier types of oils because oils can be distilled, but the effects can't be reversed.
G. It is important to recycle so we don't have to pull up as much resources from the Earth and we won't have to tear down as many habitats in the environment in the quest for more resources to get more money.
H. Product designers play a role in recycling because it is their duty to also factor in that the design they create must be recyclable or reusable in any way shape or form possible.
I. The role of society in the recycling part is to not be wasteful, Actually recycle instead of just throwing everything in the garbage, and being responsible for your own trash rather than littering on the street.
J. I can help by playing part of the role in our society and to encourage others to recycle, and maybe in the future if I am making designs it will be my job to make them reusable and recyclable.
B. Researching the life cycle of your own product is important because it could be an environmental safety hazard if you are dumping types of materials into nature and you didn't know about it,
C. If I were to change my product it would be difficult due to the massive dependency our world has on plastics and oil, but the feature I would change is its ability to be recycled because a toy truck like the one shown above has to be fully dismantled and tested before it is melted down or shredded into the basic form of plastic because each type of plastic reacts differently.
D. I think that my product may not become obsolete for a long time until there is a safe way to recycle or reuse it, or the amounts of oil could severely deplete so plastics become too expensive to use as cheaply as our society uses it. I don't think plastic will really change at all, and the reason I think that is because in the past few decades we have never changed how plastics are used or made and all we've done is make things thinner and cheaper.
E. A trade-off is when you have to give up something precious in exchange for another object that is more desired. A trade-off may not be the ethical choice to make, but it tends to be the more economical choice.
F. Yes, I think that trade-offs were made because instead of refining the oil more they decided to turn it into plastics and once you do that it can no longer be made into heavier types of oils because oils can be distilled, but the effects can't be reversed.
G. It is important to recycle so we don't have to pull up as much resources from the Earth and we won't have to tear down as many habitats in the environment in the quest for more resources to get more money.
H. Product designers play a role in recycling because it is their duty to also factor in that the design they create must be recyclable or reusable in any way shape or form possible.
I. The role of society in the recycling part is to not be wasteful, Actually recycle instead of just throwing everything in the garbage, and being responsible for your own trash rather than littering on the street.
J. I can help by playing part of the role in our society and to encourage others to recycle, and maybe in the future if I am making designs it will be my job to make them reusable and recyclable.