Resources
Plastics processing
Anonymous, "Recycling Roundup: Everything you wanted to know about #1 and #2" Pollution Prevention View 8. 1 (2008), 4-5, http://www.ct.gov/dep/lib/dep/p2/newsletter/p2viewwinter08.pdf. (accessed July 2008). Basic information on how two types of plastics are recycled. Includes some nice links, too.
Fossil Energy Office of Communications, "Fossil Energy: How Fossil Fuels were Formed." March 25, 2008.http://fossil.energy.gov/education/energylessons/coal/gen_howformed.html (accessed July 2008). Good explanation of how fossil fuels were formed. Some dysfunctional links, though.
Hurd, David J. "Best Practices and Industry Standards." 1997.http://www.napcor.com/pdf/Master.pdf (accessed 7/11/08). This is an industry document, which is a very good basic explanation of how plastics are recycled. However, it should be noted that industry practices in this area have probably evolved some since it was written.
Imhoff, Daniel. Paper or Plastic: Searching for Solutions to an Overpackaged World. San Francisco: Sierra Club Books, 2005. This book is an interesting look at how and why packaging decisions are made and their consequences.
Strong, A. Brent. Plastics: Materials and Processing. 3 ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson/Prentice Hall, 2006. Excellent primer on making industrial plastics.
Chemical Migration
Bosnir, Jasna, Dinko Puntaric, Antonija Garlic, Ivo Skes, Tomislav Dijanic, Maja Klaric, Matijana Grqic, Mario Curkovic, and Zdenko Smit. "Migration of Phthalates from Plastic containers into Soft Drinks and mineral Water." Food Technology and Biotechnology 45, no. 1 (2007): 91-95. Very nice paper on the chemical migration of phthalates from PET into various soft drinks and waters.
Wargo, John. Plastics that may be harmful to children and reproductive health. Linda Wargo, Nancy Alderman, Susan Addiss, Jane M Bradley. North Haven, CT: Environment and Human Health, Inc., 2008. Excellent explanation of why plastics pose a threat to human health.
Wargo, John. Green Intelligences. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2008. This is going to be a great book; can't wait to read the full version.
Endocrine disruption
Schettler, Ted, Gina Solomon, Maria Valenti, and Annette Huddle. Generations at Risk: Reproductive Health and the Environment. Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press, 1999. Good book describing how environmental pollutant can cause human health problems.
Plastics Use
American Chemistry Council, "Plastics division." 2008.http://www.americanchemistry.com/plastics/ (accessed July 2008). Current information on Plastics from one of the major industrial groups.
Connecticut State Department of Education, "Science curriculum Embedded Tasks (Strand II)." 2002.http://www.sde.ct.gov/sde/cwp/view.asp?a=2618&q=320892 (accessed July 2008). The Strand II experiments are the ones that are included in this unit.
Environmental Working group, "Guide to baby safe bottles and formula." 2008.http://www.ewg.org/files/EWG_babyguide.pdf (accessed July 2008). Very useful for pregnant students.
FDA Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, "Food Ingredients and Packaging." June 25, 2008.http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/%7Edms/opa-notf.html (accessed July 2008). FDA regulations on what packing materials can come into contact with foods. (Bottom of the page)
Jeavans, Christine. "A Month without Plastic." August 1, 2008.http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/7508321.stm (accessed August 2008). Journalist documents attempt to live for one month without plastic. Good for information on how plastics are used in daily life.
Packaging Today, "Packaging News for Packaging Companies,." 2008.http://www.packagingtoday.com/ (accessed July 2008). Information on current topics in plastics packaging as well as other sorts of packaging from the packaging industry.
Shukman, David. " Warning on plastic's toxic threat." March 27, 2008.http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7316441.stm (accessed July 2008). Website describes the environmental persistence of plastics.
Society of the Plastics Industry, "The Society of the Plastics Industry." 2005.http://www.plasticsindustry.org/ (accessed July 2008). Current information on plastics from one of the major industrial groups
US House and Senate. (2008). Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008 (HR 4040 (101st congress)). Washington, DC: US Government. This bill permanently bans the use of several phthalates in children's toys and temporarily bans the use of several others.
Bottled Water
Anonymous, " Mario Batali Gives Bottled Water the Boot." 2007.http://www.earthlab.com/articles/MarioBatali.aspx (accessed July 2008). Article about various restaurants choosing not to serve bottled water and some of their reasons.
May, Lindsay. "But It's Just a Bottle of Water…." 2006.http://www.sciencecases.org/bottled_water/bottled_water.asp (accessed July 2008). Case Study exercise on bottled water.
New Jersey Department of Health and Senior services. (2007). Report to the New Jersey Legislature Senate Environmental and Assembly Environmental committees summarizing laboratory test results on the quality of bottled drinking water for the period January 1, 2006 through December 31, 2006 Trenton, NJ: State of New Jersey. Interesting information on water quality found in New Jersey's bottled water.
Information on the waste stream
Amaral, Kimberly. "Plastics in our oceans." unknown date.http://www.whoi.edu/science/B/people/kamaral/plasticsarticle.html (accessed July 2008). Describes how plastics end up in our oceans.
Amos, John M. "Cleaning Up the Waste Stream: Recycling Plastics." October 1993.http://extension.missouri.edu/explore/wasteman/wm0002.htm (accessed July 2008). Part of one of the CAPT experiments
Coalition for a safe and healthy Connecticut, "Coalition for a safe and healthy Connecticut." 2008.http://www.safehealthyct.org/welcome1.html (accessed July 2008). Connecticut group working to reduce the use of toxic chemical.
Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection, "Pollution Prevention View Magazine." 2008.http://www.ct.gov/dep/cwp/view.asp?a=2708&q=324064&depNav_GID=1763#CurrentandPreviousIssues (accessed July 2008). Magazine on Pollution Prevention published by the CT DEP. Good for student reading, approximately 6 th grade reading level.
Northeast Recycling Council, "Toxics in Packaging clearinghouse." 2007.http://www.toxicsinpackaging.org/index.html (accessed July 2008). Provides a model for legislation on reducing toxins in the waste stream.
Northeast Recycling Council, "Northeast Recycling Council." 2008.http://www.nerc.org/index.html (accessed July 2008). NERC's homepage: full of interesting ideas for recycling and accompanying legislation.
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