-
Browse Book Series
- Adhesion and Adhesives: Fundamental and Applied Aspects
- Advances in Additive Manufacturing Technologies
- Advances in Antenna, Microwave and Communication Engineering
- Advances in Biofeedstocks and Biofuels
- Advances in Cyber Security
- Advances in Data Engineering and Machine Learning
- Advances in E-Mobility
- Advances in Hydrogen Production and Storage
- Advances in Intelligent and Scientific Computing (AISC)
- Advances in Learning Analytics for Intelligent Cloud-IoT Systems
- Advances in Membrane Processes
- Advances in Nanotechnology and Applications
- Advances in Natural Gas Engineering
- Advances in Pipes and Pipelines
- Advances in Production Engineering
- Advances in Solar Cell Materials and Storage
- Applied Functional Materials
- Artificial Intelligence and Soft Computing for Industrial Transformation
- Astrobiology Perspectives on Life in the Universe
- Bioprocessing in Food Science
- Computational Intelligence and Biomedical Engineering
- Concise Introductions to AI and Data Science
- Cyber Systems and Quantum Engineering
- Decentralized Systems and Next-Generation Internet
- Diatoms: Biology and Applications
- Digital Convergence in Engineering Systems
- Emerging Trends in Medicinal and Pharmaceutical Chemistry
- Engineering Systems Design for Sustainable Development
- Fintech in a Sustainable Digital Society
- Industry 5.0 Transformation Applications
- Infectious and Rare Diseases
- Innovations in Materials and Manufacturing
- Machine Learning in Biomedical Science and Healthcare Informatics
- Materials Degradation and Failure
- Mathematics and Computer Science
- Next-Generation Computing and Communication Engineering
- Performability Engineering Series
- Rotating Machinery Fundamentals and Advances
- Studies in Computational Intelligence and Smart Technologies
- Sustainable Computing and Optimization
Browse Subject Areas
For Authors
Submit a ProposalPlastics and Sustainability, 2nd edition
 | Grey is the New Green: Exploring the Nuances and Complexities of Modern Plastics By Michael Tolinski and Conor P. Carlin Copyright: 2021 | Status: Published ISBN: 9781119591849 | Hardcover | 286 pages Price: $125 USD  |
One Line Description
The book offers a comprehensive and practical understanding of how plastics are used in the modern world. It includes a solid basis of the foundational science that underpins how
polymers are made and how they function in a variety of applications, markets, and industries.
Audience
The book is written for plastics and packaging professionals, including materials engineers, product designers, in-house marketing teams, and industry consultants. It will also appeal to sustainability professionals and environmental consultants, as well as university faculty and students at both undergraduate and graduate levels.
The book is written for plastics and packaging professionals, including materials engineers, product designers, in-house marketing teams, and industry consultants. It will also appeal to sustainability professionals and environmental consultants, as well as university faculty and students at both undergraduate and graduate levels.
Description
Increased public scrutiny of plastic materials and the plastics industry has led, paradoxically, to both a deeper understanding and a growing confusion about polymers, their origins, their uses, their risks, and ultimately their disposal. Plastics and Sustainability clearly lays out the thorny and contentious issues that we encounter as consumers, as businesses, and as individuals on a shared planet.
What’s new in the 2nd edition?
•
It covers seismic events in the plastics, packaging, and environmental arenas over the past decade, including increased public awareness, the birth of the circular economy, international treaties, advanced recycling technologies, and exciting innovations in bio-based and other novel materials.
•
Numerous real-world examples of how breakthroughs in polymer research and application engineering have led to the successful introduction of new products, business models, and industrial eco-systems that underpin the emerging circular economy.
•
Objective comparisons among major polymer grades and bioplastics including their life cycle assessments and practical performance in commercial applications.
Back to Top
Increased public scrutiny of plastic materials and the plastics industry has led, paradoxically, to both a deeper understanding and a growing confusion about polymers, their origins, their uses, their risks, and ultimately their disposal. Plastics and Sustainability clearly lays out the thorny and contentious issues that we encounter as consumers, as businesses, and as individuals on a shared planet.
What’s new in the 2nd edition?
•
It covers seismic events in the plastics, packaging, and environmental arenas over the past decade, including increased public awareness, the birth of the circular economy, international treaties, advanced recycling technologies, and exciting innovations in bio-based and other novel materials.
•
Numerous real-world examples of how breakthroughs in polymer research and application engineering have led to the successful introduction of new products, business models, and industrial eco-systems that underpin the emerging circular economy.
•
Objective comparisons among major polymer grades and bioplastics including their life cycle assessments and practical performance in commercial applications.
Back to Top
Reviews
“There are many reasons why an object is designed and manufactured with plastics, however, minimizing the depletion of other – more valuable – natural resources to maintain an ecological balance is perhaps key among them. Ahead of its time, Tolinksi’s book addressed many of the issues that only until recently have been in vogue. Conor Carlin builds on the original and challenges plastics engineers to consider ‘end of life’ at the onset of product design. Because of their flexibility and properties, plastics will be around for a long time, so it is up to humanity to produce, use, and dispose of them in the most responsible way. Plastics and Sustainability should be mandatory reading for all polymer scientists and plastics engineers during their professional careers, and a reference book for those in search of facts in a sea of misinformation”. Dr. Jaime Gomez, SPE President (2021-2022)
“There are many reasons why an object is designed and manufactured with plastics, however, minimizing the depletion of other – more valuable – natural resources to maintain an ecological balance is perhaps key among them. Ahead of its time, Tolinksi’s book addressed many of the issues that only until recently have been in vogue. Conor Carlin builds on the original and challenges plastics engineers to consider ‘end of life’ at the onset of product design. Because of their flexibility and properties, plastics will be around for a long time, so it is up to humanity to produce, use, and dispose of them in the most responsible way. Plastics and Sustainability should be mandatory reading for all polymer scientists and plastics engineers during their professional careers, and a reference book for those in search of facts in a sea of misinformation”. Dr. Jaime Gomez, SPE President (2021-2022)
"Good design involves more than just clever ideas. It also requires thoughtful, practical solutions that make effective use of materials. "Plastics and Sustainability" was a topic ahead of its time when Tolinksi completed the first edition 10 years ago. In this second edition, Conor Carlin presents a wealth of new data and information, and brings fresh insight to the conversation on sustainability. If you are involved in the world of design, this book should be on your short list". Eric R. Larson, PE, Consulting Engineer, author of Thermoplastic Material Selection: A Practical Guide
"In ten short years, we have seen the dramatic rise of "The Circular Economy" and the resultant impact on plastics. In the second edition of this valuable book, Conor Carlin brings much-needed updates to the array of new materials, to the science behind new resins, and to the options available for strategic choices on what materials will be best suited for one’s business. He does a magnificent job describing the current landscape of the plastics industry and the technologies around recovery. The reader will come away with a basic understanding of mechanical, chemical, or other forms of advanced recycling techniques. Furthermore, the book explores Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) of plastics and what they truly mean for designers, brands, and consumers alike. I recommend that even if you read the first edition, you will need to read Carlin’s updated second edition. An extremely interesting read." Tamsin Ettefagh, CSO & VP Industry Relations, PureCycle Technologies
“I can recommend this second edition of “Plastics and Sustainability” as a book that offers a solid education rooted in the science of plastics — plastics naysayers would do well to read it before they begin bashing plastics”. PLASTICS Today
Back to Top
Author / Editor Details
Michael Tolinski was a writer of plastics sustainability issues for industry readers as well as a contributing editor for Plastics Engineering magazine published by the Society of Plastics Engineers. His materials science and engineering degree and previous career as a manufacturing/materials engineer gave him a solid background in plastics and in the practical problems faced by manufacturers. His first book, Additives for Polyolefins was published in 2009, while Plastics and Sustainability was published in 2012. Mike passed away in 2016.
Michael Tolinski was a writer of plastics sustainability issues for industry readers as well as a contributing editor for Plastics Engineering magazine published by the Society of Plastics Engineers. His materials science and engineering degree and previous career as a manufacturing/materials engineer gave him a solid background in plastics and in the practical problems faced by manufacturers. His first book, Additives for Polyolefins was published in 2009, while Plastics and Sustainability was published in 2012. Mike passed away in 2016.
Conor Carlin is the Managing Director of ILLIG LP, the North American subsidiary of ILLIG Maschinenbau GmbH & Co., a Germany-based designer and manufacturer of thermoforming, tooling, and packaging systems. Carlin has written articles on plastics and sustainability for industry publications in the US, Europe, and Asia. For 10 years he was an active mentor to cleantech startups in the Boston-Cambridge cluster, focusing on energy efficiency, advanced materials, and biofuels. In 2020, he was elected as the first VP of Sustainability for the Society of Plastics Engineers. Carlin received a BA from Boston University and an MBA from Babson College.
Back to Top
Table of Contents
1. General Introduction
2. Plastic Life Cycles
3. Polymer Properties and Environmental Footprints
4. Applications: Demonstrations of Plastics Sustainability
5. Design Guidelines for Sustainability
6. Sustainable Considerations in Material Selection
7. Processing: Increasing Efficiency in the Use of Energy and Materials
8. Conclusion: Grey is the New Green
Back to Top
1. General Introduction
2. Plastic Life Cycles
3. Polymer Properties and Environmental Footprints
4. Applications: Demonstrations of Plastics Sustainability
5. Design Guidelines for Sustainability
6. Sustainable Considerations in Material Selection
7. Processing: Increasing Efficiency in the Use of Energy and Materials
8. Conclusion: Grey is the New Green
Back to Top