ENST499B

This course covers the nature of plastics ranging from chemical composition and production to large-scale aspects of economics, policy, and pollution. The role of plastics in ecosystems is emphasized in lectures and hands-on exercises. Technologies for disposal and recycling of waste plastics are reviewed. The relatively new field of Industrial Ecology provides a context in the course for considering plastics as a product of human systems within the Biosphere. Through literature review and ecological reasoning, the course will challenge some currently-held beliefs about plastics in the environment.