One of the biggest problems today is the waste produced annually by the use
of plastics and the long-lasting effects it has on the environment. According to the
recent data by EPA, Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) generated in 2006 is 251 million
tons and several ways to manage MSW include source reduction, recycling,
composting, landfills, and combustion in order of preference (EPA, Municipal Solid
Waste 2008). The trend of MSW is shown in Figure 1 and shows that while each
person in the U.S. generates about the same amount of MSW per day, the total MSW
generation increased.