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Disposable Polymer Packaging: A Problem without a Solution?

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Abstract

The growth in the production of synthetic polymers is accompanied by an increase in the amount of polymer waste, which adversely affects the environment. The situation with plastic waste with an extremely short service life (single-use packaging and containers) requires special attention. Used disposable plastic is difficult to recycle, litters coastal areas, and enters the seas and oceans from there, causing serious damage to marine life. Ways to minimize waste from disposable plastic, the problems that arise in this case, and ways to solve them are discussed.

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Correspondence to A. A. Yaroslavov, M. S. Arzhakov or A. R. Khokhlov.

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Translated by B. Alekseev

RAS Corresponding Member Aleksandr Anatol’evich Yaroslavov is Head of the Department of Macromolecular Compounds, Faculty of Chemistry, Moscow State University. Maksim Sergeevich Arzhakov, Dr. Sci. (Chem.) is a Professor in the Department of Macromolecular Compounds, Faculty of Chemistry, Moscow State University. RAS Academician Aleksei Removich Khokhlov is Vice President of the Russian Academy of Sciences and Head of the Department of Physics of Polymers and Crystals, Faculty of Physics, Moscow State University.

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Yaroslavov, A.A., Arzhakov, M.S. & Khokhlov, A.R. Disposable Polymer Packaging: A Problem without a Solution?. Her. Russ. Acad. Sci. 92, 600–608 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1134/S1019331622050136

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