Transformation from High Density Polyethylene Waste to a Multifunctional Diamond

Abstract

Plastic is a legendary material with contradictory impacts to the modern world. It consists of great characteristics for an extremely wide range of applications, but it also causes environmental issues. Plastic up-cycling has become a popular solution to these issues. The growing trend of creatively integrating recycled plastic objects with conventional living environment has spread globally. Among a variety of plastic types, the high density polyethylene (HDPE) is mainly discussed in this thesis as an example to show the factors that need to be considered during the design of a recycled plastic product. The adventure goes through a series of studies on environmental condition, existing case studies, material characteristics, and regional recycling capabilities, mainly in the State of Hawai‘i. The thesis involves a constant exchange between problem finding and solving. With the proposed solution, there comes another challenge. Step by step, the thesis goes through a journey that discovers problem, resolves problem, meets challenge, and achieve a possible solution. Therefore, the balance between the pros and cons is the main task in the research and design portions, which presents a process of decision making in the plastic up-cycling.