Prelims 2022 · Q46
MediumWith reference to polyethylene terephthalate, the use of which is so widespread in our daily lives, consider the following statements:
- 1.Its fibres can be blended with wool and cotton fibres to reinforce their properties.
- 2.Containers made of it can be used to store any alcoholic beverage.
- 3.Bottles made of it can be recycled into other products.
- 4.Articles made of it can be easily disposed of by incineration without causing greenhouse gas emissions.
Which of the statements given above are correct?
Answer & explanation
Answer: (a) 1 and 3
Statements 1 and 3 are correct: PET is the polyester of clothing, blended with cotton and wool, and PET bottles are recycled, mostly into polyester fibre. Statement 2 is wrong because PET lets in oxygen and is unsuited to long storage of some alcoholic drinks. Statement 4 is wrong because burning PET turns its carbon into carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas.
- ✓ 1. PET fibres are used alone or blended with natural fibres such as cotton, and wool-polyester and cotton-polyester blends are common textile mixes.
- ✗ 2. PET has only moderate oxygen permeability, so it suits short storage but harms the aroma of an alcoholic drink such as wine when kept for long. It is not fit for any and every alcoholic beverage.
- ✓ 3. PET bottles are mechanically recycled; in India most recycled PET, about 95% by one estimate, is spun into polyester fibre.
- ✗ 4. Burning plastic releases CO2 in proportion to its carbon. EPA's model takes PET as 63% carbon, with about 98% of that carbon turning into CO2 on combustion.
Remember · PET = polyester: blended with cotton and wool, and recycled (mostly into fibre). Burning it releases CO2, and it is a poor container for long-stored alcoholic drinks.
Sources
- NIH National Library of Medicine (PMC), Recycling Textiles: From Post-Consumer Polyester Garments to Materials for Injection Molding ↗ “In textile products, PET fibers are often used alone or blended with natural fibers such as cotton to improve breathability, or with elastane to create stretch fabrics.”
- NIH National Library of Medicine (PMC), Depolymerization of Polycotton-Blended Fabrics: Challenges and Opportunities ↗ “blended materials, like cotton–polyester, wool–polyester, cotton–wool, or wool–cotton–polyester”
- NIH National Library of Medicine (PMC), Roadmap to sustainable plastic waste management: recycling PET in Singapore and India ↗ “In India and Singapore, mechanically recycled PET materials were utilized to make polyester fibres.”
- NIH National Library of Medicine (PubMed), Aromatic evolution of wine packed in virgin and recycled PET bottles (Internet Archive copy) ↗ “Because of their moderate oxygen permeability, the use of virgin PET and recycled PET bottles could be adapted for short conservation of wine but detrimental to aromatic quality if long conservation is intended.”
- US EPA, WARM model: Plastics (greenhouse-gas emission factors) ↗ “CO2 emissions from combusting plastic depend on the carbon content of the plastic and the amount of carbon that is converted to CO2 during the combustion process.”
Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper I (2022, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 1 Oct 2026 (how we verify). Permalink ·