Polymer materials are designed for a limited service life; therefore, the problem of minimizing polymer waste, as well as their subsequent disposal, is becoming increasingly urgent. Polymer waste can be minimized either through secondary processing (which requires separate collection and sorting) or through the development of waste-free closed-cycle technologies. The final disposal of a polymer material occurs when it is buried in the soil in a landfill or when incinerated in an incineration plant. The main scientific problems associated with the optimal planning of all stages of the life cycle of a polymer material—its production, operation, and disposal—are discussed.

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.

The effect of the composition of a polyisocyanate–polyester–foaming agent mixture on the density, the thermal conductivity, the mechanical properties, and the thermostimulated shrinkage of polyurethane foams is studied. Nonshrinking foams with a shape stability and a thermal conductivity of 0.0234–0.0310 W m^–1 K^–1 are prepared. A change in the polyisocyanate/polyester ratio makes it possible to control the thermostimulated foam shrinkage in the range from 0 to 78%.

The influence of chemical and physicochemical modification on the mechanical properties of polyurea coatings has been studied. It has been demonstrated that the use of aromatic and aliphatic polyisocyanates, as well as polymer modification with minor amounts (no more than 2 wt %) of polytetrafluoroethylene and polymethylsiloxane, makes it possible to control the elastic modulus of the coating in the range 22–172 MPa. The results obtained determine the possibility of producing a family of coatings with a spectrum of construction properties, from those characteristic of rubbers to those typical of plastics, using a limited range of parent monomers and small amounts of modifying agents.

Aqueous formulations based on anionic butadiene-styrene microspheres (BSMs) and cationic poly(diallyldimethylammonium chloride) (PDADMAC) with the weight PDADMAC fraction from 0 to 1 were studied as the stabilizers of loose sandy soils. In general, these systems were shown to be represented as the mixtures of microspheres saturated with PDADMAC and unbound polycation. Mechanical testing of BSMs–PDADMAC films evidenced that with increasing weight PDADMAC fraction, a 20-fold growth in elastic modulus, 2-fold growth in strength and 2-fold decrease in ultimate strain of the material were observed. Treatment of the sand with the above formulations resulted in formation of a protective porous polymer-sand surface crust with the strength from 0.8 to 45.0 MPa. “Elasticity–rigidity” balance and water resistance of the crusts were controlled by weight fraction of polycation in the mixed formulation. Stable water-resistant polymer-sand crusts were shown to be prepared using formulations with the weight PDADMAC fraction from 0 to 0.2. The results indicated a great potential of the polymer-colloid formulations for the fabrication of structured sand coatings with controlled properties.