Circular Economy – Why We Can’t Completely Do Away with Plastics

Humanity’s relationship with plastic is rather schizophrenic. Plastic waste has become so ubiquitous that the planet is seemingly drowning in its litter. The trend began in the 1990s when the world became addicted to single-use, disposable plastic because it was cheap, easy to produce, and durable.

Currently, we produce about 380 million tons of plastic waste each year. At least 10 million tons of these plastics end up in our oceans. Simply put, that is the equivalent of one rubbish truckload every minute, at the least!

So, why is this the case? Well, it is because only 16 percent of plastic waste is recycled to make new plastics, while 40 percent is sent to landfills, 25 percent to incineration, and 19 percent is dumped.

In monetary valuation, this results in an estimated 80-120 billion US dollars’ worth of plastic material that is lost to the economy each year.

The packaging sector is responsible for almost half of the plastic in the world. According to a KPMG report, if the growth of plastic production continues at the current rate, the plastic industry could account for 20% of the world’s total oil consumption by 2050. Almost a third of all plastic packaging leaks out of collecting and sorting systems and ends up in the soil and the ocean.

This is the sole reason why environmentalists identify plastics as a big problem when it results in issues such as pollution, depletion of limited fossil fuels, and the loss of economic value.

Perhaps the mountainous issue of the whole thing is the planet’s severe dependency on plastic. It is incredibly difficult, if not nearly impossible, to do away with plastics – it is simply too useful and effective for its numerous applications, and as of yet no other material has come close to matching its cost-effectiveness ratio.

Why we Can’t Completely Do Away with Plastics

Plastics are highly beneficial for food packaging. However, there is ongoing debate as to how best to balance food and plastic waste and food safety. The argument is that plastic is necessary to prevent food waste; roughly one-third, or 1.3 billion tons, of the food produced for human consumption, gets lost or wasted every year.

Plastic packaging supports the safe distribution of food over long distances and minimizes food waste by keeping food fresher for longer, and it provides a barrier against bacteria.

For example, 1.5g of plastic film wrapping a cucumber can extend its shelf life from three to 14 days, and selling grapes in plastic bags or trays has reduced in-store wastage of grapes by 20%.

Consider another example, plastic water bottles that are sold around the globe. If we were to do away with them and replace them with glass bottles, it may seem like a good idea at first, but after considering the logistics of it, it is evident that it is not really a viable solution at all.

Why? For one, it is costly to produce a glass bottle than a plastic bottle. The cost of production, will, therefore, subsequently go up.

Secondly, plastics are way more durable compared to glass. Glass, however thick it is made, is still fragile as opposed to plastic. Plus, how sure are we that the industry guarantees the recycling of glass bottles?

If the plastic bottle problem lies in people neglecting to put them in the recycling bin, what difference would it make to give them a glass bottle instead?

ALSO READ: Plastic Value Chain: How Manufacturers are Embracing Recycling Methods

Another reason why we can’t completely do away with plastics is that recycling isn’t always king. Beyond the difficulty in the collection, many people don’t know what types of plastics can be recycled.

This is even worsened by colored plastics that are harder to identify by sorting technologies; this slows down the recycling process.

Further, plastic packaging cannot be recycled infinitely because it degrades in quality. Contamination and mixing of polymer types can also lower the economic and technical value of the secondary plastic being made and plentiful fuel is required to melt the plastic down and re-pelletize it.

Additionally, some of the most ubiquitous plastic films are difficult to recycle, such as crisp packaging and disposable cups with plastic lining.

The Solution?

Well, we can’t ban plastics entirely. What can be done is to turn the existing ones into a resource for making the next generation of plastics, thus effectively reducing the number of plastics lost in the environment and the number of natural resources we need to pull from the ground to make all of them.

How do we do this? Through a new plastics economy, one that recognizes the importance of the plastics value chain. This economy is made possible by companies using more recycled content to replace difficult-to-recycle plastics.

Luckily, companies such as Sprite have committed to packaging its soft drinks in clear PET bottles that are friendlier and can be easily repurposed in a new plastics economy. The clear bottles are easier to recycle compared to the lime-green ones, which means more Sprite bottles will be collected and recycled.

Other companies breaking free from dependence on virgin plastics include Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, and Nestle. They have focused their production on reusable, compostable, or recyclable plastics.