Too Much Plastic!
Susan Hodges March 11, 2020
Why???
* 448 Million tons of plastic per year (much is “disposable”)
* More than half the plastic now on Earth has been created since 2002.
* Plastic pollution is on pace to double by 2030.
How Much?
Worldwide, more than 400 million tonnes of plastics produced each year.
Packaging accounts for more than one third of all plastics produced.
How did we get here?
* 99% of what goes into plastics are oil, and gas, especially fracked gas or ethane.
* Using incredibly high temperatures, these facilities (“ethane crackers”), sometimes fueled by their own dedicated power plants, “crack” the molecular bonds of the ethane to form the building blocks of plastics, such as polyethylene.
Plastic = Fossil Fuels
And…
* Plastics’ consumption of oil will outpace that of cars by 2050.
* Plastics are just a way of making things out of fossil fuels.
* The US shale gas boom is fueling massive build-out of plastic manufacturing.
* Producing virgin plastic is cheaper than recycling plastic.
Plastic Pollutes
at every stage of production and breakdown.
* Pollution from production of petrochemicals (fracking, drilling, refining, cracking), includes radioactive water, methane, chemicals with unknown effects on us, carbon emissions, etc.
* Many toxic materials (mostly unregulated) are involved in manufacturing plastics.
* Less than 10% of plastics are actually recycled, and recycling is energy intensive.
* Discarded plastics
* Incineration produces carbon emissions and spews toxins into the air.
* Plastics in landfills leach chemicals that pollute soil and water.
Plastics make climate change worse:
The production and incineration of plastic will produce more than 850 million metric tons of greenhouse gases.
Of all plastic uses,
packaging has the shortest lifespan.
What becomes of discarded plastics?
Soil contamination is thought to be between 4 and 23 times higher than in the sea.
Bottled water does not have to list microplastics as an ingredient.
So, what about Recycling?
Since 1950, the world has created 6.3 trillion kilograms of plastic waste — and 91 percent has never been recycled even once, according to a landmark 2017 study published in the journal Science Advances.
Unlike aluminum, which can be recycled again and again, plastic degrades in reprocessing, and is almost never recycled more than once. A plastic soda bottle, for example, might get downcycled into a carpet.
Modern technology has hardly improved things: Of the 78 billion kilograms of plastic packaging materials produced in 2013, only 14 percent were even collected for recycling, and just two percent were effectively recycled to compete with virgin plastic.
“Recycling delays, rather than avoids, final disposal,” the Science authors write. And most plastics persist for centuries.
* Most packaging plastics are not recyclable. In many places items numbered 3 and up cannot be recycled.
* Plastic degrades in reprocessing, and is almost never recycled more than once.
* Only some can be recycled at all
* Problems with recycling:
* costs, pollution, “reusability” issues
* more expensive than making new plastic
* energy intensive and may leave toxins
Of all the plastic ever created, only 9% is recycled WHY?
Strafford Plastic Recycling
* Acceptable items include most plastic bags (produce, cereal box liners, ziplock, etc. if clean and dry. (see March/April Strafford News)
* Are made into TREX composite boards – still plastic
* “Recyclable” plastics go to Casella, where they are sorted and most is sent to one of several recyclers. (gets made into fleece, jacket insulation, other containers)
* Items that can’t be recycled or composted become TRASH
*Items that Casella can’t recycle include:
How does so much plastic end up in the ocean?
Compostable bags are not a big help
The future of recycling plastic???
How a Plastic-Eating Caterpillar Could Help Solve the World’s Waste Crisis
Scientists are learning more about a caterpillar that is very hungry …. for plastics!
The plastic-munching abilities of the greater wax moth caterpillar were first discovered in 2017, when a scientist and amateur beekeeper put some of the insects, who also eat beeswax, into a plastic bag only to discover that they had eaten their way out. Now, researchers at the University of Brandon have discovered that the larval greater wax moths can survive solely on polyethylene — the type of plastic that makes grocery shopping bags.
Packaging makes up nearly half of plastic waste
So, what can we do???
(If you feel overwhelmed and you’re not sure where to start, collect your plastic waste for a month and conduct an audit. Cut back on what you find the most of.)
own!).
Some ways to “walk the walk”
Be willing to make changes!
Reusable Cloth Bags
Silicone
A silicone or polysiloxane is any of a number of polymers that include any synthetic compound made up of repeating units of siloxane, which is a chain of alternating silicon atoms and oxygen atoms, combined with carbon, hydrogen, and sometimes other elements.
Metal and
Glass
Other ways to cover food
Too Much Plastic.