Could Plastics be Getting an Unfair Bad Rap?

To be sure, our environment would be cleaner and safer if we eliminated harmful plastic products altogether. We are wasteful. A trip to the local landfill will reveal thousands of plastic bottles that should have been recycled (only about 30% of those used are reused). Environmentalists are continuing to fight the problem of waste daily, but they’re finding that plastics don’t come close to being society’s biggest waste and pollution issue. In fact, plastics only make up 1% of the problem.

When scientists are deciding what is environmentally “green,” they use a process called LifeCycle Analysis (LCA.). This tool considers every aspect of the energy and water used to make a product, the carbon dioxide generated, the waste and recycling properties. LCA is a standardized method that is accepted and respected by companies and government agencies alike.

By applying LCA to various plastic products, this is the truth about plastic:

• Plastic production, through the application of Advanced Recycling Technology, turns solid plastic into its gas or liquid raw materials. It is then remade into brand new plastic for use in virtually any plastic product or packaging.
• Plastics make up less than one percent of the materials we use. Glass and metals make up the vast majority of environmental damage.
• Plastics can be recycled.
• A plastic grocery bag left outside will disintegrate in less than a year (about the same speed as a leaf or piece of wood.). In fact, plastic polyethylene bags cause less harm than paper, cotton, or degradable plastic bags.
• Plastic degrades into particles that are non-toxic to our environment (as opposed to wood and ceramics.)
• A plastic straw causes less environmental harm than any substitute that has been manufactured to reduce the carbon footprint.
• We need plastic. The use of plastic helps us reduce the carbon emission from the manufacturing of other products, so the answer to creating a sustainable environment is not to eliminate, but to reduce and reuse plastic products.

What is society’s love affair with plastic? And do we really need it? The use of plastics actually helps us reduce the amount of waste and environmental damage in the long run!

• Less oil and fuel are needed in our cars because plastics make them lighter.
• We save oil, coal, gas, and electricity because plastics insulate our homes.
• Plastics keep our food fresh longer, preventing spoilage and reducing the massive carbon footprint that food production leaves.

If we eliminate plastic altogether, we still need to address 99 percent of the material waste in our society. And to date, all materials that would replace plastic products (paper straws, for instance) actually do more harm to the environment than plastics when considering manufacturing and transportation of those products as well.  We’re on the right road to a sustainable environment; reducing and reusing materials are the first steps to addressing plastics and all manufacturing that is proving detrimental to that goal.