THE PLASTICS
PROBLEM
AN INTRODUCTION TO THE PROBLEM OF PLASTICS WASTE AND THE TRUTH
ABOUT RECYCLING
From the 1950s to the 1970s, only a small amount of plastic was produced,
and as a result, plastic waste was relatively manageable.
Between the 1970s and the 1990s, plastic waste generation more
than tripled, reflecting a similar rise in plastic production.
In the early 2000s, the amount of plastic waste we
generated rose more in a single decade than it had in
the previous 40 years.
Today, we produce about 400 million tonnes of
plastic waste every year.
Some 98 per cent of single-use plastic products are
produced from fossil fuel, or "virgin" feedstock.The level of
greenhouse gas emissions associated with the production,
use and disposal of conventional fossil fuel-based plastics is
forecast to grow to 19 per cent of the global carbon budget
by 2040.
“Dramatically increasing the manufacturing of single use
plastic we simply don’t need is how oil and gas
corporations believe they can keep us chained to this toxic
industry for another 20 years.”
“Petrochemicals have replaced cars as the fastest-growing
source for oil demand.They are the new gas guzzlers.”
8.3 billion tons of virgin plastic have been produced globally.
Only 9% of discarded plastic has been recycled:
the rest has been either burned, landfilled, or released into the
environment.
Inadequate waste management systems and human negligence ARE NOT
the main contributors to plastic waste leakage into terrestrial and waste
management systems.
The plastics industry – with manufacturers of fast-moving consumer goods
– continues unimpeded with their plans to expand the production of
disposable packaging and products.
Cigarette butts — whose filters contain tiny plastic fibers
— are the most common type of plastic waste found in
the environment. They are a persistent form of toxic
plastic pollution. Littered in the environment they do not
biodegrade. they slowly leak a chemical cocktail of highly
toxic and carcinogenic substances into soils, waterways,
lakes, and the oceans.
Food wrappers, plastic bottles, plastic bottle caps, plastic
grocery bags, plastic straws, and stirrers are the next
most common items. Many of us use these products
every day, without even thinking about where they might
end up.
We all contain microplastics, as do the fish we eat and the waters in which
we swim.This is typically communicated as a dangerous side effect of plastic
consumption.
What we should worry about: microplastics contaminate essential
zooplankton and phytoplankton and reduce their ability to capture and
transport carbon dioxide to the depths of the ocean, rather than returning
to the atmosphere.
“Early indications that plastic pollution may interfere with the largest
natural carbon sink on the planet should be cause for immediate attention
and serious concern.”
It is estimated that 75 to 199
million tonnes of plastic is
currently found in our oceans.
Unless we change how we
produce, use and dispose of
plastic, the amount of plastic
waste entering aquatic
ecosystems could nearly triple
from 9-14 million tonnes per year
in 2016 to a projected
23-37 million tonnes per year by
2040.
It is estimated that 1,000 rivers are accountable for nearly 80% of
global annual riverine plastic emissions into the ocean, which range
between 0.8 and 2.7 million tonnes per year, with small urban rivers
amongst the most polluting.
UN Environment Programme
The same properties that make plastics so useful —
their durability and resistance to degradation —
also make them nearly impossible for nature to
completely break down.
Most plastic items never fully disappear; they just
break down into smaller and smaller pieces.Those
microplastics can enter the human body through
inhalation and absorption and accumulate in
organs. Microplastics have been found in our lungs,
livers, spleens and kidneys.
A study recently detected microplastics in the
placentas of newborn babies.The full extent of the
impact of this on human health is still unknown.
There is, however, substantial evidence that plastics-
associated chemicals, such as methyl mercury,
plasticisers and flame retardants, can enter the
body and are linked to health concerns.
Plastics by the numbers
FAST FACTS
• Half of all plastics ever manufactured have been
made in the last 20 years.
• Production increased exponentially, from 2.3
million tons in 1950 to 448 million tons by 2015.
Production is expected to double by 2050.
• Every year, about eight million tons of plastic
waste escapes into the oceans from coastal
nations. That’s the equivalent of setting five
garbage bags full of trash on every foot of
coastline around the world.
• Plastics often contain additives making them
stronger, more flexible, and durable. Many of
these additives can extend the life of products if
they become litter, with some estimates
ranging to at least 400 years to break down.
“The Philippines is at a critical juncture in
the battle against plastic pollution. Our
country’s unique biodiversity, alongside
the health, welfare and sources of
livelihood of our people, deserve
protection, and we must act decisively,” -
Jam Lorenzo from BAN Toxics’ Policy Development and Research Unit
The Philippines had the largest share of plastic waste dumped in
the ocean in 2019. Around 36.38 per cent of global oceanic plastic
waste came from the country in year 2019 and this scale is
considerably more in comparison to India, the second-largest
plastic polluter, having accounted for about 12.92 per cent of the
total the same year.- Earth.org June, 2023.
The Philippine Context
Zero Waste Cities project areas in the Philippines
manage to recover and divert from landfills 70-80%
of their solid waste by composting organic waste
and selling recyclable discards to waste markets.
BUT THIS IS STILL QUITE AND EXPENSIVE
EFFORT.
The 17 cities and municipalities In Metro Manila
spent P4.221 billion or US$80.7 million for waste
management in 2012 alone.
Using the tool WABA (Waste Management and
Brand Audit), estimates have been done as to how
many sachets, plastic shopping bags, and other
plastic packaging are discarded in the country.
Solutions?
News about turning single-use plastic into roads, chairs, floor
tiles, bricks, pavers, and homes have been getting attention. The
process includes collecting plastic waste, cleaning it, shredding,
and melting it and adding to other construction and building
materials for road construction or other new materials.
Melting plastic releases highly toxic emissions, which could lead
to more harm than good. Workers are at risk. Over time,
plastic, although already turned into a new product, breaks
down or leach into microplastic and end up polluting marine
life and the soil. Plastic-to-roads have so far worked
only at pilot level and has not been proven to work on a large
scale.
This also begs the question: who
bears the cost of collection of
plastic waste?
Ecobricks, Turning Plastics to Various Crafts
These should never be used as an excuse to generate waste or use single use plastic. It is a stopgap
measure in the sense that it does not really issue the root cause of plastic pollution by addressing it
at source - stopping the production of single-use low-value plastic packaging. It also perpetuates the
industry’s narrative that plastic pollution is only a litter issue.
There are thousands of different plastics, each with its own
composition and characteristics. They all include different
chemical additives and colorants that cannot be recycled
together, making it impossible to sort the trillions of pieces
of plastics into separate types for processing.
polyethylene terephthalate (PET#1) bottles cannot be
recycled with PET#1 clamshells, which are a different
PET#1 material, and green PET#1 bottles cannot be
recycled with clear PET#1 bottles (which is why South
Korea has outlawed colored PET#1 bottles.)
High-density polyethylene (HDPE#2), polyvinyl chloride
(PVC#3), low-density polyethylene (LDPE#4),
polypropylene (PP#5), and polystyrene (PS#6) all must be
separated for recycling.
There are seven specific RIC codes, including:
Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET) typically including drinks bottles and cups.
High-Density Polyethylene (HDPE) including bottles, cups and milk jugs.
Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC) including rigid plastics like pipes and tubes.
Low-Density Polyethylene (LDPE) such as beer six-pack fasteners and plastic
bags.
Polypropylene (PP) used in food containers and some plastic car parts.
Polystyrene (PS) again used to hold food, drinks cups and some plastic utensils.
‘Other’ – A general purpose category for acrylic, nylon and other plastics.
https://ecocycle.org/eco-living/recycling-101/recycling-plastics/
The Real Solution
The plastics industry must take responsibility for creating and funding a systemic approach to stemming the tide
of the obscene amount of plastics that fill our markets’ shelves and later our oceans. Our goal isn’t to just clean
up plastic waste or invent better recycling technology, as the chemical industry would tell you.The goal is to stop
using fossil fuels!
Better recycling is one part of that solution, but it must start with
REDUCING plastic production in the first place.
We need to collectively call on companies to:
REDUCE plastic use by eliminating the plastics we don’t need.
Pursue reusable, recyclable, or compostable alternatives for plastics we do need.
Immediately STOP using plastic polymers that are more toxic to produce and almost impossible to recycle: the
#3, #6, and #7 plastics.
Design their products so they can be readily recovered.They should standardize the types of plastic resins used
and chemical additives included.
Take responsibility for keeping the plastics we do use circulating in the economy and out of the environment by
buying them back and using them in the production of new materials in true “bottle to bottle” recycling.
Recycling won’t be THE solution to this problem, but done correctly, it will be an important component.
The only solution to the plastic waste crisis is to produce less of it. It involves a systemic change—and
by this we do not only mean changing the product (for example, simply using an alternative to plastic),
but by changing how we view and do things—and requires everyone doing their part: the people
becoming more mindful of their consumption, the government banning unsustainable products and
putting up efficient waste collection and management system, and corporations drastically reducing their
production and use of single-use plastics and focusing on true environment-friendly and sustainable
products and delivery systems.
