Plastic: a most versatile and ubiquitous material, it is difficult to imagine life

without it. Despite the growth it has enjoyed for decades, the detriment
caused to society and the environment by its abundance can no longer be
ignored. With 13,000 pieces of plastic litter found in every square kilometre
of ocean, and the manufacture of four plastic bottles producing a level
of greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to travelling one mile in a medium-
sized petrol car, there has never been a more pressing time to reinvent
traditionally linear modes of production.

Antoine Frérot, CEO of Veolia, notes the steep increase in plastic production
over the last half-century, from 15 million tonnes during the 1960s to a
reported 311 million tonnes in 2014. This figure is expected to triple by 2050,
when plastic production may account for 20% of global annual oil
consumption.

The Ellen MacArthur Foundation estimates the costs arising from single-use

plastics, together with those of the greenhouse gases emitted during
production, to be $40 billion. This staggering figure exceeds the current plastic
industry’s profit pool and further strengthens the arguments for why current
plastic production and consumption must be curbed. It simply no longer
makes financial, social or environmental sense.

As the global movement to protect the planet against spiralling plastic

production continues to gain momentum and the industries responsible for its
production face new heights of scrutiny, a new plastics opportunity has
emerged for business to both create value and drive more sustainable
practice simultaneously.

Plastic as its own raw material

With this new plastics opportunity in mind, could plastic become its own
solution? If the cornerstone of circular economy thinking is applied to plastics;
if economic growth is decoupled from limited natural resource use; and if new
ways are found to reuse plastic products already in existence - the versatility
of plastic may span new heights, create new value for businesses and protect
and future-proof our planet.

If regulatory and voluntary measures prioritizing recycling and recovery can

also align with sustainable innovation and new technological advancements,
the global need for virgin plastic could be dramatically reduced. For example,
at present the treatment, recycling and collection of plastic packaging varies
depending on the plastic type in question. This makes the appropriate action
to take unclear, and disincentivizes correct resource-recovery practices. As
some suggest, a global standardization of plastic packaging types may be one
solution to this issue. This could be realized through a fusion of public sector
collaboration to create effective policies, coupled with self-regulated industry
standards – resulting in improved recycling rates and easier resource
recovery.

The New Plastics Economy Global Commitment was announced by UN

Environment and the Ellen McArthur Foundation in October 2018 and has
more than 290 signatories. The commitment shows that many major public
and private actors are now advocating for a circular economy model that
closes the loop on plastics production and encourages innovative reuse. It is
the view of these organizations that with the correct regulatory and policy
boundary conditions, incentives and price signals, improved environmental
consequences and increased economic growth can be concurrently achieved.

By closing the loop, plastics would no longer be classified as waste. They

would instead act as a key source of value, entering and re-entering the value
chain as technical and biological inputs. This closed-loop solution has
gradually begun to gain momentum as businesses realize the potential size of
the prize on the table now that the technology exists to enable the use of
plastic as a raw material in future plastic production.

Technological innovation driving change

The era which we are entering, known as the Fourth Industrial Revolution, is
defined largely by rapidly developing technological capabilities. The World
Economic Forum and Accenture Strategy have identified three types of
technologies that support the transition to a circular economy, which span the
digital, physical and biological realms. Sustainable innovation must be at the
heart of the development of the technological capabilities that are
fundamentally altering the world in which we live. A sustainable plastics
innovation engine is already whirring into life, with many pioneering
companies such as Banyan Nation, Evian & Loop Industries, Bureo and
Perpetual Global using these Fourth Industrial Revolution technologies to lead
the charge in creating a new, waste-free plastics reality.

One of India’s first vertically integrated plastic recycling companies and

the Circulars People’s Choice Award Winner for 2018, Banyan Nation has
developed a pioneering technology capable of converting collected post-
consumer and post-industrial plastic wastes into high-quality recycled
granules, known as Better Plastic™. These granules are comparable in
 quality and performance to virgin plastic. Banyan’s award-winning data
intelligence platform integrates thousands of informal recyclers into their
supply chain, providing job security and improved livelihoods, in addition to
helping cities manage their waste more effectively

In a similarly innovative move, Perpetual has developed and brought to

market a sustainable and cost-effective technological process that alters post-
consumer PET bottles into high-quality, sustainable (poly)ester used to make
new bottles, packaging film and textiles. This ester can directly replace other
esters that have a higher carbon footprint.

Water giant Evian, in partnership with ground-breaking tech company Loop

Industries, has publicly pledged that all its water bottles will be manufactured
from recycled plastic by 2025. Loop Industries has developed a technological
solution that enables the creation of high-quality plastic resin for Evian’s
bottles without making any more plastic. Loop Industries’ technology uses a
catalyst that can separate PET plastic into its individual monomers without
heat or pressure. These monomers can then be remoulded into plastic resin
and can subsequently filter out impurities, creating virgin-quality PET plastic
resin at scale.

Where reduced resource use and increased economic gains are championed,
plastic’s use as a raw material has the capacity for transformative change.
Inspiring actors, such as Bureo, have already begun to showcase plastic’s
value as a raw material. For example, Bureo’s ‘Netplus’ materials, made from
discarded fishing nets, are being incorporated into the supply chains of
industry-leading businesses such as Patagonia, and in the ‘Untangled
Collection’ of Costa sunglasses. Since 2013, over 185,000kg of Netplus
materials have been collected across participating Chilean coastal
communities. Without Bureo, these materials are likely to have ended their life
in the ocean.

Have you read?

 If you recycled all the plastic waste on the planet, you would be the world's
richest person

 Why solving the problem of plastic waste will begin at home

Scale for the future

 Inspirational businesses such as these are capable of scale and significant
positive environmental shifts to protect the planet from further harm. These
companies have provided a platform on which to showcase their pragmatic
and scalable solutions and the economic and business opportunities ready to
be captured by all who rotate towards more circular operations and products.
The message is clear: the technology already exists to solve the problem of
plastic as we know it, turning it into a new and valuable business opportunity.

There has never been a better, more important time to wholly embrace the
technological developments enabled by the Fourth Industrial Revolution –
turning our current problem with plastic into new opportunities, while
protecting our planet. It is time to see the value in all plastic, and to begin to
view used plastic not as a waste product, but rather as a new raw resource
with infinite possibilities.

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Thisisplastic.com

Plastic Ban: Economy Vs Environment

Plastic
Use of Plastic over last two decades has become an essential part of life and no doubt ic
contributing to the growth of economy at the cost of environment. While it is hard to imagine life
without plastic in the modern world, its impact on damaging the environment, flora and fauna
has been raising concern across the world. 

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Used in All Spheres of Life
Plastic is seen in all spheres of life, from bottles of water to polybags to machinery parts; from
water and sewage pipe lines and water tanks, to bath tubs, electric fittings, screws, nut-bolts,
Information technology among others.
 
Plastic is available in so many variants that it is almost impossible to connect one type of plastic
to another. Where on one hand we see the low-density polyethene bags used to carry almost all
of our daily shopping products like groceries, on the other hand we have high quality plastic that
is used in children’s toys, storage boxes, containers, water bottles etc.
 
At such a time, debate often arises whether plastic should be banned. Ideally, yes, it should be
banned but practically, it is simply not that easy. While banning plastics is a boon for the
environment, it will be a bane for the economy.
 
How Plastic Harms Environment
 
1. Difficult to Decompose
It takes 500-1000 years for plastic to decompose and hence it is a permanent pollutant. Plastics
are composed of long-chain polymers of carbon and are developed from mostly petroleum
products. Decomposition occurs when organisms like bacteria break down a cellular structure
and feed on it. But the structure of plastics is not naturally occurring and thus organisms have not
yet been evolved to be able to utilise its chemical composition and thus cannot be decomposed
naturally.
 
The only method known so far to naturally decompose plastics is to leave it in open sunlight (UV
rays). Daniel Burd, a student at Waterloo Collegiate Institute, recently demonstrated that certain
types of bacteria can break down plastic. This is a breakthrough if the experiment can be
replicated and would solve the problem to a certain extent. 

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2. Forced Disposal Harmful

Plastic disposal is quite complicated as it cannot decompose and thus is very harmful if disposed
off in landfills, where it just lies and fills space that could otherwise be constructively used. If it
is left around on soil, it prevents seepage of water into the ground, providing breeding grounds
for all sorts of disease-causing germs. If it is disposed off in water bodies, it eventually makes its
way into the oceans where it affects the survival of marine organisms. Burning plastics releases
toxins which cause air pollution and adds to the already vast amounts of particulates in the
atmosphere. Basically, plastics cannot be disposed and need to be recycled.
 
3. Damages Wildlife
More than one million marine animals and birds are killed annually due to plastic wastes directly
or indirectly. When plastics are washed away in oceans and decompose due to direct sunlight
into smaller bits, they release toxic chemicals such as bisphenol A (BPA) and PS oligomer which
end up in animal guts or ocean shorelines and come in contact with humans and affect their
health too.
 
Further, plastics sometimes are directly consumed by fish and other marine animals and these
animals either die due to entanglement of plastic components in organs and subsequent organ
failures or the plastic ends up in their guts and enters the food chain. Sometimes, the plastics in
landfills is consumed by birds and the birds suffer the same fate as fishes. Autopsies of dead
fishes and birds have shown all forms of waste material being accumulated in their intestines.
 
4. Overuse
Global plastic demand stands in excess of 300 million tons every year. Every where we look, we
see plastics. This over reliance on plastics has led to excess of it in dumpsters and landfills.
Plastics are used to carry goods, in packaging material, in household products like food
containers and water bottles, disposable utensils, electronics casings, insulations and almost
everywhere.
 
5. Harmful Pollutant
Plastic pollution is seen in land, water, groundwater as well as in air. When plastics get buried
underneath the soil, the groundwater gets affected as plastics release their toxins into the water
and this water is then used by humans in households as well as in industries. Water pollution is
seen when plastics make their way into water bodies and litter shores and ocean beds and further
affect marine life. Plastic disposal in landfills affects the quality of soil due to seepage of toxins
into the soil and further prevents water to soak into the soil and prevents replenishment of
groundwater. When plastic is burned, toxins are released in the air.
 
6. Poisonous
Many plastic related toxins have also been found in humans. Polyvinyl chloride, or PVC, is
widely known as the most toxic plastic for health and the environment. In its production, it
releases dioxins, phthalates, vinyl chloride, ethylene dichloride, lead, cadmium and other
toxic chemicals. Further, plastics have been proven to be carcinogenic (cancer causing),
mutagenic (mutation inducing) or toxic. The increased number of cancer patients has been
attributed in part to the increased use of plastics.
 
Plastic Ban: Might Harm Economy
 
1. Bulky and Expensive Packaging
Plastic offers a cheap, hassle free and light-weight long duration and air tight packaging. Paper
bags and cloth bags cost quite a lot more than plastic bags and are not durable also. Moreover,
they are bulky and often unreliable. Especially paper bags and paper packaging  can be damaged
easily thus compromising the safety of goods being packed.
 
2. Difficulty in Branding
Mostly, companies give away custom made plastic bags that act as brand features with company
logos, contact information etc.  Printing on pre made plastic bags costs much cheaper compared
to cloth bags which need to be custom made. Thus, the ban on plastics will not only affect the
plastic industry but other industries as well.
 
3. Adverse Impact on Product Pricing
When the packaging of products is changed to an expensive alternative, it will naturally affect
the price of the product. This will result in a chain reaction of increase in prices of products all
over the market and affect customers and businesses alike.
 
4. Impact on Trade
The global market for plastic products is growing at about 3% per year, according to the research
report by The Business Research Company Plastics Product Manufacturing Global Market 2017.
It was worth $1.1 trillion in 2016, and is set to grow to $1.2 trillion by 2020. Banning plastics
will bring down a multibillion-dollar industry and thus cause a catastrophic effect on the
economy and subsequently the share market.
 
Possible Solutions
 
1. Greener Alternative
The situation calls for developing a substitute for plastics as pretty much everyone depends on
them. Currently, there are two types of bio degradable plastics available. The first is a plant-
based hydro-biodegradable plastic known as Polylactic Acid which is formed from corn and
degrades within 47 to 90 days. The other type is petroleum-based oxo-biodegradable plastic.
Apart from this, paper bags or biodegradable bags can be used for daily purposes and industrial
packaging material can be made from recycled material rather than custom made packaging.
 
2. Reducing Plastic Use at Personal Level
As it is said, nothing is impossible if all do their bit. So, for starters each one of us can start the
change by reducing use of plastics on a personal level, like refusing plastic grocery bags, plastic
bottles, food containers and other household items. Apart from that, we can encourage our
neighbours and relatives to recycle the existing plastic so as not to add to the waste and rather
use it again.
 
3. Gradually Ban Use of Plastics
Banning use of plastics outright is a very drastic measure that we cannot afford at the moment
due to lack of alternative options. Even if it is banned, it might result in illegal manufacturing,
use and disposal of plastic material which might further add to the problem as there will no
longer be any rules and regulations to follow as plastic itself will be contraband. This might put
plastic as a form of black-market business which will be quite hazardous to the environment.
 
4. Global Initiatives
Various global initiatives have been taken to tackle the problem of plastic waste solution. One of
these is the Clean Seas Campaign started by the United Nations and is being supported by
several sports events in form of sailing, yachting and surfing to raise awareness. Apart from that,
several businesses have taken initiative to give parts of their income to help clean the oceans of
plastic waste. Moreover, a lot of celebrities like Leonardo DiCaprio and Mark Ruffalo have
spoken up about the degrading environment and set up foundations to help tackle the problem at
some level.
 
5. Recycling
Plastic has become sort of a necessary evil in our lives. But continuing to harm the environment
is no longer an option. If we want to move forward from plastics, it has to be done in steps. It is
something that needs to happen gradually no matter the urgency of the situation. Industries
engaged in recycling of plastics and putting the material to unharmful uses should be
encouraged. Recently Hindustan Unilever has launched the process of plastic disposal &
recycling leading to no adverse impact on environment.
 
What we can ensure nonetheless is minimal use of plastics on a personal level and at the same
time moving towards greener alternatives on an industrial and global level. The first step being
enforcing stricter recycling laws and banning low quality plastics. Next, we can concentrate on
greener methods that can substitute plastic which will not cause the consumers much discomfort.
Because without providing an acceptable alternative for plastics, if plastic is banned, it is more
likely to result in illegal marketing and disposal of plastics which will only harm the
environment further.