Biobased plastics
Could switching to biobased plastics be a solution? The addition of“bio” makes it sound like a more sustainable alternative, but there are still a lot of considerations to be made.
Biobased means it is made from a renewable resource which means it is not necessarily different in chemical composition from regular plastic. There is still a large amount of biobased plastics that harm the environment, can not be recycled, and are a risk to humans.
Plastic made from plants instead of fossil fuels requires vast amounts of farmland. This in itself could cause environmental problems and takes away valuable food supplies. It’s also not yet sure that biobased plastics do not cause damage when they are composted. Some claim they make soil and water more acidic.
Read more about the pro’s and con’s of biobased plastics.
Compostable
And then there is the term “compostable” which in theory means that biobased plastics are broken down by microbes, but they can be turned – alongside food and other organic waste – into compost. This however, only is true for a minority of the plastics we are using at home. In most cases, the label “compostable” means industrially compostable, so only with the right kind of industrial equipment.
Read more about “compostable plastics”.
And then there is the term “compostable” which in theory means that biobased plastics are broken down by microbes, but they can be turned – alongside food and other organic waste – into compost. This however, only is true for a minority of the plastics we are using at home. In most cases, the label “compostable” means industrially compostable, so only with the right kind of industrial equipment.
Read more about “compostable plastics”.
Recycling
Could that be a solution? Nope. Sorry. Although the industry hides behind the possibility of recycling, few plastics actually get recycled. In the US not even 10% and in Europe about 15% of all plastics get recycled. The mechanical recycling that dominates today is hampered by contamination and a high variety in plastic waste streams. And those plastics that are recycled usually get turned into less-valuable products.
Read more about the challenge of recycling.
Clean ups
Yes, it is satisfying to clean up beaches, hopeful to see multi million dollar mechanical devices set out onto the oceans to fish for plastics, but it is not as simple as it seems. Nobody knows exactly how much plastic trash is in the ocean, but scientists estimate that some 244,000 metric tons might bob on the surface, and another 8.5 million metric tons may sink to the sea floor every year. And this amount is expected to triple over the next century. No cleaning up effort will be able to keep up. We need to approach the problem from multiple angles.
Read more about clean ups.