ON THE FUTURE OF OUR RELATIONSHIP WITH PLASTIC

In light of the recent negative media attention on plastic littering, particularly after the broadcasting of David Attenborough’s fantastic documentary Blue Planet II, it has become a little awkward to say the least when the subject of my profession comes up at dinner parties. However, while plastic littering is a terrible problem our world is facing, it is important to remember that the field of plastics is massive and not all plastics should be tarred with one brush. Our modern world as we know it would not exist without plastics. And the advantages of plastics are often talked down or ignored entirely by the media in the debate surrounding the future of the material.

BUT WHAT ABOUT ALTERNATIVE MATERIALS?

Yes, plastics are a relatively recent material, having been introduced to the mass market in the 1950s, but since then they have become vital to many aspects of our day-to-day lives. The very characteristics of plastic that have made it such a popular and versatile material to use in so many areas are also what make it such a problematic material in term of littering and environmental impact: plastic is an extremely light-weight, durable, strong and cheap material. It is also important to remember that there are many different types of plastics with many different uses. A lot of single use plastics, such as disposable bags or wet wipes, are some of the worst offenders environmentally. On the other hand, many plastics can be completely recycled or energetically recovered. In fact, according to a study conducted by trucost in 2016, the environmental cost of replacing plastic with alternative materials could be nearly four times greater than it currently is (source: https://www.trucost.com/publication/plastics-and-sustainability/). Of course, where alternative materials are feasible, these options should definitely be explored.