Plastic is one of the most well known artificially created substances in the world. It is everywhere and its uses are practically infinite. Plastic is utilized in the construction process of buildings, homes and other infrastructure throughout the world in different climates. Plastic is utilized in the manufacturing of automobiles, both internally and externally. Even in electronics and in electrical appliances, plastics are utilized because it makes our electronics lighter, attractive, and durable.
Despite all of these uses of plastics, it is infamously known for packaging and the preservation of goods. Plastic is used because it is durable, shatter proof, hygienic, secure, light-weight and is malleable; allowing designers to create whatever packaging design they see fit for a specific product.
Improvements in chemical technology became publicly available after World War I, which lead to the industrial-scale production of plastics. Plastics were officially mass-produced and utilized in different ways, starting around 1940’s and 1950’s. In less than seven decades, over 8.3 billion metric tons of plastic have been disposed of. Globally, more than 91% of plastics do not get recycled because of the lack of adequate recycling facilities. Additionally, many people are not aware which plastics can be recycled and which plastics cannot due to the lack of technology or recycling methods.
A startling statistic was revealed by the World Economic Forum (WEF) in a 2016 report, which stated that if we continue to dump plastics indirectly or directly into the oceans at the rate we are doing today, by 2050, there will be more plastic in the oceans than marine life. In the WEF report it states that “after a short first-use cycle, 95% of plastic packaging material value, or $80 billion to $120 billion annually, is lost to the economy”. Additionally, experts predict that by 2050, “the amount of plastics produced globally will increase three times to 1,124 million tons”, according to CNN Money.
In order to combat the increasing dependency of plastics and the increasing plastic pollution in the oceans, several stores throughout the world are attempting to adopt a plastic free culture. A plastic- free aisle in a Amsterdam supermarket by the name of Ekoplaza has featured more than 700 food items ranging from meats, grains, sweets and vegetables. All these items are secured and packaged in cardboard, glass, metal, or compostable materials. Ekoplaza intends to add plastic free aisles into all 74 of its stores by the end of 2018.
Many environmentalists hail these types of efforts as ground breaking and successful. Nevertheless, many prefer a zero-waste method of purchasing goods because packaging such as cardboard or compostable materials are either recycled or composted, thus not allowing them to be reused like glass or metal. The creation of cardboard or compostable packaging still requires extraction of resources from this planet and require other resources or mechanisms to be recycled or decomposed.
Non-plastic packaging is an excellent method of reducing plastic in our lives, oceans, and the environment in general. It is not an effective approach, however, because the potential mass production of these alternative packing products will still result in the need to recycle or compost them, requiring energy, space, and resources. This will result in issues similar to that of plastics, as mass-quantities of non-plastic packaging piles up.
In many Global South regions of the world, governments do not possess the financial nor the political capacity to create recycling or composting facilities to accommodate these non-plastic packaging, resulting in the unethical disposal of the waste into oceans or the surrounding environment. Either way, mass production of any source of non-plastic packaging will result in disposal issues like that of plastics, which we are facing today.
The best way to reduce waste from our planet is to move towards a zero-waste society, where packaging becomes a thing of the past. If we do not fully move towards a zero-waste society and adapt from “more environmentally friendly” packaging methods, our over consumption will result in the same type of issues we face with plastics, such as how to manage massive quantities of “more environmentally friendly” packaging waste.
By Abdeali Saherwala
Please note that opinions expressed are the author’s own. They do not necessarily reflect the views and values of The Blank Page
