SINGLE-USE PLASTIC : WHAT IS IT?

WHAT IS SINGLE-USE PLASTIC?

In the name of convenience, and of course low production cost, half of the total plastic manufactured is of such low quality that they tend to be used just once, before being discarded. All such plastic, fall under the ‘single-use plastic’ category. As the single-use plastic is meant to assist with everyday activities, these inorganic, man-made material have become an intricate part of most people’s lifestyle. We wear it, work with it, eat and drink from it. In fact, it is harder to list scenarios free of single-use plastic!

Just the top of the list includes common day-to-day items like single-use plastic shopping bags, water bottles, plastic food packaging, disposable coffee cups, straws, toothbrush… The list just goes on. Most of these single-use items, not only do they end up littering the environment but in a lot of cases, end up littering our own homes too. Over time, without our realising it perhaps, single-use plastic has become a severe addiction, of the human race, to convenience.

Agreeably, recycling is a much more effective solution to all the plastic trash generated, than merely letting them squat for centuries on a landfill. However, the reality of the recycling industry is another tale altogether. Apart from the fact that recycling tends to incur a considerable cost, much more than the value derived from the recycled products, there are many other complications, that disqualifies recycling as a long-term solution. Here’s an article to give you more insight into the truth of the recycling industry: Plastic Recycling Facts

Amount of common single-use items produced globally every year:

TAKEAWAY PACKAGING – 2.5 billionCOFFEE CUPS – 16 billionDRINKING STRAWS – 36.4 billionBEVERAGE BOTTLES – 46 billionCIGARETTE BUTTS – 580 billion

Why use these plastics? What are the challenges and what are the benefits?

Several big-name companies have moved to phase-out single-use plastic items from their operations since the start of 2017, with some – including Morrisons and Iceland – citing consumer demand as their main driver for doing so.

However, sustainability experts including Committee on Climate Change chair Lord Daven have warned that we are now entering an era where shoppers will demand plastic-free items without considering why the material has been used, with common benefits of its use including protection from damage in transit and prevention of food waste through product life extension.

For example, a wrapped cucumber will last an  longer average of three than an unwrapped one, retaining 2% more of its weight in the process due to reduced evaporation. Elsewhere, health companies continue to cite difficulty removing single-use plastic packaging used to keep surgical equipment sterile and medicine in good condition, while several disabled consumers have claimed single-use plastic straws and wet wipes in their day-to-day lives.

Plastic has also historically been a safer and cheaper alternative to paper, glass or cardboard for many companies, with online sportswear retailer Surfdome having seen its packaging costs increased by 11% since pledging to go plastic-free.

Traditional plastics are made using fossil fuels and are therefore a finite resource. With the world now producing more than twice as as much plastic as it did in 1998, resource scarcity fears are beginning to loom for the plastics industry. Not enough, however, to prevent the sector from increasing in value every year since 2010, setting it on a trajectory to reach $654bn in 2004

The challenges associated with continued plastic use are therefore more likely to be social and environmental than financial. With around 12 millions tonnes of plastics entering waterways and oceans around the world each year, conservationists are increasingly tending to animals dying of starvation because their stomachs are too full of plastic to find food. Scientists are currently trying to determine how plastic in water and seafood could be affecting public health, with microplastics having been found in human stools for the first time in 2018 trends are leading corporates to take action – oftentimes at a cost to their business – in order to retain or regain consumer trust.

What is the policy landscape like for plastics?

In the UK, several policies aimed at reducing public reliance on single-use plastics by encouraging behaviour change have been implemented in recent years. The implementation of a 5p charge for plastic bags in 2015 has led to an 86% reduction in the number of carrier bags distributed in England, with the average resident purchasing 121 fewer bags in 2018 than 2015.

Following the success of this charge, the Government is now consulting on whether the charge should be raised to 10p and extended to include SMEs, which are currently exempt if they have fewer than 250 employees. Similarly, a Government-led ban on the use of microbeads in rinse-off care products came into force in 2018.

Elsewhere, ministers recently consulted on the introduction oc a deposit return scheme  to improve the recycling of plastic drinks bottles and containers – a move which has received backing from the likes of Tesco, the Co-op and Coca-Cola European Partners (CCEP). In Germany, such a scheme was implemented in 2003, and drinks bottle recycling rates now stand at 99%.

A further consultation, which closed in December 2018, aims to help ministers explore how best to design policies that will lead to a UK-wide ban on the sale and distribution of plastic straws, drink stirrers and cotton buds by 2020. Prime Minister Theresa May said the moves would help the UK become a leader in resource management, building on the aims of her Government’s 25-year Environment Plan. As part of that plan, the Government plans to eliminate avoidable plastic waste by 2042.

More widely, Defra is expected to include increased rates of tax on businesses using virgin plastics and tax breaks for manufacturers using recycled content in its new Resources and Waste Strategy (RWS), which is due for publication before the end of 2018. Environment Secretary Michael Gove has also confirmed that the RWS will include specific measures to tackle single-use plastics.