*[Enwl-eng] How plastic heats the planet
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No images? Click here  Plastic waste, when it appears on the surface of the sea or at the side of a road, is a problem that's easy to recognise. Much more plastic is made each year than can be safely absorbed by the systems built to recycle it, and the result is mounting pollution. Talks are under way in Paris this week to agree the terms of an international treaty which could do something about this issue. What is often overlooked, however, is the plastic industry's role in fuelling climate change. A study published in 2019 found that making, using and disposing of plastic accounts for 3.8% of global greenhouse gas emissions. "That’s almost double the emissions of the aviation sector," says Laurie Wright, a senior lecturer in sustainability at Solent University. "If it were a country, the 'Plastic Kingdom' would be the fifth-highest emitter in the world." You're reading the Imagine newsletter – a weekly synthesis of academic insight on solutions to climate change, brought to you by The Conversation. I'm Jack Marley, energy and environment editor. This week we're discussing what plastic pollution and climate change have in common. Every stage of a plastic product's lifecycle can be a potential source of climate-damaging emissions, Wright explains. More than 99% of plastic starts life as petroleum or natural gas, and is refined by the petrochemical industry using a process which releases carbon dioxide and methane to form basic plastic building blocks such as ethylene. Transporting this resin consumes fuel, and so also generates emissions. These steps account for 61% of the total emissions originating from plastic. A further 30% is emitted while making the plastic bags, bottles and other items we use each day. The remainder is released when plastic is thrown away. It can take centuries for plastic to decompose and slowly return its stored carbon (and other harmful chemicals) to the atmosphere. But when this waste is incinerated, as a lot of landfill waste is, the process is dramatically sped up. Petrochemical firms at the plastic treaty negotiations favour an agreement that would aim to recycle all of that waste. But researchers like Cressida Bowyer, who studies plastic pollution at the University of Portsmouth, are sceptical. "Only 6-9% of all plastic ever produced has been sent for recycling," she says, writing with fellow Portsmouth academics Keiron Roberts and Stephanie Northen. "Although plastic and other waste is collected for recycling in most countries, the amount of material that is remade into the same or similar products (what is called closed-loop recycling) is extremely low. "Only 2% of plastic waste is recycled in a closed loop and not turned into something of lower quality, which is called downcycling. Recycling cannot fully replace virgin material as it can only be recycled twice before losing necessary properties, and so most recycling results in a downgraded material that cannot be used for the same purpose." Not only would ramping up recycling fail to curb the greenhouse gas emissions from making all that plastic, attempting to recycle it could create other kinds of pollution, the team point out. A recent study highlighted how recycling facilities can release hundreds of tonnes of microplastics each year. Another report showed how attempting to recycle plastics containing toxic additives can contaminate subsequent batches. Pascal Scherrer, a senior lecturer in environmental science at Southern Cross University in Australia, argues that there are more reasons to be wary of recycling as a supposed solution to the plastic problem. "I explore opportunities to reduce plastic waste in sectors such as tourism, hospitality and meat production," he says. "I know how quickly we could make big changes. But I’ve also seen how quick-fix solutions can create complex future problems. So we must proceed with caution." One example is swapping wood for recycled plastic. Trading a material which would otherwise be a living tree keeping carbon out of the atmosphere for something made from an abundant waste product sounds ideal. No wonder benches, tables and bollards are increasingly made from recycled plastic. But, Scherrer cautions, wood is at least biodegradable. Plastic, even when it has been recycled, breaks down into smaller and smaller fragments which now contaminate virtually every environment on Earth – including the human blood stream. Bowyer, Roberts and Northen suggest that the simplest solution to all this pollution is also the best: stop making so much plastic in the first place. Extending the lifespan of the average plastic item by reusing it can also help reduce demand for more plastic. "Manufacturers must stop making so much unnecessary plastic to reduce the amount entering the economy," they say. "There is no case for making plastics that are impossible to collect, reuse or recycle, or are toxic. Yet they are abundant: think multilayered sachets, thin films and wrappers. These should be phased out as a priority." As with the fossil fuel industry and climate change, petrochemical companies are unlikely to willingly make and sell less of their product to reduce pollution. And the parallels between the two problems don't end there, according to Deirdre McKay, a reader in geography and environmental politics at Keele University. "The environment appears to be drowning in plastic for the same reason that global temperatures continue to rise – fossil fuels have remained cheap and abundant," she says. The advent of hydraulic fracturing (better known as fracking) to acquire fossil fuels such as shale gas during the first decade of the 21st century made the raw materials for plastic manufacturing significantly cheaper, McKay explains. The result has been a glut of plastic packaging on supermarket shelves that is difficult to recycle and overwhelmingly ends up in landfill, incinerators – or the environment. As oil demand wanes with the rise of electric vehicles, McKay warns that fossil fuel companies will pivot to producing plastic instead – with all the greenhouse gas emissions and other pollution such a move entails. "Concern about plastic pollution isn’t distracting people from a more serious problem – plastic is the problem. If we see plastics as 'solid climate change', they become central to the climate crisis." - Jack Marley, Environment commissioning editor Was this email forwarded to you? Join the 20,000 people who get one email every week about the most important issue of our time. Subscribe to Imagine.  Plastic recycling is failing – here’s how the world must respond Making less plastic and reusing what exists should be the priority.  3 little-known reasons why plastic recycling could actually make things worse Here's what we – both individually and globally – should be doing more of, and what to avoid.  Plastic warms the planet twice as much as aviation – here’s how to make it climate-friendly As well as polluting our seas, plastics are heating the atmosphere too. Urgent changes are needed to eliminate plastic's contribution to climate breakdown.  Fossil fuel industry sees the future in hard-to-recycle plastic The fossil fuel industry plans to compensate for declining demand for gasoline by flooding the world with more plastic.  We discovered that the 12 largest petrochemical companies announced 88 new projects between 2012 and 2019: new and expanded facilities that will likely operate for decades, ramping up carbon emissions.  Plastic waste is hurting women in developing countries – but there are ways to stop it Women and girls in low-income countries are disproportionately likely to be affected by the plastic waste that's flooding our planet. Latest from The Conversation on climate change
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Sent: Wednesday, May 31, 2023 8:02 PM
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