An incredible amount of plastic pollution and electronic waste poisons the environment. In various places like remote islands and our bodies, plastic can be found. Plastic, which is produced from fossil fuels, is directly related to the climate crisis. Big Oil’s fossil capitalist approach is shifting responsibility for plastics from companies to their customers, placing responsibility for environmental degradation on consumers. Meanwhile, Big Oil is increasing its plastic production to compensate for upcoming scenarios in which fossil fuels become stranded assets. The technological problem with plastics is linked to other industries, but technology can also be part of the solution.
Imagine plastic pollution like a crowded bathtub in your bathroom, said Josh Lepawsky, a professor at Newfoundland Memorial University who maps the international movement of electronic waste The Verge.
“Once you got into it, the first thing you would probably do was close the faucet – don’t grab a bucket and a towel if you think of the bucket and towel as recycling,” says Lepawsky. Closing the faucet is tantamount to stifling the production of plastic products. Trying to clean up the growing mess will not solve the root of the problem. “That doesn’t mean you don’t use a bucket and a cloth. That’s not turning off the tap. “
Possible solutions for plastic poison
Plastic waste management technologies around the world are traditionally divided into 4 general categories: mechanical recycling, raw material recycling, energy recovery and disposal.
What can be done to make plastics that have already been produced more valuable?
Technology companies make environmental claims about incorporating recycled materials. Is recycled plastic really an environmentally friendly investment?
- Microsoft is proud of its Ocean Plastic Mouse, made from recycled elements. However, its partner in the venture is Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (SABIC), a subsidiary of oil company Saudi Aramco. The mouse shell is made of 20% recycled plastic, and any environmental gain could potentially be wiped out if the company sells 20% more mice, a trap that environmental economists describe as a “return effect” or “Jevon’s paradox.”
- Logitech pushes recycled plastic items after use.
- Samsung boasts watch straps made from recyclable and environmentally friendly materials such as apple peel.
Industries outside of technology are also trying to reduce plastics in manufacturing: food packaging, fashion and toys. We hear about trends in which plastic bottles are transformed into thin fibers used in carpets and fleece.
The quality of plastics deteriorates with each use, so the goal of producing new plastics from old ones – downcycling – is very difficult. It may not have the strength or durability for a 1-on-1 conversion, so fresh plastic must make up the difference for new plastic products. More often than not, degraded plastic ends up in a recycling center or at a landfill or is burned.
GAO emphasizes the possibility of chemical recycling as an alternative or complementary technology to current mechanical recycling processes of sorting and shredding. Chemical recycling technologies use heat, chemical reactions, or both, to recycle used plastics into new plastics, fuel or other chemicals – creating a closed loop where plastics can be recycled indefinitely to reduce reliance on landfills. GAO recognizes that chemical recycling technologies face barriers, such as high start-up costs and little incentive to invest in innovation.
Dow Chemical offers a strategic mitigation strategy that tests the plastic construction of roads. The idea is to pave the roads with polymer modified asphalt (PMA) using recycled plastic that is used after use. Waste plastics such as plastic bags, disposable cups and PET bottles, for example, are collected from landfills as an important ingredient in building materials. The plastic is then finely ground before blending into Dow’s Elvaloy Ret asphalt modification technology. The problem with this approach – and I’m not a scientist – is that Dow’s asphalt modification technology is full of chemicals, many of which are made from fossil fuels. How far, in fact, is this plastic paved road from petrochemical-based plastic?
What can be done is to produce an item that does not require high quality plastic or chemically modified recycled plastic? An expanded view of the plastic problem reshapes it around plastics and lifelong sustainability, not just waste.
Bioplastics such as PLA, PHA, PHB, PHV, PHH and starch polymers are more commonly referred to as plastic alternatives.
Sustainable management of plastic waste for developing countries can aim to turn plastic waste into resources. Experts argue that a circular economy with a legislative approach and standards on plastic waste management can help reduce external environmental impacts. It can also provide a secondary resource such as energy and materials through urban mining, in which waste plastics are converted into potential anthropogenic resources. Both help achieve the goal of sustainable development.
Duke University has established a Technology Inventory for pollution prevention and plastic collection. The inventory was created to help local authorities, NGOs and other stakeholders identify technologies that can help remediate hotspots of plastic marine pollution. It contains 52 technologies developed since July 20, 2020 to 1) prevent plastic pollution from entering the environment or 2) collect existing marine plastic pollution. Inventory technologies can be searched based on remediation strategy (i.e. prevention or collection), type of plastic (i.e. macroplastic, microplastic or both macroplastic and microplastic) or inventory category (e.g. laundry balls; boats and wheels).
Advocating for technology companies to stop plastics
Consumers are calling out Big Tech for the damage they are doing to the environment. Their product production contributes to air pollution, greenhouse gas emissions, waste and water use. Employees at Microsoft, Amazon, Google and other technology giants have published letters urging their companies to stop polluting and stop working altogether with fossil fuel companies.
Have you ever tried contacting Amazon and asking for your order to be shipped in paper or cardboard rather than in plastic shipping envelopes? It is a whirlwind nightmare of customer service alleged help messages that lead to frustration without results. Aaarrgghh! You are not alone.
Since 2019, the Alliance for the End of Plastic Waste has brought together over 90 member companies, project partners, allies and supporters dedicated to ending plastic waste in the environment.
5 Gyres has completed 19 expeditions since 2009, bringing more than 300 scientists, citizens, corporate executives, brands and celebrities to gardens, lakes and rivers to conduct first-hand research on plastic pollution.
The Plastic Pollution Coalition is a growing global alliance of more than 1,200 organizations, businesses and thought leaders in 75 countries working in a fairer, fairer world free of plastic pollution and its toxic effects on humans, animals, waterways, oceans and the environment.
2050: I gave up plastic raises awareness of individual plastic pollution by asking participants to sign a pledge to give up plastic water bottles, accessories, plastic bags and straws.
“We can’t recycle our way out of this problem – acute reduction of plastic products, recycled or not, is the solution,” said Max Liboiron, an associate professor of geography at Memorial University who is researching plastic pollution. The Verge. “Even the production of new plastic items that use some of these ocean plastics as raw materials will result in a net increase in plastic pollution.”
Perhaps engaging in advocacy for a group like one or the other may have an impact. Spread the word: it’s time to put a moratorium on plastic production!
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