Plastic Free July is a global movement that encourages people to reduce single-use plastic through this month (and beyond).
It's almost impossible to imagine our lives without plastic. It’s everywhere starting from our basic home products to food and cosmetics. It’s a versatile material – flexible, durable and resistant to corrosion. In certain applications, there is simply no better alternative than plastic.
But plastics proliferation is a cause for concern given their non-biodegradable nature. The plastic items, packaging and stickers either end up in landfills or clog up rivers and oceans or break into micro plastic particles, poisoning our air, water and bloodstream. Approximately 40% of all plastic produced is designed for single-use purposes, and little of it is easily recycled. Governments are regulating the use of plastics through measures such as bans on single use plastic products, while businesses are shifting to alternative materials and rightfully so.
Our social feeds are often flooded with messages aimed at raising public awareness on adopting sustainable alternatives to plastic. While the information chiefly advocates the three Rs – Reduce, Reuse and Recycle, it’s time we went deeper into the subject. Studies have shown that consumers are not only taking these messages seriously, but also indirectly driving sustainability decisions of brands and businesses. Are the alternative materials really sustainable? We can pit one material against another and pick the one that seems comparatively eco-friendly. But a closer look will tell you that there is more to it than meets the eye.
Paper
The immediate go-to material, in the absence of plastic packaging – wherever applicable – is paper. How sustainable is paper?
Firstly, paper is made from trees. Did you know it takes 24 trees to make just one tonne of paper? Forests are natural carbon sinks. They help reduce greenhouse gas levels in the atmosphere by storing carbon away for years.
Secondly, paper production is energy- and water-intensive. Third, paper bags have more mass and are much heavier than plastic bags which means they require more fuel to transport. Also, paper products are often more expensive than plastic. Finally, paper bags are not as durable and cannot withstand wear and tear like plastic bags.
But the good news is that paper is biodegradable and recyclable, provided it is not contaminated with food and other materials and not lined with plastic films (think paper cups). Not only does recycled paper save trees, but it also drastically reduces the amount of just about everything else that it uses up. And it can be recycled about five to seven times.
Plastic uses and emits less but is recycled at a lower rate. Paper uses and emits more but is recycled at a higher rate. Both plastics and paper have their pros and cons with respect to their production method, use and disposal.
Glass
In the quest to find an alternative to plastic packaging, glass has become a popular choice, especially for containers to hold liquids. The United Nations declared 2022 as the International Year of Glass to ‘highlight how a traditional product can be a part of sustainable development.’ From carrying the signals that power the Internet to applications in healthcare and clean energy technology, glass has been humankind’s most important material. Its durability and non-toxic properties make it ideal for foods and materials which require preserving. Moreover, glass containers can be reused 12 to 20 times.
But all is not well with glass. As a non-biodegradable material, when left in the environment, it takes over a million years to decompose ( whereas plastic takes about a 1000 years). However, glass does not release toxins into the environment.
Glass is infinitely recyclable, capable of being continually reused without a loss in quality or purity. In some countries, glass used for packaging has a high recycling rate compared to other packaging materials. But not all glass products make it to recycling facilities. Contamination, separation issues, and the need for colour sorting can complicate the recycling process.
Glass production is as detrimental to the environment as plastic. It is made by heating a mix of silica-rich materials like sand, soda ash, and limestone to 1,500 °C. This heat, which comes from natural gas, accounts for between 75% and 85% of the carbon emissions. (On the other hand, recycled glass has a lower melting point.)
Glass is heavy and bulky, leading to higher transportation costs and fuel consumption.
The mining of silica sand - the raw material for glass manufacture - can also be damaging to the environment and human health. The belief that glass is sustainable solely due to its infinite recyclability is flawed.
Bioplastic
Bioplastic refers to plastics made from plants or other renewable biological sources instead of petroleum. There are two main types of bioplastics – PLA ( Polylactic acids) made from the sugar in corn starch, cassava or sugarcane and PHA (polyhydroxyalkanoate) made by microorganisms, sometimes genetically engineered, that produce plastic from organic materials. Bioplastic polymers can also be made from reused or recycled bioplastics.
Using bioplastics has obvious ecological benefits: the reduced use of fossil fuel resources, fast decomposition and emission of lesser carbon than conventional plastic. Bioplastic is also less toxic and does not contain bisphenol A (BPA), a hormone disruptor that is often found in traditional plastics. When discarded, bioplastics will add less carbon to the atmosphere than conventional plastic. But they are not the silver bullet to plastic pollution.
Because in many aspects, they are no better than regular plastic. Bioplastics aren’t usually 100% vegetable matter. Sometimes they can be as little as 20%. The rest could be conventional materials. It all depends on the type of bioplastic.
Although bioplastics contain biological ingredients, not all are compostable or biodegradable. Under the right conditions, microorganisms can convert biodegradable bioplastics into water and carbon dioxide in a few weeks. Like mentioned above, many biodegradable products may still contain conventional plastic, making them more difficult to break down. They must be processed in special facilities to break down. Many cities and villages do not have the infrastructure to do so. If bioplastics end up in landfills, they may release methane in the absence of oxygen. If they end up in marine environments, they will function similarly to petroleum-based plastic, breaking down into micro-sized pieces, lasting for decades, and presenting a danger to marine life.
Are they recyclable? Yes, however, separate recycling streams are necessary to be able to properly discard bioplastics. If it ends up with your recycled plastic, it can contaminate items that are otherwise recyclable.
Research has shown that bioplastic production requires extensive land use and increased pressure on food security.
One of the best ways to eliminate the negative impact of materials on the environment is to eliminate their single use. It is the single-use nature of products that is the most problematic for the planet, more so than the material that they’re made of.