The government of India’s ban of single-use plastic items came into force from 1st July this year. Any packaging that uses plastics under 100 microns such as for straws, cutlery, packaging films, balloons, sweet boxes, ice cream, PVC banners, cigarette packets and certain Styrofoam items will henceforth be a strict no. This is as it should be.
Plastic is made directly from fossil fuels. Even its production causes pollution. About 4% of the world’s oil production is estimated to be used to make plastics. However, what all constitutes single use plastic needs clarity of intent and purpose for its ban to be effective. The Earth Policy Institute, an independent non-profit environmental organization based in Washington, reported, nearly one trillion plastic bags being used worldwide and eight million tons of plastic washed into the oceans every year, pushing the world to a plastic pollution crisis. India generated 26,000 tonnes per day (TPD) plastic waste in 2017-18, according to the Central Pollution Control Board. 15,600 TPD or 60% was recycled, with the rest ending up as litter on roads, in landfills or in streams. The slow degradation in landfill leads to undesirable land fill gas (LFG) emissions, methane in the main.
Plastics also contribute to greenhouse gases in the equivalent of 850 million tons of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere. By 2050 plastic could emit 56 billion tons of greenhouse gas emissions, as much as 14% of the earth’s carbon budget and by 2100, the figure is expected to grow to 260 billion tons, more than half the carbon budget. Further, the manufacturing of plastic releases many toxic chemicals which are carcinogenic or neurotoxic. PVC releases vinyl chloride. Polystyrene releases dioxins and benzene. Polycarbonates release formaldehydes., A highly carcinogenic material Bisphenol A (BPA) is used in the manufacture of plastics bottles, food and beverage cans. This however, is finally released into the water and food that we drink and eat. We also ingest BPA from the fish we eat, which might be ingested with the plastic floating in the ocean. Doesn’t the future look dangerous if not addressed?
What are the alternatives to plastics? Are they really eco-friendly? Can we keep encouraging our use and throw culture? India’s per capita plastic consumption is about 15 Kg. and the recycling rate is 60%. It is possible to recycle into something almost all plastics. Historically, plastics cannot be turned back into their original materials. Plastic bottles can become materials for park benches, Styrofoam can be used as picture frames, and plastic bags may become composite lumber.
Can we fix potholes using plastic waste? McCartney and MacRebur’s solution of turning waste plastic into small pellets added into an asphalt mix in place of Bitumen, which helps bind asphalt together must be implemented. Between 3 kg to 10 kg plastics are used in every ton of asphalt, depending on the road design. Alternatives to bitumen must be considered to improve sustainability. Such plastic road mix is up to 60% stronger and lasts 10 times longer than standard asphalt, increasing a road’s lifespan and prevents potholes.
Let’s explore another dimension to plastics. According to the All-India Plastic Manufacturers’ Association (AIPMA), India has over 30,000 plastic making units employing 4 million people, 2.25 Lakh Crores market size of plastic processing value and 2000 exporters in the plastics business. Many of these units are in the unorganised sector. In times of economic slowdown, can the country afford layoffs triggering a further downturn? How will the ban then be enforced?
Businesses today are replacing plastic with alternatives like paper and biodegradable materials to manufacture bags, straws, packaging, cups and cutlery. We all may be feeling it is the right thing to do, but is it? Making paper starts out as a tree in a tree farm. It is taken to a mill, where the trees are made into a pulp. The pulp is then rolled into paper. However, we in the country cannot assure environmentally friendly recycled paper unlike the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certification which does it in the US.
That being what it is, there is another dimension to the paper industry. With the digital media booming and a decrease in readers of newspapers the demand for virgin newsprint has been falling. Consequently, the forestry industry is seeking new avenues to rescue the industry from a local recession. What can they be?
Though several benefits accrue to using paper, its biodegradability in 2 to 6 weeks compared to almost 500 years for plastic is the most important. But do you know that the carbon foot print created by use of paper is actually larger than that for plastic? Research on packaging materials from raw materials to recycling using “life cycle analysis”, conducted in University of Oregon, concluded that the carbon footprint of a plastic bag is less than a paper or cotton bag, due to water usage and pollution besides causing deforestation, air pollution, water pollution and enormous waste besides, paper packaging not being able to contain contamination easily. On the economic front, a common plastic bag is reused once, whereas a paper bag would need to be reused up to 43 times to have the same net environmental benefit.
What can be done? Paper containers lined with plastic to increase shelf life could be thought of. PLA, poly-lactic acid, or a polyester produced by fermentation under controlled conditions of a carbohydrate source like corn starch or sugarcane, used as a lining on paper products could be better. It is also fairly easy to recycle back into paper since it is a non-synthetic material whose manufacturing does not rely on chemical reactions. But then, the agricultural land used to grow corn would not be available to grow food.
Every act has a side that may not be palatable. Human greed must be tempered against the economic growth. Remember Mahatma Gandhi’s wisdom. “There is a sufficiency in the world for man’s need but not for man’s greed” The World Resources Institute (WRI) reports that every year, 13 million hectares of forest is destroyed, while afforestation may add eight million back. As alternative, we must explore paper from seaweed, or bio plastics made from corn, plants, sugarcane and algae or those created from bio polymers. Paulo Coelho, the Brazilian novelist had once said, “The world is changed by your example. Not be your opinion” Let’s change and not opine.