Plastics and Bioplastics – How Do They Affect The Environment?

The ubiquitous plastics are a durable as well as a versatile family of materials with wide ranging applications. One of the important use of plastics is for product packaging; without it an estimated 400 percent more material by weight would be needed to make packaging, making the transport of bulky and voluminous consignment more difficult and resource-intensive. They are used as insulating material in buildings, thus significantly improving the overall energy efficiency in housing. Their lightweight properties reduce fuel consumption in vehicles, planes and freight transport.

Shelter Made of recycled Plastic Lumber; Source: British Recycled Products

Environmental Concerns: Pros and Cons of Plastics

Plastics come from the by-products of the processing of crude oil for which the fossils formed by the anaerobic decomposition of buried dead organisms are the raw materials. These are non-renewable sources that will ultimately run out of supply.

The manufacture of plastics uses large amounts of energy and resources and generates toxic emissions and pollutants that contribute to global warming. Burning fossil resources increases CO2 in atmosphere, which increases the global temperature through the greenhouse effect and brings about climatic extremes such as flooding and drought.

The very durability of plastics causes environmentalists to be concerned about its safe disposal. Some plastics can take between 500 and 1,000 years to break down completely. Plastics are non-biodegradable – that is, it does not undergo bacterial decomposition. Discarded thin-plastic carry-bags cause unsightly clogged drains, create litter, hurt marine life, and choke animals that eat them. Strewn across fields, they block plant growth and prevent rainwater absorption by soil. 

The following is an interesting video on “The Great Pacific Garbage Patch” that will convince everyone how plastics harm our oceans in a big way:

Any attempt to get rid of plastic through landfills is also dangerous. Cadmium and lead in the wastes invariably mix with rain water, then seep through the ground. Apart from the toxins contaminating water sources, the plastic wastes impede the flow of ground water as well and obstruct the movement of roots thereby affecting vegetation. The landfills emit methane which is 23-times more potent a greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide.

Recycling the plastic is recommended by environmentalists. Yet, the cost effectiveness of recycling the plastic is reduced by the difficulties in collecting and segregating the plastic by their types. Also, many processes that recycle plastic emit toxic chemicals like dioxin into the environment that cause skin and respiratory problems. According to the United States Environmental Protection Agency, only 6 percent of the plastic made in the United States was recycled in 2005.