Are you aware of the true cost of the plastic-wrapped sandwich?
The price on the packet doesn’t represent the total cost, and that’s a fact that many people are unaware of.
It’s the debt we incur by our use of convenience versus consequence.
According to the OECD, plastics production around the world has grown at an alarming rate; between 2000 and 2019, it doubled worldwide.
By 2040, plastics’ production is expected to have grown at least another 70% above 2020 levels.
In the United States alone, over 82 million tons of plastic waste produced from food containers and packaging every year, according to Earth Day, of which the majority is single-use plastic, which is typically thrown away within minutes of purchase.
Crazy when you actually think about it, right?
But that’s the reality of convenience packaging and someone has to pay for it.
The Recycling Myth:
The truth about why businesses do not advertise is that 91% of plastics cannot be recycled according to an OECD report. As a substitute, these products are discarded into landfills, incinerated or enter our oceans. According to the EPA, only 13.6% of plastic containers and packaging have been recycled in 2016 while recycling programs have been promoted through various agencies and green marketing programmes.
The reason is that single use plastics such as straws, plastic bags and plastic cutlery are very difficult to recycle, as they tend to get stuck in the crevices of a recycling machine (as reported by the NRDC). Many recycling centres will not accept any of the smaller items; instead, a large percentage of soft plastic collected for recycling is incinerated, turning what was meant to be an environmental solution into toxic smoke according to National Geographic.
The statistics are even more shocking, food packaging accounts for approximately 1/3 of U.S. municipal waste generated, and the production of food packaging accounts for 5% of the total fossil fuel used in food production from beginning to end, according to a study published by the Net Zero Action Accelerator.
The Ocean Pollution Pipeline
Where does plastic packaging go when recycled? As per Earth Day, more than 20 million metric tons of plastic pollution is produced every year; additionally, according to the UN Environment Programme, approximately 10 million metric tons of plastic enter the ocean. Furthermore, a study published on ScienceDirect indicates that there are an estimated 8.3 million metric tons of unmanaged plastic each year (from poorly-managed disposals) added to the environment, resulting in ecological destruction.
However, it is important to note that the negative impact of this plastic waste goes further than just affecting the look of our environment. For example, Earth Day has reported on a study done globally in China, that found every sample bird had microplastic material found within the lung. Each of these sampled birds contained 416 pieces of microplastic material (per g) within the lung (of each sampled bird). Microplastics released toxic chemicals linked with causes of human health issues such as cancers, Alzheimer’s and infertility, as pollutants increase to the food chain cause harm to the ecosystems we share.
Research by UNEP reported in Net Zero Action Accelerator found that more than 13,000 chemicals are associated with plastic production, with over 3,200 known to be hazardous. The production of chemicals for plastic packaging is energy intensive, accounting for 14 percent of industrial greenhouse gas emissions according to published data.
Studies in PMC raise concerns that even biodegradable alternatives like PLA may have similar effects as fossil-based plastics in marine environments, with one study showing PLA degraded similarly to HDPE in oceans despite degrading 20 times faster on land.
The Chemical Time Bombs:
Net Zero Action Accelerator’s UNEP study revealed that approximately 13,000 chemicals are utilized to manufacture plastic and of these, about 3,200 have been classified as potentially harmful. Additionally, the production of chemicals used in creating packaging from plastics requires large amounts of energy (14% of total US greenhouse gas emissions) based on current data.
Research by the PMC has indicated scientists are concerned that some biodegradable alternatives (such as PLA) may behave like fossil fuels when found in a marine ecosystem, in one example, PLA had equal levels of degradation as an HDPE container after being submerged for an extended period, although HDPE would degrade about 20 times slower than PLA if left exposed to land.
The Economic Trap:
Plastic is up to 3.8 times cheaper than sustainable packaging, leaving companies with the dilemma of either sustaining the Earth or sustaining the business. This is the reason why, despite consumer awareness, the pace of change is slow, with only 71 percent of consumers actively choosing sustainable packaging.
Why Convenience Isn’t Free?
Every convenience purchase has a price that is hidden from us i.e. ocean pollution, toxic chemical exposure, greenhouse gas emissions, and destruction of ecosystems that will last for centuries. Frontiers research verifies that at least 5 billion tons of plastic waste are released into the world.
People’s decisions were largely influenced by convenience for many years. Materials made for use (i.e., plastics) were produced cheaply and somewhat durable as well as disposable, with little regard for what would happen once they had served their intended purposes. Therefore, when we used items based on convenience, we postponed dealing with the cost associated with those conveniences i.e. environmental costs.
As time passed, science has made these types of costs currently unavoidably obvious. For example, plastics and other long-lasting materials have created huge amounts of waste that have polluted our oceans, disrupted aquatic ecosystems, and made their way into our food chain. The presence of toxic substances in our landfills and other areas is also impacting both wildlife and human health. Also of concern and most troubling is that today’s waste products are designed to last many more years than needed, well beyond their use.
The way we viewed progress in the past has shifted to the view of the trade-off we would eventually have to account for and which we are just beginning to pay back. So, being mindful is the only way forward.
