Plastic – The Miracle Material?

Plastic is often seen as a miracle material. It certainly has useful properties: it’s durable, versatile and cheap. But what exactly is plastic?

Plastics are moldable materials made up of polymers – long chains made from repeating molecules. Almost all plastics are derived from fossil fuels such as crude oil and natural gas. These contain a mixture of hydrocarbons which are processed in various stages to make plastic:

Refining - Fossil fuels are extracted and refined into products. For example, crude oil is heated and distilled into fractions. One of these fractions is used for plastic.

Cracking – High heat, pressure and catalysts are used to break down (crack) these molecules into petrochemicals such as ethylene and propylene.

Polymerisation – These small molecules are chemically bonded together to form long-chain polymers. For example, ethylene molecules are bonded to make polyethylene. 

Additives - Chemicals such as plasticisers, stabilisers and colourants are mixed with the polymer resin to make plastic products.

The length and structure of polymers make plastic durable, moldable and resistant to chemicals. Different polymers and additives give plastic a range of useful properties: soft, hard, rigid, stretchy, opaque, coloured. 

So why is plastic such a problematic material?

Fossil fuel extraction and the energy-intensive manufacturing process lead to pollution and significant greenhouse gas emissions. In addition, the unregulated, untested and often harmful chemicals that give plastic its versatile properties, can leach out of products damaging human health and the environment. Worryingly, the durability of plastic makes it hard to get rid of. Almost all plastics are non-biodegradable; microorganisms can’t break down the polymer bonds. Plastic just breaks up into smaller pieces – microplastics – polluting the environment for hundreds of years. 

Bioplastics have been developed as ‘sustainable’ alternatives. These may be biodegradable or made partially from biomass. However, bioplastics are still plastics; they have many of the same problems.

Plastic use is accelerating

All materials have benefits that need to be balanced against harms to the environment. However, plastic is a uniquely challenging material. With an explosion in single-use plastic and plastic waste set to triple by 2060, we are now facing an urgent environmental crisis.

Profit-driven corporations are responsible for pushing plastic onto consumers. Packaging and consumer goods companies enjoy the benefits of a cheap and disposable material. Fossil fuel companies and the petrochemical industry have a vested interest in accelerating plastic production, especially of multiple single use products, in order to compensate for a reduction in fuel demand.

These industries continue to block negotiations for a Global Plastics Treaty that aims to tackle plastic pollution. We need a strong treaty to not only manage plastic waste, but to drastically reduce plastic production. We need to turn the tap off at its source.

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For more information contact: info@scarabtrust.org.uk

Image: plastic, polymer, granules - Image by Frank from Pixabay (ST ref: 1388)