Let’s be clear since its mass introduction, less than a century ago, plastic has significantly improved all areas of our lives (Choi, 2020). Not only has it been proven to be extremely beneficial in the medical field or automotive industry but it has also made our lives safer, our food last longer, and our drinking water cleaner. In fact, it has proven itself to be so valuable that global mass-production of virgin plastic to date (2017) is estimated at 8,300 million metric tons (Mt) (AAAS, 2017). To put that into context: If we were to continue at this rate, we could double-bag the Earth with two single-use plastic bags by 2050 (Choi, 2020). According to Geyer, Jambeck and Lavender who published their findings in an AAAS article in 2017: “as of 2015, approximately 6300 Mt of plastic waste has been generated, around 9% of which has been recycled, 12% was incinerated, and 79% was accumulated in landfills or the natural environment”. And there is your problem right there! The sheer amount of plastic produced for single-use each year combined with the product’s inability to biodegrade ultimately ensures that it will live on in its original form (almost) forever. And to make matters worse, over time, as it is weakened by sunlight, it will slowly break down into millimeters or micrometers and becomes what we call microplastics impacting all sources of life.
So, what can be done? The topic is complex and goes well beyond the scope of this blog post. However, one thing becomes abundantly clear just by looking at the numbers presented above. We as individuals, households, communities, cities, and nations need to REDUCE the amount of plastic created, REUSE what has been made to expand its lifetime, and once it is no longer usable we must RECYCLE adequate so it can be repurposed.
The internet provides an abundance of literature and general information on how to tackle plastic pollution ranging from scientific papers, to newspaper articles, to TED talks, documentaries, and, yes, the topic even found its way into John Oliver’s British comic review show “Last Week Tonight” in March 2021. With the amount of information flowing around, we’ve asked ourselves, what our contribution can be in this context. Instead of creating one article after another that summarized primary sources and repurposes other people’s findings, we’ve decided to elevate those important voices through our blog making them available to you – our readership. In the hopes of sparking interest and encouraging a conversation, we would like to use our blog every once in a while to share recommendations ranging from heavy reading to light-hearted videos on the topic. And we will start with sources mentioned in this introduction article.
If you like to have a laugh while being educated, head on over to John Oliver’s Youtube channel. Alternatively, Laura Parker’s seven minute read provides a short yet comprehensive top-level introduction to the topic. If you’re interested in the business side of things and want to read more about the trillion-dollar opportunities that lie in waste reduction, this Harvard Business Review might just be for you. And lastly, for all you number crunchers out there Geyer, Jambeck and Lavender provide an interesting perspective on production, use, and fate of all plastics ever made.
Blog written by Janine Bosshart