Better plastics for healthier oceans

Plasticsare among the most popular materials in use today. Given the material’sversatility, it is little wonder that some 320mn tonnes of it are usedaround the world each year. Indeed, the recent holidays left many with amountain of plastic products and packaging. But plastics also pose aserious environmental threat.If not disposed of properly, plasticscan lie or float around for decades. In addition to being harmful toterrestrial and aquatic life, free-floating plastics in oceans canadsorb toxins and break up into micro-plastics, which then enter thefood chain.It is this seeming immortality that has led governmentsto tax certain environmentally damaging plastic products or ban themaltogether. Many governments are also encouraging better wastemanagement, and the reuse, redesign, and recycling of plastic products.Thisis prudent policymaking. But while taxes, bans, and waste-managementpolicies will reduce the problem of plastic pollution, they will notsolve it. And, because plastics are made from a byproduct of oilrefining, a ban would have little or no impact on hydrocarbonextraction, either. What taxes and bans will do is deprive the poorestpeople of a useful and inexpensive material.The fact is that,despite the best efforts of well-intentioned lawmakers andnongovernmental organisations, thousands of tonnes of plastic waste arestill entering the environment, particularly the oceans, every day.Clearly, a better approach is needed.Some governments and companieshave been persuaded that “bio-plastics” – which are derived partly frombiomass like cornstarch – are the solution. But this argument is flawed:bio-plastics are very expensive and energy-intensive to produce, andstill contain large amounts of material derived from oil.Moreover,recycling bio-plastics requires that they be separated from ordinaryplastic. Such polymers are tested to biodegrade, but only in theparticular conditions found in industrial composting. In other words,while this technology might sound appealing, it will not solve theproblem of plastic litter seeping into the environment.The focus ofthe plastics industry has long been on a product’s functionality duringits lifespan. This approach is no longer tenable. The world needs a newtype of plastic – one that will perform well, but will also biodegrademuch faster than the plastics we use today.Enter oxo-biodegradableplastic. Unlike other plastics, including bio-plastics, OBP biodegradesanywhere in the environment, and can be recycled if collected during itsuseful life. Ordinary plastic products can be upgraded to OBP withexisting machinery at the time of manufacture and at little to no extracost, using technology that the Oxo-biodegradable Plastics Associationis working to explain.OBP is produced when a special additive ismixed with a normal polymer. The additive (produced by a company where Iam a director) dismantles the molecular structure of the polymer at theend of its useful life and enables natural decomposition in an openenvironment.And, when it comes to OBP, decomposition doesn’t meanbreakdown into plastic fragments. As Ignacy Jakubowicz, a professor atthe Research Institutes of Sweden and one of the world’s leading expertson polymers, explains, when OBPs break down, the material changesentirely, with hydrocarbon molecules becoming oxygen-containingmolecules that can be assimilated back into the environment. Accordingto international standards (such as ASTM D6954), the use of OBP woulddemand proof of degradation and biodegradation, and confirmation thatthere are no heavy metals or eco-toxicity.As plastics change, theways countries integrate them into their economies must change, too. Thegood news is that, though the United States and Europe have been slowto embrace innovative solutions, others have been more open to them. Forexample, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have banned theimport or manufacture of conventional plastics for a wide range ofproducts, and both now require that plastic products be upgraded withOBP technology. They have not opted for “bio-based” plastics.Theworld does not need new bans or taxes. Rather, it needs people who workwith plastic, and their governments, to become as adaptable as thematerial itself, taking advantage of technological advances to ensurethat we can make the most of a cheap and versatile material, withoutsubjecting the environment to its damaging impact. – Project Syndicate* MichaelStephen, a former member of the UK Parliament, is Chairman of theOxo-biodegradable Plastics Association, and a director of SymphonyEnvironmental Technologies Plc.