“Hardly a day goes by when we are not reminded in the press about how “bad” plastics are. The industry is being held accountable. But in my view there are things we can do and things we shouldn’t do!
As a science guy, I struggle with this image. While I see the terrible images of what plastic waste does to our planet, I also know the good things that plastics bring. Plastics are both an essential part of our current way of living and play a vital part in addressing the big questions of the future. Feeding the ever growing world population? Impossible without the benefits of flexible plastic packaging. It is extremely lightweight (saving fuel in transport), very efficient in stacking and absolutely safe. In every study that looks at the best environmental choice plastic packaging wins hands down from the alternatives (paper, glass, steel). Every time. Because it is lightweight, durable and has good barrier properties. It is very energy-efficient in the production steps. And it can and should be recycled. Bring-your-own-packaging stores are sympathetic and useful initiatives, but their supply lines also contain the efficient packaging that is flexible plastic. Also building & construction, automotive, sports goods, textile: they all enjoy the benefits that come with plastic raw materials. Banning of plastic is not only unwise, it is completely impossible. And despite nice stories in the media, there are no sustainable alternatives.
So should we just learn to live with all the rubbish floating on our oceans? Hell no! If we amount to something as civilization we need to tackle this problem quickly. End-of-pipe solutions such as Boyan Slat’s Ocean Cleanup deserve our support. But we owe it to ourselves to tackle the issue more fundamentally. I don’t have all the solutions; the problem is of course quite complex. But in my view there are things we can do and things we shouldn’t do:
- First of all: let’s not forget that the real problem is that plastic waste doesn’t end up where it belongs: in the waste treatment. In Europe we have a fantastic waste collection infrastructure. The main contributors (most of them the fast growing economies in Asia) to the ocean’s pollution still have to develop that infrastructure. And as long as there are countries where waste is carried into the oceans and being dumped there deliberately, we have a long way to go. But this is where the big gains can be made.
- A very important economic lesson: you only discard what has no value. All studies show that a deposit system (in Dutch: statiegeld, in German: Pfand) can reduce litter by up to 90%. But in Holland we still hesitate to introduce a deposit system for small plastics bottles and cans for that matter. Asking for a few cents for single use carrier back also has a drastic effect of the amount of empty bags flying about.
- Talking about those carrier bags: for years the industry has put a lot of effort in reducing the weight of those bags to reach their self-imposed targets. With the result that people use 2-3 bags at once to carry home a carton of milk, which has packaging in itself. A clear example of a driver that brings the opposite effect. So yes, I am not against the legislator steering the industry but they should steer in the right direction.
- Something that has value is more likely to get recycled. Plastics can so easily be recycled, let’s use that property to the max. Of course we cannot reduce plastics 100% (we all know the second law of thermodynamics) but if we manage to recycle a few times and then get the energy content out in an incinerator with power generator, we gain a lot already.
- Biodegradability sounds like a nice solution, and many people are working on it. But it can be a poisonous solution, if it means that people feel more inclined to discard plastic in nature, instead of the waste management systems. We could end up with more waste instead of less. And the “disappearance rate” of many biodegradable plastics is not great. Understandably, it has to perform a function first, before it is allowed to degrade. These are conflicting properties. And when the degradation means only falling apart in invisible pieces, creating nanoplastics, we create an even bigger problem. Not too long ago I was confronted with a “natural” type of packaging: polylactic acid coated with a thin layer of PVDC. Which means that you introduce a super-PVC, with extra halogen, on a carrier that will make sure it is finely dispersed in nature, to be picked up by the organisms in the earth. I am not sure this will create a better place for our children. Unless PVDC-particles taste good.
- Bioplastics have a merit. Not because they are biodegradable (because some are, and some are not), but because they require less CO2 during production and/or end-of-life. So it makes sense to invest in biobased materials and biomass chemistry. But don’t they interfere with food production and farmable ground? Sure, same like cotton and wool do. Wear synthetic clothing only and we will discuss.
- And yes, we need to think about overbodig use of plastics. Secondary packaging, gadgets that break down within minutes after purchase. Stuff we don’t need.( I am all for reducing straws, banning microbeads in shampoo. Design for recycling. Bring a sturdy bag to the supermarket. Visit your local butcher more often. It all helps. But be aware about the good that plastic also brings to our lives and society. Getting back to my first point: without plastic packaging there is no efficient feeding of the world. The real sin is wasting food along the food production chain, from soc-called farm to fork (and waste bin).
At The Compound Company we are very aware about the role our products play in this debate. For instance, the Yparex tie resins are used to combine PE and PA (i.e. Sabic and DSM, to keep it local) in multilayer barrier plastic packaging. And we do that combination so well that it is very difficult to take the materials apart after use. But we are working on that. And we are working on recycling of PE/PA waste streams. And we are developing the packaging materials) of the future. Alone, but mainly with partners, on the Brightlands Chemelot Campus or outside. We are proud of our products, but we are also proud to be working on better products that may replace the existing ones, because they make more sense environmentally. If a better, more sustainable technology comes along, it might as well be ours, right?”
Meet & Greet
In this campus Newsletter we share Wouter’s future vision and business ideas, would you like to commend on them? You are invited to reflect and share your personal opinion with Wouter during lunch on Friday 6th of July, 12h @Fields of Gold, 1st floor Center Court.
No registration needed!
Wouter van den Berg,
CEO Yparex, The Compound Company
