ALARMING FACTS
Nowadays, the biggest problem we face is global pollution and its disastrous effects on the environment but also on people, and studies are pessimistic.
On the one hand, the world's largest landfills are being overrun. These landfills are located in developing countries, which are increasingly adopting a lifestyle of mass consumption and production. For example, one of the world's largest landfills, Ghazipur (New Delhi, India), had already crossed its capacity of holding waste in 2002 but is still open, and is now 65 meters high, compared to the 20 meters normally allowed. In the next few years, it should even be taller than the Taj Mahal. Every day, about 3,000 metric tonnes of carnage are dumped, and plastic accounts for a large proportion of this waste.
On the other hand, plastic pollution has managed to create the biggest waste dump on earth considered as the 8th continent - a sea of waste biggest than the surface of Texas called the Great Pacific Garbage Patch - 80% of which is composed of plastic coming from land-based sources with 20% coming from boats and other marine sources. Today, the patch covers an estimated 1.6 million square kilometres and is growing every year.
Thus, plastic is playing a big part in this global issue, mostly single-use plastic, which needs to be reduced drastically. According to several surveys plastic production is expected to triple by 2050.
RECYCLING IS A LUXURY
Today, low oil prices make it possible to manufacture plastic at a lower cost. Consequently, it is used for many products in different areas - including packaging or design.
It is known that reducing plastic is becoming urgent, but according to a WWF study published in 2019, plastic is much more expensive to manage after use than to produce. The costs are multiplied by 10 ($370bn to $3,700bn), including the recycling phase which could be a solution to this major environmental issue.
In fact, recycling is expensive, and companies that can afford to do so will export their waste to recycling plants in Asia - Turkey or Lebanon for instance -, which offer cheaper treatment than the plants in developed countries. However, companies have to pay for export and therefore to pay the logistical costs. Moreover, recycling plastic is deficient because of all the different types of plastic that cannot benefit from the same treatment. Requiring a good workforce paid a bit more or R&D expenses to replace in order to have a quality sorting.
The food industry uses a lot of PET or HDPE plastic for its packaging, as it is cheaper than other plastics (€1.32 per kilo). It is true that they are recyclable, but their processing remains on average 20% more expensive than that of other plastics: "It costs $250,000 to start recycling HDPE plastic and to acquire a complete infrastructure with a capacity of one to two tonnes of plastic per day," explains Élie Debs, General Manager of the company Lebanon Recycling Works, and recycled PET is in low demand.
As a result, many companies dump or export their waste directly to landfills or incinerators - only 9% of all plastics produced since the 1950s has been recycled. It's a vicious circle.
AWARENESS-RAISING
Unfortunately, we know that plastic is an integral part of our society, so we could not ban it. However, faced with the alarming facts, more and more organisations are becoming
aware of the need to develop alternative materials to plastics, which are more biodegradable and more recyclable. Some start-ups, for example, have come up with 100% edible packaging - like the Belgian company Doeat. Volumes remain small, but the trend is there.
The government is also showing its commitment, by offering financial aid or introducing regulations on plastic. This puts pressure on the big companies, which are major producers of plastic waste and have the means to recycle, to start acting. For example, the most polluting company in the food industry - The Coca-Cola Company - has opened a recycling plant in Uganda with 40 employees, resell its plastic transformations to industrialists who manufacture plastic fibres or polyester. It is hoped that others will do the same.
Lena LUCAS
https://theconversation.com/le-retour-en-force-du-plastique-dommage-collateral-de-la-pandemie-138024
https://www.topito.com/top-decharge-grandes-planetes-cracra-degueu
https://www.nationalgeographic.org/encyclopedia/great-pacific-garbage-patch/
https://www.lecommercedulevant.com/article/25234-le-recyclage-du-plastique-un-business-en-expansion
https://fr.euronews.com/2018/09/19/plastique-le-business-du-recyclage
Hi Lena,
ReplyDeleteI find your article very interesting (and a bit alarming).
However, I'm not sure that The Coca-Cola Company has opened its new recycling plant in Uganda for environmental purpose but rather for its brand image. I wonder if the company can take advantage of it in another way. Are plastic recycling plants profitable, or may they become profitable in the short term?
Thanks
Thomas D.
Hi Thomas,
DeleteThanks for your question. In my point of view, I think that you're right about the situation of the Coca-Cola company. Unfortunately, plastic recycling is not yet considered a full-fledged industrial activity because of its low profitability.
However, environmentalists are beginning to lobby on this major issue, which may lead to improvements in collection methods and processing technologies, making recycling plants more cost-effective and efficient. In addition, some taxes on packaging are beginning to be introduced, which will reduce the volume of plastic to be processed. As a result, more and more entrepreneurs see that there may be a turning point for this activity, with more and more SMEs emerging. It helps to imagine a positive future.
I hope that I answered your question and that it can reassure you,
Have a good day,
Lena L.