Plastic has a large carbon footprint – but that's not all history: NPR

Plastic waste attracts a lot of attention when pictures of dead whales with stomach full of plastic bags made the headlines. Pieces of plastic also litter cities and tiny plastic particles float even in the air.

The way in which plastic manufacturing affects the environment, especially global warming, is largely neglected. Plastic actually has a large carbon footprint – but many alternatives to plastic. And that's what makes the replacement of problematic plastic without a clear solution.

Plastic is only a form of fossil fuel. Your plastic water bottle, your grocery bag, your foam tray filled with cucumbers … they are all made from oil or natural gas. It takes a lot of energy to get there.

"The true story of the impact plastics are having on the environment starts at the wellheads where they come out of the ground," said Carroll Muffett, head of the Center for International Environmental Law. "And that never stops, never."

The center, also known as CIEL, has collected global data on the amount of climate-warming greenhouse gases that are produced during the manufacture of all this plastic, from cradle to grave.

First, gas leaks occur at the wellheads. Then there are pipeline leaks that move oil and gas to a chemical plant. Then comes the long chemical process of turning oil or gas into a raw plastic resin. "Plastics are among the most energy-intensive materials to produce," says Muffett.

Factories then use more energy to turn plastic into packaging, auto parts or textiles. Carrying it to consumers generates more emissions. And once the plastic is used, it is often burned to produce electricity, which is another source of greenhouse gases.

In all, said Muffett, "emissions from plastic production and incineration could account for 56 gigatonnes of carbon by 2050". That's 56 billion tonnes, nearly 50 times the annual emissions of all coal-fired power plants in the United States. Another study, led by researcher Songwon Suh of the University of California at Santa Barbara, provided even more emissions from plastic manufacturing and packaging than CIEL's report made.

These emissions forecasts for 2050 are important because plastic production is expected to quadruple by then, according to the World Economic Forum. The American Chemistry Council indicates that the US industry is planning to spend $ 47 billion on new plastic production capabilities over the next decade.

"The key message that people should remember is that the plastics crisis is a climate crisis that is hidden from view," said Muffett.

One thing CIEL analysis do not do, however, is to look at the carbon footprint of things that replace plastic – things such as paper, canvas or glass.

Several research groups such as this one and this one have them, notably the United Kingdom's environmental agency. And the plastic comes out most of the time. (More resilient plastics, such as low-density polyethylene or woven polypropylene bags, have a greater impact on climate and energy than paper, but they are more durable and you will not need it anymore.)

Beverly Sauer, Chemical Engineer at Eastern Research Group, an independent research company, led a study of this type: compared a mixture of different plastic packaging with substitutes such as paper. "The impacts associated with plastic are generally much lower than the mix of substitute materials that would replace packaging," Sauer said. The ERG analysis has calculated the amount of raw materials as well as electricity, fuel, water and other materials needed for the manufacture and use of 39, paper and plastic packaging. Plastic uses less. And at the end of its life, the paper from a landfill can emit greenhouse gases when it decomposes.

Even though, ounce per ounce, some types of plastics have a higher carbon footprint than other types of packaging, you need less. This is a big advantage of the plastic: its lightness.

"Plastic packaging fulfills its function with very little weight of material," says Sauer. So, if a paper bag weighs twice as much as a plastic bag, she adds, "not only do you have to produce twice as much material, you have to carry twice as much weight [and] you have twice the weight of the material to manage at the end of its useful life. "

The ERG analysis was conducted on behalf of the American Chemistry Council, which states that plastic replaces anything that could do it. more climate damage. "Plastics are often used in products that help reduce the amount of greenhouse gas emissions much greater during their life cycle," said Steve Russell, vice president of plastics for the United States. # 39; ACC.

However, life cycle analyzes can vary depending on the energy costs that researchers choose to include when evaluating a product or a practice. And consumer habits matter: if people reuse paper bags and do not reuse plastic, the benefit of plastic decreases.

In addition, the climate is not necessarily all that matters. When evaluating the inheritance of plastic, you must take into account other elements, such as near-permanent waste and health effects.

Angela Howe is a lawyer at the Surfrider Foundation, a group created in the 1980s by surfers mostly on American beaches. "They pick up garbage and find that plastic is used extensively," says Howe. It's plastic that marine animals eat and that breaks down into tiny particles that contaminate rivers, oceans, our food and our drinking water.

"Where are our rubbish going and what can we do to stop this cycle that ends in the ocean in the stomach of the whales?" she asks. Howe also notes that carbon footprint analyzes typically do not measure the costs and effects of cleaning plastic waste.

Environmental groups are trying to solve the problem of plastic versus paper. Susan Ruffo, Plastics Expert at Ocean Conservancy, agrees that plastic waste is harmful to the oceans and the health of marine animals and humans. But climate change is too.

"We view the climate as one of the most serious threats to the ocean, certainly in the long run," Ruffo said. "So you can not ignore the climate impacts of any solution you are going to consider."

So, if people want less plastic, they will have to choose the replacements carefully. "You know," she said, "we have a habit of solving a problem with great intensity, only to understand that we have created another one."

Experts in the field agree that there is too much waste, whether it's plastic, paper or anything else. And people are doing more than ever.