Plastic and Global Warming

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Scorching temperatures are setting records around the world this summer and experts say this deadly trend is accelerating. One significant source of global warming that we don’t hear a lot about is plastic. Sure there’s plenty of alarming news about plastic pollution and its devastating effects on the environment and marine life but it’s also a major player in the warming trend that is rapidly affecting every aspect of life on Earth -- causing deaths and serious health concerns, troubling ecological shifts, sea level rise, severe weather and myriad other changes. Around the world, the plastics industry is the fastest-growing source of industrial greenhouse gases, the emissions that cause the Earth’s atmosphere to warm up. From cradle to grave -- at every step from extraction of raw materials to disposal and deterioration -- plastics release climate-changing greenhouse gases (GHG) such as carbon dioxide, ethylene and methane. Plastics create more than a billion tons of carbon dioxide alone every year, that’s twice as much as the aviation industry. 

The fix? It’s not recycling. Less than nine percent of plastic is recycled -- which itself also creates greenhouse gases -- and recycling is also just postponing plastic’s disposal. Worse, the mere existence of recycling dupes consumers into thinking plastic isn’t so bad because, after all, it can be recycled. Recycling is a feel-good illusion encouraged by industries like soda and juice makers that want us to feel OK about buying beverages in plastic bottles and even give the impression they’re eco-responsible by stamping “Please Recycle” on their bottles. The fix also isn’t bio-plastics, not yet at least. Less than one percent of plastic now is bio-plastic, made from plants instead fossil fuels, and much of it is not biodegradable. While bio-plastics are worth watching, it’s not currently making a dent in the current plastic crisis.

The fix is to stop making, buying and using most plastic in the first place, especially single-use plastic like packaging, which makes up 40 percent of all plastic products. Around the world about 438 million tons of plastic is produced annually and the U. S. is the largest producer. So we have a lot of work to do to move away from plastic. And we need to move quickly. If nothing changes, by 2030, just seven years from now, the plastics industry will release about 1.3 billion tons of GHG emissions annually -- a roughly 30 percent jump from the current level of about one billion tons. This is not sustainable. But we have the power to stop and even reverse this speeding locomotive.

Here are 10 ways plastic is contributing to climate change. 

1. Most plastic is made from fossil fuels -- oil, gas and coal. Their extraction from the Earth, transportation, refinery and final production into plastic products all have a huge carbon footprint. 

2. About 61 percent of plastic’s damaging emissions come from extraction and refining, 30 percent comes from the manufacture of materials into products and about nine percent are created after disposal. 

3. The extraction and transportation of just natural gas alone releases about 13 million tons of carbon dioxide into the air each year. And CO2 is just one of many greenhouse gases (GHGs).

4. Plastics refining is one of the most GHG-intensive industries in the manufacturing sector, spewing millions tons of CO2 into the air each year.

5. Methane leakage from the extraction of natural gas is common. 

6. Clearing wide swaths of land for extraction and piping of fossil fuels removes millions of acres of trees and other vegetation that help keep the atmosphere cool and cleanse the air by absorbing carbon dioxide and releasing oxygen. In the U.S. 19 million acres of land has been cleared for oil and gas development, resulting in the release of about 1.6 billion tons of carbon dioxide. 

7. When plastic is disposed of in landfills -- about 79 percent of discarded plastic -- it creates GHG emissions at a low level. While low, it’s all adds up.

8. Incinerated discarded plastic -- about 12 percent -- releases plumes of GHG emissions right into the atmosphere.

9. Plastic littered throughout the landscape and in the ocean creates GHG emissions as it breaks down. 

10. Microplastics in the ocean damage plankton, which are critical to the ocean’s ability to absorb carbon dioxide, and disrupt algae’s ability to photosynthesize carbon dioxide. Every year an estimated 10 million tons of plastic is dumped into the oceans, that’s roughly one full garbage truck per minute.  

Despite all we know about plastic and the damage it’s causing, the fossil fuel sector is increasingly banking on plastics as a growing part of its revenue. Numerous oil and gas businesses either own, operate or invest in the plastics manufacturing infrastructure, a clear sign that plastics production is soaring. By 2025 it’s estimated that plastics manufacturing will exceed 2015 levels by a whopping 40 percent. And double by 2040, according to the World Economic Forum. These are shocking numbers. The best way to stop this is in the hands of every consumer on Earth -- stop buying it. This includes synthetic clothing, shoes and outerwear, furniture, shower curtains, boat covers, gifts, plastic fences, toys, cosmetics, shampoo, party decorations. The list is endless. Buy the glass-packaged apple sauce just because it’s in glass. Use wax paper and wraps instead of plastic wrap, use masking tape instead of plastic tape. Building a house or making renovations? Insist on cast iron piping instead of the ubiquitous and toxic PVC. Get in the habit of making product choices that prioritize non-plastic packaging. And you’re not just helping the environment -- it’s much safer for you too, surrounding yourself and your family with natural materials instead of toxic plastic.

There are some products for which we currently have no non-plastic alternatives  -- cars, computers, phones and medical equipment for example. Hopefully these products, too, will soon be available in non-plastic materials. But for now it's critical that we stop buying everything plastic for which there are natural alternatives -- which is most of it. 

12 Natural Alternatives to Common Plastic Products. (And links for purchase.)

1. Plastic totes (including synethic fabric): Better: Totes from cotton and other natural fibers. There are many options for bags made from cotton, jute and cotton mesh.

2. Plastic toys. Better: Wooden toys, natural fiber dolls, books.

3. Shampoo and conditioner in plastic bottles. Better: Shampoo and conditioner bars.

4. Sunscreen in plastic packaging. Better: : Badger sunscreen in tins.

5. Plastic baggies and cling wrap. Better: Paper baggies and waxed cloth wraps.

6. Bottles of laundry detergent. Better: Laundry sheets.

7. Plastic toothbrushes. Better: Bamboo toothbrushes with plant-based bristles.

8. Synthetic shower scrubbies. Better: Ayate natural scrubby cloths.

9. Mattresses with toxic synthetic poly foam. Better: Mattresses made with organic cotton and natural latex foam from makers like Avocado Plush Beds, My Green Mattress and Naturepedic.

10. Make-up in plastic containers. Better: Make-up in cardboard housing like that from Axiology.

11. Plastic food storage containers. Better: Glass containers with silicone tops.

12. Dish soap in plastic bottles. Better: Block dish soap.