Plastic and Global Warming

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Rising temperatures are setting records around the world and experts say this deadly trend is accelerating. One significant source of global warming that we don’t hear enough about is plastic. Sure there’s no shortage of alarming news about plastic pollution and its profound effects on the environment, human health and wildlife but it’s also a major player in climate change, which is quickly affecting every aspect of life on Earth -- causing deaths and illness, major ecological devastation, sea level rise, drought, poor air quality, wildfires, habitat loss, severe weather and myriad other changes. The US plastics industry's contribution to climate change is on track to exceed that of coal-fired power plants by 2030.

Ocean oxygen levels have dropped by 40 percent in some areas due to climate change. Freshwater volume per capita on Earth has decreased by half in the last 50 years and today 20 percent of the entire world's supply of freshwater is that in the Great Lakes in the midwestern US. Scientists estimate that as much as 50% of species on Earth are now threatened with extinction within the next 80 years because of global warming. Around the world, the plastics industry is the fastest-growing source of industrial greenhouse gases (GHGs), the emissions that cause the Earth’s atmosphere to heat up. Today, plastics cause an estimated four percent of GHG emissions and that's projected to climb to 19 percent by 2040. From cradle to grave -- at every step from extraction of raw materials to disposal and deterioration -- plastics release, or cause the increase of, climate-changing GHGs such as carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and, to a growing degree, ethylene. Plastics create more than a billion tons of carbon dioxide alone every year, that’s twice as much as the aviation industry. Plastic production is on track to quadruple by 2050.

According to Climate Trace, a nonprofit started by Al Gore, annual CO2 emissions have risen 90 percent since 1970 and this year reached a record-setting 420 parts per million after hovering around 200 ppm for 800,000 years. CO2 is the most abundant GHG caused by human activity and makes up about two-thirds of global GHG emissions. 

Recycling plastic may seem on the surface a logical tool to reduce plastic waste but it's not. Less than nine percent of plastic is recycled -- which itself also creates GHGs -- and recycling also just postpones 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 beverage manufacturers that want us to feel OK about buying drinks in plastic bottles and even give the impression they’re being eco-responsible by stamping “Please Recycle” on their bottles. The fix also isn’t bioplastics, not yet at least. Less than 1.5 percent of plastic now is bioplastic and, while some is biodegradable, much of it is not. Bioplastics are encouraging, but are not yet making a dent in the plastic crisis. One bioplastic business that does make biodegradable products that break down quickly outside is Compostic. Compostic says their household bioplastic material biodegrades faster than an orange peel. 

Effective change will only come when we 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. If nothing changes, by 2030, just six 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. We have the power to reverse this speeding locomotive but will we? So far the answer is no. Numerous projections show plastic production increasing, not decreasing, despite all we know about this insidious toxin.

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. (Ethane, a natural gas, is processed to create ethylene, a major building block for most types of plastic, especially polyethylene.)

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. 

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.