The Plastic Resolution

As we discussed in the previous piece, plastic is so engrained in our lives and in the modern global economy, that it seems impossible to imagine a modern world without it. But we can, and in fact we must, if we are to avoid some of the catastrophic damage that lays ahead due to our excessive plastic use and wastage.

So, how can we reduce our reliance on plastic- what is the Plastic Resolution?

Firstly, we can establish that change has to happen on multiple levels of society. We can broadly categorise these into three: the individual, the business, and the government.

Secondly, we must understand that plastic will not go away tomorrow. As it has taken decades and decades for plastic to find its way into mass usage, it is likely to take even longer to find substitutes for all the various plastics we use for different purposes. But every effort has to start somewhere!

To start the war against plastic, it's most important to approach and resolve the most frequent offender- single use plastics. As the name suggests, these are plastics which are simply used once and then are disposed.

Single use plastics are what comes to the minds of most when we envisage the harm caused by plastics to wildlife. We all have heard of plastic soft drink bottles piling up in our seas, animals dying after mistaking plastic bags for food, or getting trapped in plastic packaging. Single use plastics are so dangerous to the environment in large part because there is such high demand for them. Every time you get a coffee to go, every time you go shopping, every time you buy a bottle of water, another single use plastic is added to the wastepile after you finish.

The government's 5p plastic bag charge, introduced in 2015,
proved successful in reducing use of plastic bags

The British government has already begun to take on single use plastics. The 5p minimum charge for plastic bags introduced in 2015 was designed to encourage shoppers to use reusable bagging, and it saw dramatic success-with an estimated 83% reduction in plastic bags issued by the country's biggest retailers. The government will be extending this charge to include small businesses this year.

Further legislation was also put in place in January 2018, including a ban on the use of microbeads in cosmetic products.

While such actions are indeed crucial steps for the governments of the world to take, many argue further can be done by the government, specifically to influence business behaviour. Some believe the stick approach works best- for example, making businesses pay for the recycling of the plastic packaging they sell. Others argue for the carrot- a more incentives-based approach. This could mean a policy like setting targets for businesses to reduce plastic waste, and rewarding them appropriately.

However, without research and development, businesses could be left with no choice but to continue using harmful plastics. With its unique properties and versatility, there's a reason why plastic is so commonly used in products- and to find equally cost effective and versatile substitutes is no easy task.

There is a strong argument that businesses should bring back materials previously used- such as glass for soft drinks, paper for grocery bags, or steel for cups. While such materials may well see a comeback, they have their foibles- and to find a substitute for plastic that keeps all its benefits, a lot of research and development will need to be done. This will need to be supported by the government, but equally businesses are responsible for funding and supporting such activities.

So we've now moved onto business- what can business do to reduce plastic waste?

This is a complex question; specifically because for most businesses, plastic is the most cost-effective material for packaging. Thus, investing potentially considerable resources into finding an alternative will not be an appealing prospect from a strictly financial perspective.

This is when Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR for short) comes into play. As entities that both give and take to society, businesses must accept the role they have played in creating the current chaos (with relative innocence, it can be argued), but more importantly accept the role they now have to help society fix those problems- by investing in finding alternatives to plastic. This may not be a profit-driven decision (though it could well be, as we'll explore shortly), but it is one that is crucial for our society's resolution to the plastic problem.

The government, through offering financial incentives for environmentally friendly behaviour, can ease this transition for businesses. However, the primary customers of most businesses are ultimately us- the end individuals, as consumers.

Therefore it is imperative that we as individuals are careful about what we consume. We should avoid single use plastics- and the best way to do this is to reuse. Get a reusable coffee cup, get a reusable solid liquid container, get a reusable bag, and make sure you recycle whatever plastic you can't substitute. Even something as small as buying a bigger plastic tub of yoghurt rather than several small tubs can help- as buying in bulk generally reduces the packaging-to-content ratio.

And when businesses aren't conscious about minimising their plastic waste, we should be conscious not to award them our business. As consumers we often forget our power, when we act in unison. Businesses acting irresponsibly should be punished for their failure to serve the environment, and businesses doing their bit should be rewarded. This serves a similar purpose to financial services offered by the government to businesses; it makes it easier and more financially appealing for businesses to minimise plastic waste.

However, it is often easier said than done to be entirely conscious about your plastic usage as an individual. The large majority of people still use single use coffee cups, for example.

Here, businesses can help us to behave more responsible. For example, reward schemes for using a reusable coffee cups are standard across many major coffee shops in the UK, and you can get supermarket loyalty points for reusing any carrier bags. These things make it more appealing and easy for us as consumers to avoid plastic, or at least use it responsibly. At the same time, government policies such as the 5p plastic bag charge push us to be more considerate.

Single use plastics remain the primary issue the world needs to tackle; once we are able to confront this, the battle for a future less clogged with plastic bottles is half-won, and we can perhaps continue to look at phasing out plastic entirely.

The fact is that the main onus is on businesses, as the primary producers of these plastic products, to reduce plastic waste. And of these businesses, the largest and most influencial hold the most responsibility. Once a company like 'Coca-Cola' takes a clear stance against plastic waste, for example by replacing all plastic bottles with glass bottles, the industry will be sure to react. The government, and we as consuming individuals, need to do our best to foster the conditions in which such a decision might be made.

The fight against plastic waste is a classic example of how the government, businesses and individuals can, and must, all interact as members of society to incentivise each other to behave better. By each accepting their responsibilities and burdens, the unity of these three groups has the long-term potential to create our Plastic Resolution. 

The Plastic Nightmare

Plastic is something we deal with at almost every moment of our lives. From our household goods, to our cars, computers, Amazon packages and more, plastic is a seldom-appreciated phenomenon of the modern human age. A miracle of modern chemistry, plastic is arguably the most versatile material out there.

However, our use of plastic in today's world exemplifies one of our greatest weaknesses, actually raised out of one of our greatest strengths: we can make the world and its resources bow to our needs, but we often fail to attend to the needs of the world. This behaviour has put a whole host of parties at risk- from the earth itself, to our co-habitants, to our very own future generations of humankind.

The most prominent example of such behaviour, and rightly so, is the phenomenon of pollution. Air pollution scars the lives of many inhabitants of today's sprawling metropoles of the world, while putting the very future of our entire Earth at risk.

Though a known concern for many years, the way we use plastic has come under the spotlight in recent months. The primary issue with plastic comes with its lack of biodegradability; meaning, left undealt with in landfill or in oceans as it is in many places today, it will not go away. Plastic waste will simply pile up.

And boy, has it been piling up.

We produce over 300 million tonnes of plastic each year; 8 million tonnes of which is dumped into the ocean, according to plasticoceans.org. At the current rate, it is estimated that by 2050 the plastic waste in our seas will outweigh all the fish.

Yes, an increasing amount of waste plastic is now being recycled; but still, a shocking 91% of plastic worldwide isn't recycled. This is usually due to one of two reasons; poor recycling infrastructure and organisation, or the lack of recyclability of many plastics, such as those used in most coffee cups, due to its waterproof nature. We may be encouraged to place our coffee cups in recycling bins, but in reality, just 1 in 400 coffee cups are actually recycled.

As one would expect, this massive influx of plastic waste has has profoundly negative effects on the environment and wildlife.

The Great Pacific Garbage Patch

The Great Pacific Garbage Patch (GPGP) is one gargantuan example of our failure to deal with our excess plastic. The GPGP is a massive collection of debris, the majority of which consists of plastic. While we tend to imagine this as a mass of plastic bottles and the like drifting in the sea (as pictured on the right), the majority of the GPGP is made of 'microplastics'.

While plastics do not biodegrade, they are broken into smaller and smaller pieces continuously. This results in a dust-like material that never disappears from the oceans.

Microplastics also come from everyday items we use. For example, it was very common for many skincare products and toothpastes to contain microbeads, that supposedly improved the feel of the product on the skin and visual appeal. However, research suggests that microbeads blocked digestive tracts of animals who consumed them- so these luxuries came at an exceedingly high price. On a positive note, more people are coming to realisation about this, as bans on the use of these materials come into play in many countries of the world.

This waste in the oceans wreaks havoc with wildlife. Unaware of the dangers and toxicity of many plastics, small pieces of plastic are often confused with food. A 2015 study found that as many as 9 out of 10 sea birds had plastic in their guts.

There are countless further tragic stories of animals falling victim to our plastic waste. From poisoning to asphyxiation, plastics are the causes of death for estimated millions of animals, both on land and in sea. Whether they are in the form of microbeads, plastic bags, packaging or something else, plastics pose a significant threat to biodiversity, and in the long term could threaten entire species if left undealt with.

Our success in making plastic serve so many of our needs is coming at the cost of our planet. As our land and seas become landfill sites for plastic waste that will never go away, millions of animals are dying, suffering from pains as simple as becoming entangled in plastic six-pack can packaging.

Plastic has indeed served the human race well- but it is time to move on.

So, how can we confront this massive problem of plastic, when we are so dependent on it? We'll discuss what governments, businesses, and we as individuals, are doing and can do to end this chaos in next week's article.

To see how you can influence and get involved in the fight against plastic, join the community at A Plastic Planet.

Norway To Ban New Fossil Fuel Cars By 2025: What Effects Will This Have?

Rumours are abound that Norway will outlaw all sales of new fossil fuel-powered cars by 2025- how will this impact the country, its people and its businesses?

Tesla Model S (Image: caricos.com)

A lot of Norwegians own electric cars. 24.4% of all new cars sold in Norway in the first 3 months of 2016 were plug in electric cars- that's pure electric, not including hybrid cars. This is rapid shift away from traditionally powered cars towards electric is just part of Norway's environmental drive (they were also the first country to ban deforestation), which through effective incentivisation has resulted in the Scandinavian nation becoming the world's leader in electric car usage.

So if any country were to ban fossil-fuelled cars in the near future, Norway would be it- but, other than the typical environmental effects, what would be the impact of such a law?

Firstly, it'll be a massive win for some car companies, especially Tesla (whose entire lineup is electric) and Toyota (another leader in electric, and now hydrogen, technology). It's no surprise that Tesla founder Elon Musk immediately tweeted out a message saying "You guys rock" to the Norwegian government upon hearing the rumours. While other manufacturers do make cars that will still be eligible for sale, no doubt these two in particular will have a bit of a head start due to the proliferation of electric power already in their range of cars.


Other companies will have to buck up their ideas, and accelerate their shift away from petrol and diesel. It is highly unlikely that Norway's law change will provoke a revolution in the car industry and lead to a complete redirection of existing strategies, but electricity and other alternative energies are already likely to be in the future plans of most firms due to the inevitable oncoming demise of fossil fuels.

But they will have to improve their current efforts. BMW, for example, does produce hybrid and PHEV versions of its most popular 3 Series model, but sales are incredibly low, largely due to the high prices. For Mercedes, Audi, Nissan and many other companies it's the same story. These firms will have to devote increasingly more effort in both innovating alternative fuelling technologies and also in making these cars more affordable. BMW has already embarked on this journey, with its new 'i' series of cars- but even for them, it's early days.

These carmakers will have to step in by 2025, because Toyota and Tesla alone cannot cover all the bases and demands of the Norwegian people. They will certainly try, but many people will remain loyal to other brands and demand that they be catered to, post-ban.

An interesting issue arises when you consider what happens to companies that are unlikely to be so receptive to electric power. This is hardly going to be a headline issue, because it concerns very niche manufacturers such as Lamborghini, but it does raise the possibility of many Norwegians hopping across the border to purchase a petrol or diesel car and bring it home.

The used car market may also receive a boost. The ban is expected to only affect sales of new cars, and considering that electric cars are generally pricier than their fossil fuel equivalents, many people with less money to spend will be forced to resort to the used market.

Consider the effects of this new law on the fuel industry in Norway. Thanks to the North Sea, its economy benefits hugely from oil consumption, so it seems counterproductive that Norway would risk damaging its own revenues by banning fossil fuel cars. However, the Norwegian government knows its stock of oil will not last forever. It has begun weaning itself off oil, and this is a part of that process. It's a move that may have minor short term negative repercussions, but arguably in the long term is the most sensible, as it reduces the risk of any massive future crises.

On a more local level, petrol stations will also have to adapt. They will not close down (fossil fuel cars will remain on the road), but we may see an increase in the trend of electric charging points opening up at these stations, eventually (in the long long run) replacing petrol pumps.

Could the traditional petrol station become a thing of the
past in Norway?

However, it's not a simple case of adding charging points alone. Charging an electric car can take hours at most, so resting areas will have to be provided, like lounges or coffee shops. This will be a further cost to petrol sellers, but will benefit popular coffee retailers and may ultimately create new jobs.

It's key to remember though that there's one crucial determinant of all that we've talked about, and that is the rate of innovation in electric and alternatively fuelled cars. For example, if electric cars can by 2025 charge in 2 minutes, or if hydrogen cars (which fuel in the same time as a petrol car) becoming popular, the last paragraph may be completely incorrect. If automotive firms are able to quickly produce budget electric cars, perhaps the used car market may not receive such a significant boost, and Tesla and Toyota may not dominate as much as we've proposed.

The rumoured law changes will undoubtedly be interesting to see unfold, and could if successful inspire many other countries to follow suit in the future. The next 8 years are crucial to its success; if, by 2025, electric cars remain more expensive and inconvenient than their fossil fuelled counterparts, the proposal may be a failure.