Plastic: The Bigger Picture

12 Apr

In the UK, over 5 million tonnes of plastic is consumed each year — and yet only 1 quarter of it is recycled.

If we imagine all of that waste sitting in a landfill and littered across our streets, the bigger picture starts to look like a huge problem for our natural environment and our wildlife.

What is being done about the plastic problem?

The Waste and Resources Action Plan (WRAP, a climate change organisation), working with the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, has set up ‘The UK Plastics Pact’ which has set four targets for 2025:

1. Eliminate problematic or unnecessary single-use packaging through redesign, innovation or alternative (reuse) delivery model.

2. 100% of plastic packaging to be reusable, recyclable, or compostable.

3. 70% of plastic packaging is effectively recycled or composted.

4. 30% average recycled content across all plastic packaging.

They are encouraging UK businesses to sign up to the pact, which aims to foster greater sustainability to help tackle climate change.

At the beginning of March 2022, a resolution was passed at the UN Environment Assembly by member states. The resolution will lead to a legally binding agreement by the end of 2024, to commit countries to address plastic pollution.

On the 1st April 2022, the UK government introduced a Plastic Packaging Tax. This means that manufacturers need to pay an additional tax for packaging that doesn’t include a minimum of 30% recycled plastic. The government is hoping this tax will encourage manufacturers to move towards using more recycled plastic as part of their supply chain.

Where does your plastic waste go?

Once you have put your plastic in the recycling bin for council collection, what happens to it?
The council passes the plastic waste to waste management and recycling companies for sorting into different types of plastic. Some of this plastic is sent back into the manufacturing process to make new plastic items. A significant amount of plastic is also sent overseas for recycling. However, a large amount is still burned for heat recovery, which releases carbon and other toxic emissions. While it saves fossil fuels from being burned, the process still disposes of resources which could have been reused.

Plastics sent overseas

In 2019, the British Plastic Federation reported the UK exported 61% of plastic packaging for recycling.

As the UK cannot cope with the amount of plastic waste we generate, a proportion is sent abroad for processing. However, investigations have revealed that exported plastics are often contaminated and unfit for recycling, instead ending up in landfills overseas.

Biodegradable plastics

Many people are shocked to find out that their usual tea bags contain plastic. Following this, suppliers have been working to replace the oil-based plastic with plant-based plastic (polylactic acid known as ‘PLA’). Sugars in crops such as corn, cassava, maize, sugarcane or sugar beet are fermented and turned into lactic acid, which is then made into PLA. The process uses 65% less energy and 68% fewer greenhouse gases and is non-toxic.

Unfortunately, there are still downsides. PLA still requires industrial processes to break it down, and it will not naturally biodegrade in landfill or sea water. You cannot home compost these tea bags as they simply will not break down without heat (1400C for 10 days) or the use of chemicals. In addition, large amounts of land and water is used to grow crops for plant-based plastic instead of food, meaning these resources are not being used efficiently.

Currently, industrial composting infrastructure in the UK is very limited. In Nottingham, we do not have kerb-side food waste for compost collection, which means that tea bags, whether they contain plastic or not, can only go into general waste, which is then either burnt or sent to landfills.