This is a plastic FAQ guide answering some of the most common questions that include:
‘What Plastic … X ‘
‘How Plastic … X ‘
‘How Plastic Affects … X ‘
‘Where Plastic … X ‘
‘Why Plastic … X ‘
‘Is Plastic … X ‘
What Are The Pros & Cons Of Plastic?
Read more about the potential pros and cons of plastic in this guide.
What Plastic (& Plastic Numbers) Can Be Recycled?
Read more in this guide about the common plastics that can and can’t be recycled.
What Is PET Plastic?
PET (or PETE), stands for Polyethylene Terephthalate, and comes under the Plastic #1 classification.
It is usually clear and durable plastic that might be used commonly for soft drink bottles.
What Is Single Use Plastic?
As the name suggest, it’s generally plastic that is used one time (usually for a short period of time – might only be for seconds or minutes) and then disposed of.
An example is a plastic shopping bag that is used once and thrown away, or a food wrapper that is unwrapped and thrown out immediately.
Some plastic packaging is single use.
What Is Biodegradable Plastic?
Plastic labelled as biodegradable plastic is usually a type of bioplastic, made partially with biodegradable material, such as plant based feedstock (as opposed to feedstock that comes from fossil fuels).
You do have to research each plastic labelled as biodegradable or compostable though, because they may still come with synthetic additives or chemicals, and may only biodegrade under certain conditions (which may not be available in a landfill or typically in the environmental for example).
Read more about bioplastic in this guide
What Is Plastic Pollution?
Plastic pollution is plastic waste and debris that has been littered or mismanaged and is in the environment.
It may be categorised into macro plastic pollution (large bits of plastic), and micro and nano plastic pollution (microscopic plastic particles).
It may also be categorised into plastic pollution on land, or plastic pollution in the ocean.
Plastic pollution can cause several problems across society.
What Plastic Ends Up In The Ocean?
Both land based (70-80% of total), and marine based plastic (20-30% of total) ends up in the ocean.
Land based plastic may include plastic packaging waste and other types of plastic, and marine based plastic may include fishing equipment such as lines, nets, and so on.
Read more about ocean plastic pollution in this guide.
What Plastic Ends Up On Land?
Plastic on land comes from a range of sources.
One of the most common types of land based plastic pollution is micro plastics from the textiles and clothes we wear ending up in waste water and water supplies, but we also litter plastic that ends up on land and on beaches and coast lines.
What Is Plastic Made Of?
Fossil fuels such as refined oil and processed natural gas by-products.
Different types of plastic may be made of different additives, plasticizers, resin, chemicals etc.
For example, PVC may be made of slightly different chemicals to PET/PETE.
How Plastic Is Made
Different plastic types and plastic products are made in different ways and from slightly different chemicals and additives.
It’s worth doing a general search of ‘how plastic is made’, and a more specific search like ‘how pvc plastic is made’, or ‘how pvc plastic pipes are made’ – just as an example.
But, most plastics on the market today are made from a petrochemical feedstock.
There are some alternate types of plastics known as bioplastics made from renewable plant materials.
How Plastic Is Recycled
Plastic may be recycled in slightly different ways depending on the recycling facilities available in each city.
One city may have different recycling waste collection systems and recycling facility capabilities than another.
So, it’s worth researching how a particular local recycler is able to recycle plastics and what plastics they can recycle.
But, the general process of recycling might involve either mechanical or chemical recycling as the main recycling method, and the steps of:
– Sorting of plastic (which may involve picking, and separation of plastic by certain variables)
– Shredding, and sieving of plastic
– Eliminating impurities from plastic, usually by melting
– Extruding plastic into forms like pellets (which can be used for other products)
Read more about the general plastic recycling process at wikipedia.org
How Plastic Affects The Environment
The impact of plastic on the environment includes the water, air, soil and eco-systems and habitats that make up the environment:
– Fresh water
Plastic gets in rivers, lakes and other fresh water sources.
Rivers can carry plastic from inland to coastal areas, and into the ocean from coastal populations.
Plastic can leach chemicals into water (BPA, and phthalates amongst them), and carry organic pollutants and toxins from one location to another.
– Salt water
I.e. the ocean.
Leaching, carrying of organic toxin and pollutants, and microplastics in particular are issues in the ocean with plastic.
– Air
Plastic is responsible for more greenhouse gas emissions than first thought.
Plastic that is burnt for energy also emits air pollutants that may or may not be processed by incineration technology.
– Soil
Leachate from landfills can leach out and contaminate soil where there is not a proper landfill liner or leachate management system in place.
– Eco-systems and habitats
Plastic has the ability to interact with and damage eco systems and habitats, with one example being dumped fishing gear on coral and seabeds.
Read more on the above issues in these guides:
Plastic In The Ocean: FAQ Guide
How Plastic Affects Animals
Read more about how plastic impact wildlife and animals in this guide.
How Plastic Affects Marine Life (Turtles, Seals, Whales, Fish, Birds Etc.)
Read more about how plastic affects marine life in this guide.
How Plastic Affects The Ocean
We’ve listed the different ways above – large plastics and micro plastics affect the ocean, marine life, and marine eco systems.
Read more in these guides:
Plastic In The Ocean: FAQ Guide
How Plastic Affects Humans & Human Health
There’s several key ways that plastics may have the potential to cause harm to human health (different sources and studies indicate differing levels of risk):
Via BPA leaching
Via Phthalates leaching
Via leaching of other chemicals
Via the ingestion of micro plastics
Other issues may include the economic impact of plastic waste, and the issues to do with the disposal and waste management of plastic
Read more in this guide:
How Plastic Affects The Economy
Positive Impact
There’s a few different ways plastic positively affects the economy:
The value added by the plastic industry itself (production of plastic, employees at plastic production companies etc.)
Value added by plastic to other industries with the important tasks it allows us to perform. For example, packaging for the food and agricultural industries
Negative Impact
The main ways plastic negatively affects the economy are:
The cost to physically clean up plastic waste and pollution in the environment (such as in the ocean and in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch)
The cost of plastic to in terms of lost income to other industries (such as the tourism industry), and the cost of plastic in terms of lost economic value overall to various parts of society
Read more about the economic impact of plastic in this guide.
Where Was Plastic Invented
There should be a distinction between the first synthetic polymer that was invented, and the first fully synthetic plastic that was invented:
The first synthetic polymer was invented in 1869 by John Wesley Hyatt, who was inspired by a New York firm’s offer of $10,000 for anyone who could provide a substitute for ivory
In 1907 Leo Baekeland invented Bakelite … [in part] to meet the needs of the rapidly electrifying United States
– sciencehistory.org
Where Does Plastic Come From, & Where Is It Made
Most plastic comes from fossil fuels.
In the US, plastic starts out with crude oil refining or natural gas processing
The compounds from these processes are used by ‘Chemists [who] combine various types of monomers in many different arrangements to make an almost infinite variety of plastics with different chemical properties’ (science.howstuffworks.com)
Where Is Plastic Used
Plastic is used across different industries, for different uses and applications, and different countries lead in terms of overall production and plastic waste …
This guide outlines the industries that use the most plastic in society:
What Is Plastic Used For In Society? (Sectors That Use The Most Plastic)
This guide outlines the various uses and benefits we have for plastic in society:
Ways In Which Plastic Benefits Society, The Environment & The Economy
In terms of plastic waste produced by country, Ourworldindata.org has plastic waste figures:
With the largest population, China produced the largest quantity of plastic, at nearly 60 million tonnes. This was followed by the United States at 38 million, Germany at 14.5 million and Brazil at 12 million tonnes.
Where Does Plastic End Up
Consider these three disposal methods for plastic, and where the plastic ends up:
– Plastic adequately disposed of via waste management, but ending up in landfill
Most of the plastic we dispose of isn’t recycled (most figures put that amount of plastic not recycled over the 90% mark). But, different countries and cities can have different shares of plastic going to landfill, incineration and recycling
– Plastic littered, and ending up on land (in rivers, in the soil, on beaches etc) or in the ocean
The rate of littering is about 2% of a country’s plastic waste generation
– Plastic Inadequately disposed of and ending up on land (in rivers, in the soil, on beaches etc), or in the ocean
Low to middle income countries have much higher rates of plastic being inadequately disposed of i.e. leaking from rubbish dumping sites because landfills aren’t secure or closed off
Where Is Plastic Recycled
Mainly recycling facilities, but the complete plastic recycling process can extend out to several third parties who are responsible for sorting, discarding, purifying, forming or pelletizing, re-selling and reusing plastic recycled waste.
TheAtlantic.com outlines a piece of plastic we send to be recycled can enter ‘an elaborate global system within which its plastic is sold, shipped, melted, resold, and shipped again—sometimes zigzagging the globe’
Read more about the potential journey of a plastic bottle sent for recycling in the US at theatlantic.com
Where To Recycle Plastic Bags
Plastic bags aren’t able to be recycled in most places.
But, some cities do offer plastic bag and ‘soft plastic’ recycling services. Do an online search for ‘soft plastics recycling in [insert city name’]
Where Is Plastic Pollution
It can happen on land, and in the oceans, mainly.
Plastic on land comes from a range of sources, and happens in a range of ways.
Ocean plastic pollution has it’s own unique causes to consider.
Also note, a more indirect form of plastic pollution might occur from the burning of plastic waste – where air pollution could occur (from dioxins and other air or atmosphere contaminants), and incinerator ash could cause pollution if not treated or recycled or disposed of properly.
Where Does Plastic In The Ocean Come From
Roughly 70-80% of plastic in the ocean in total comes from land based sources, and 20-30% comes from marine sources (fishing discards and fishing equipment/gear).
Plastic in the ocean mainly comes from coastal populations within 50kms of the coast line, and rivers are a major way that plastic gets carried from inland to these coastal locations.
Where Is Plastic In The Ocean
There’s four points to consider here (plastic could end up in all four of these locations):
Plastic congregates on the surface of the water at ocean basins and gyres
Plastic breaks up into micro plastics and nano plastics and sinks to the deep sea and deep sea sediments
Plastic breaks down and ends up in organisms and living things
Plastic breaks down and is washed up or buried in our shorelines
– ourworldindata.org
Where Is The Plastic Island
The plastic island people refer to is the ‘Great Pacific Garbage Patch’.
You can view the parts of the ocean with the greatest masses of plastics in surface ocean waters by ocean basin at ourworldindata.org
Go to the section ‘Which Oceans Have The Most Plastic Waste’
Where To Shop Plastic Free
It depends on the country and city you are in.
Some cities now have dedicated plastic free and zero waste stores, as well as bulk food stores that minimise plastic packaging (by using packaging such as compostable or reusable bags and containers, and tin ties, just as examples).
You can also cut down on plastic in your own shopping by re-using bags, and looking for products that includes less or no plastic packaging.
Why Was Plastic Invented?
There should be a distinction between the first synthetic polymer that was invented, and the first fully synthetic plastic that was invented:
The first synthetic polymer was invented in 1869 by John Wesley Hyatt, who was inspired by a New York firm’s offer of $10,000 for anyone who could provide a substitute for ivory
In 1907 Leo Baekeland invented Bakelite … [in part] to meet the needs of the rapidly electrifying United States
– sciencehistory.org
Why Is Plastic Bad/Why Is It Harmful/Why Say No To Plastic
Read about some of the potentially harmful effects of plastic in this guide:
Why Plastic Pollution Is A Problem
Plastic pollution causes several potential issues on land in the ocean.
Read more in these guides:
Also note, a more indirect form of plastic pollution might occur from the burning of plastic waste – where air pollution could occur (from dioxins and other air or atmosphere contaminants), and incinerator ash could cause pollution if not treated or recycled or disposed of properly.
Why Is Plastic In The Ocean
Because there are both land based, and ocean based plastic sources responsible for putting plastic into the ocean.
Plastic from the ocean mainly ends up there from coastal populations within 50kms of the coast line, and rivers are a significant way that plastic from inland gets carried out to coastal populations (ourworldindata.org)
Marine based plastic sources mainly come from fishing vessels (fishing gear, fishing equipment, dumped gear and and equipment like pots).
Why Plastic Bags Should Or Should Not Be Banned
Read more in this guide about whether plastic bags, bottles and straws should be banned.
Why Plastic Straws Should Or Should Not Be Banned
Read more in this guide about whether plastic bags, bottles and straws should be banned.
Why Plastic Bottles Should Or Should Not Be Banned
Read more in this guide about whether plastic bags, bottles and straws should be banned.
Is Plastic Biodegradable?
Most plastics aren’t biodegradable – they don’t break down via bacteria – they break down via photodegradation (exposure to UV radiation and light).
There are some plastics types of plastics out there (such as plant based bioplastics) that are labelled as biodegradable or compostable.
You need to research each of these individual plastics though, because often what you find is that these plastics still contain non natural additives and chemicals, and only break down under certain conditions (which usually aren’t available in industrial landfills or in the natural environment).
Read more about the breaking down and degradation of plastic in this guide.
Is Plastic Recyclable?
It depends on the plastic type, the plastic product or item, and the recycling facilities and services available in a city.
In many developed countries and cities, some of the most commonly recycled plastics and plastic products are:
Hard plastics
Plastic #1 (PET)
Plastic #2 (HDPE)
Read more in these guides about plastic recycling:
What Plastics Can, & Cannot Be Recycled? (& How To Know/Find Out In Your Area)
What Can Plastic Be Recycled Into (& Reused/Repurposed For)?
Is Plastic Renewable?
Most plastics include fossil fuels like oil or natural gas as a feedstock, so they can’t be considered as renewable.
But, there may be some types of bioplastics (if they contain 100% sustainable and natural ingredients) that are considered renewable. It depends on the specific plastic though.
Is Plastic Sustainable?
In general, no, as they mostly contain fossil fuels as a feedstock.
Is Plastic Made From Oil?
Most plastics are. And, in the US, many plastics are made from natural gas processing, and crude oil refining.
Is Plastic Bad For You?
This is highly controversial.
Some sources list the potential impacts BPAs, phthalates and other plastic additives and chemicals can have on humans.
Regulatory authorities mainly say though that plastics and their additives and chemicals are safe at the levels humans are exposed to in society right now.
Read more about the potentially harmful effects of plastic in this guide.
Sources
1. Various BMR resources
2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plastic_recycling
3. https://science.howstuffworks.com/plastic.htm
4. https://www.plasticseurope.org/en/about-plastics/what-are-plastics/how-plastics-are-made
5. https://www.sciencehistory.org/the-history-and-future-of-plastics
6. Hannah Ritchie and Max Roser (2019) – “Plastic Pollution”. Published online at OurWorldInData.org. Retrieved from: ‘https://ourworldindata.org/plastic-pollution’ [Online Resource]
7. https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2015/12/what-actually-happens-to-a-recycled-plastic-bottle/418326/
8. https://www.ptonline.com/articles/lets-talk-about-the-economy
9. https://www.triplepundit.com/story/2016/new-plastics-economy-thriving-plastic-world/56486
10. http://plastic-pollution.org/
11. https://www.pewtrusts.org/en/research-and-analysis/articles/2018/09/24/plastic-pollution-affects-sea-life-throughout-the-ocean
12. https://www.wwf.org.au/news/blogs/plastic-pollution-is-killing-sea-turtles-heres-how#gs.1cb4lv
13. http://oceancrusaders.org/plastic-crusades/plastic-statistics/
14. https://www.wwf.org.au/news/blogs/plastic-in-our-oceans-is-killing-marine-mammals#gs.1cbbig
15. https://www.onegreenplanet.org/animalsandnature/marine-animals-are-dying-because-of-our-plastic-trash/
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