Written by Corinne Newman
Global sustainability is a lofty but necessary goal, and plastics are one of the many factors interfering with it. To have sustainability, there has to be a balance between humanity and the natural environment that prompts long-lasting and healthy resources for present and future generations. Three of the main issues at play in trying to achieve global sustainability are climate change, pollution, and loss of biodiversity. Plastics and their harm play a role in all three of these.
The broad strokes cause of climate change is the increasing amounts of greenhouse gasses in our atmosphere. There are many contributing factors that are causing this exponential increase of greenhouse gasses that have started since the dawn of large-spread industrialization. Plastics are not the highest contributing cause, but they do make up a staggering amount. It’s estimated that in 2019, there were 1.8 billion tons of greenhouse gas emissions caused by plastics. Not far behind the rate of emissions rates of nearly 870 coal-fired power plants operated for one year, to help give perspective. Plastics generate greenhouse gas emissions at every point in their life cycle. From mining and collecting the materials, to refining and manufacturing, even in its incineration and recycling.
We have already covered how plastics contribute to pollution. The ways it infects the environment, leaking into the food chain and water system. With the rate of plastic production still ramping up, the rate of plastic pollution is following suit. According to a study done by the non-profit EA Environmental Action, 158,943,925 tons of plastic waste will be created in 2023. Nearly half that plastic waste will be mismanaged on a global scale, predicting 68,642,999 additional tons of plastic will be polluted into nature.
The role plastics have in causing loss of biodiversity is self-evident in the previous blog. Plastic pollution causes direct health effects and risks to life to wildlife of all sizes. From direct consumption to causing environmental hazards, plastics are slowly choking out biodiversity. Even outside of plastic waste, plastics are harming biodiversity. The mining and extraction of the materials to make plastic can cause harsh long-term damage to the area it’s extracting from. Leading to the death of wildlife and plants there, contributing to the continued loss of biodiversity.
Like the last blog, this information can be overwhelming and make it feel like these issues are impossible to overcome. But that is not true. Next blog we will go over many possible solutions to all of these sustainability issues, both theorized, proposed, and already enacted. Humanity had the power to start these plastic-related issues, and we have the power to enact change to fix them. Through organizing and global government regulations, it is possible.