Plastic packaging
One of the four major materials in the packaging industry：40% of the planet’s plastic waste
Plastic packaging refers to packaging with plastic. Plastic is a type of material that uses synthetic or natural polymer resin as the main material. After adding various additives, it has ductility at a certain temperature and pressure, and its shape can be fixed after cooling.
The process in which natural or synthetic polymer resin molecules are in a molten state and the additive molecules are evenly distributed around them is called plasticization. If this process has been achieved, it is called plasticization, and if it has not been achieved, it is considered to be unplasticized. Plastic packaging is one of the four major materials in the packaging industry: paper and cardboard account for 30%, plastics account for 25%, metals account for 25%, and glass accounts for 15%.
2050 Plastics Status
We are seeing other worrying trends. Plastics have been produced faster than any other material since the 1970s. If historic growth trends continue, global primary plastic production is expected to reach 1.1 billion tons by 2050. We are also seeing a worrying shift toward single-use plastic items, which are meant to be thrown away after a short use.
About 36% of all plastics produced are used for packaging, including single-use plastics for food and beverage containers, of which about 85% end up in landfills or as unregulated waste.
In addition, about 98% of single-use plastic products are produced from fossil fuels or “virgin” feedstocks. Greenhouse gas emissions associated with the production, use and disposal of traditional fossil fuel plastics are expected to grow to 19% of the global carbon budget by 2040.
These single-use plastics are everywhere. For many of us, they have become an integral part of our daily lives.
Systemic Change
Less than 10% of the 7 billion tonnes of plastic waste generated worldwide has ever been recycled. Millions of tonnes of plastic waste are dumped into the environment, sometimes transported thousands of kilometres to be incinerated or dumped. It is estimated that the value of plastic packaging waste lost each year during sorting and processing alone is as high as $80 billion to $120 billion.
Cigarette butts (whose filters contain tiny plastic fibres) are the most common plastic waste in the environment. Next in line is food wrappers, plastic bottles, plastic bottle caps, plastic shopping bags, plastic straws and stirrers. Many of us use these things every day without ever thinking about where they end up.
Hazards
The properties of plastics, such as durability and resistance to degradation, that make them so useful also make them nearly impossible for nature to fully break down.
Most plastic products never completely disappear; they simply break down into smaller and smaller pieces. These microplastics can enter the body through inhalation and absorption and accumulate in organs. Microplastics have been found in our lungs, liver, spleen, and kidneys. A recent study also detected microplastics in the placenta of newborns. The full impact on human health is still unclear. However, there is a lot of evidence that chemicals associated with plastics, such as methylmercury, plasticizers, and flame retardants, can enter the body and are associated with health problems.
In countries with poor solid waste management systems, plastic waste (especially single-use plastic bags) can clog sewers and provide breeding grounds for mosquitoes and pests, thereby increasing the spread of vector-borne diseases such as malaria.
