On 5 June 2018, countries
celebrated World Environment Day, and Secretary-General, António Guterres was quoted as saying,
"On World Environment Day, the message is simple: reject single-use
plastic. Refuse what you can’t re-use. Together, we can chart a path to a
cleaner, greener world."[1]
Who would have thought
that these words – and many other similar messages – would be uttered years later, after the creation of polymers?
The discovery of Bakelite,
a synthetic plastic, by Leo Baekeland in 1907 led to rapid developments of new
polymers from chemical companies.[2]
And with so many uses and applications today and the convenience they offer, plastics
continue to be a necessary part of our lives. For many food products and
beverages alone, plastic packaging is still the material of choice.
Bioplastics, a type of
plastic made from renewable sources instead of petroleum-based products, are
said to be the better option because they degrade faster, are less toxic, and
do not contain bisphenol A. But guess what, they’re not that great either when
you take into account the production. Researchers from the University of Pittsburgh
found that making bioplastics “resulted in greater amounts of pollutants, due
to the fertilizers and pesticides used in growing the crops and the chemical
processing needed to turn organic material into plastic. The bioplastics also
contributed more to ozone depletion than the traditional plastics, and required
extensive land use.”[3]
But are words like
those of Secretary-General António Guterres’ even necessary when we ourselves are
confronted by images of floating trash and lifeless animals that have ingested plastics.
We are all partly responsible for this. And such vivid images alone should make
you stop, think, and take action. There are people who do more than just limit
their use of plastics. One we know from Indonesia is David Christian who
started his business Evoware, to develop and manufacture edible
packaging based on seaweed. If you haven’t heard of him, read this interview
with Mr Christian.
Every little action
counts in clearing up the world of plastic trash.
On 14 June at ProPak
Asia 2018, Food Industry Asia will hold a two-hour session on Sustainable Packaging: Tackling plastic
waste in Southeast Asia, with speakers from Tetra Pak, Coca-Cola, the UN Environment and FIA. Looking forward
to this session which focuses on Southeast Asia. If you’d like to know more, go
to https://foodindustry.asia/home.
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