Skip to main content
Sister Publication Links
  • Plastics News
  • Plastics News China
SustainablePlasticsFINAL
Subscribe
  • Login
  • SUBSCRIBE
  • News
    • Recycling
    • Sustainability
    • Bioplastics
    • Technology & Materials
    • Enespa, Biofabrik to build industrial-scale chemical recycling facility
      Amcor, McKinsey.org are ‘Rethinking Recycling’ in Latin America
      Nylon sorting made easy
      Plastic pallet recycling scheme celebrates second anniversary
    • A fast casual gets serious about the environment
      Value chain collaboration yields new circular packaging solution
      Circa Group successfully completes NOK 575 million private placement
      Arburg publishes its first Sustainability Report online
    • Assets Bio-on S.p.A. up for auction
      Bio-Fed and Febo S.p.A. expand distribution agreement
      RenCom launches production of new lignin-based biomaterial
      SP Group, Nurel Biopolymers develop food-contact approved compostable barrier film structures
    • Injection Moulding
    • Blow Moulding
    • Extrusion
    • Thermoforming
    • 3D printing
    • Technology
    • Materials
    • Machinery
  • Opinion
    • View Point
    • PHA: As green as it gets
      Opinion: The future of sustainable plastic
      A year to remember
      Opinion: California introduces world’s toughest plastic bottle recycling legislature – will other markets follow?
  • Events
    • Our Exhibitions
    • Plastics Industry Awards (PIA)
    • Ask the Expert
    • Sustainable Plastics Live
    • Reifenhäuser Technologies Livestreams
    • Plastics News Europe Live Archives
    • Plastics Recycling Show Europe
  • Prices & Resources
    • Polymer Prices
    • Data Reports
    • White Papers
  • Contact
    • Advertise
    • Media Pack
  • Subscribe
  • Digital magazine
    • Digital Magazine
  • Multimedia
MENU
Breadcrumb
  1. Home
  2. News
May 20, 2019 11:22 AM

Study blames plastic for climate change

Jim Johnson
  • Tweet
  • Share
  • Share
  • Email
  • More
    Print

    A new study claims growing use of plastics is having a devastating impact through climate change, but a trade group representing the industry counters with an exact opposite view.

    "Plastic & Climate: The Hidden Costs of a Plastic Planet" is a new report from a handful of environmental groups, including the Center for International Environmental Law, Break Free From Plastic and 5 Gyres.

    The report said it studied greenhouse gas emissions "at each state of the plastic lifecycle" and concluded rapid expansion of the plastic industry during the past 10 years, as well as future growth, means greenhouse gas impacts are accelerating.

    "It has long been clear that plastic threatens the global environment and puts human health at risk. This report demonstrates that plastic, like the rest of the fossil economy, is putting the climate at risk as well," CIEL President Carroll Muffett said in a statement.

    "Because the drivers of the climate crisis and the plastic crisis are closely linked, so too are their solutions: Humanity must end its reliance on fossil fuels and on fossil plastics that the planet can no longer afford," Muffett continued.

    The Plastics division of the American Chemistry Council pushed back against the report, claiming plastic products compare favorably against those made with other materials.

    "A recent lifecycle study of plastic packaging found that replacing plastics with alternatives would nearly double greenhouse gas emissions," said Steve Russell, vice president of the ACC Plastic division, in a statement.

    "Although plastic production does generate low levels of greenhouse gas emissions, plastics are often used in products that help to reduce much larger amounts of greenhouse gas emissions over their lifecycle," he said.

    The CIEL report suggests some far-reaching changes, including ending production of single-use, disposable plastic products, stopping development of new oil, gas and petrochemical infrastructure and transitioning to "zero-waste communities."

    The report also calls for implementing extended producer responsibility "as a critical component of circular economies."

    The report claims that annual greenhouse gas emissions for the entire plastics lifecycle, including production and incineration, will be equivalent of 189 coal-fired power plants this year. That number will increase to 295 in 2030 and 615 in 2050 as the industry grows.

    The emergence of hydraulic fracturing of shale — or fracking — has unlocked vast amounts of natural gas and oil that previously was thought to be unreachable in the United States.

    While that has led to lower gasoline prices for drivers, the report authors said the advent of less expensive natural gas also is creating a plastics boom.

    "Unfortunately, the CIEL report focuses largely on the anticipated growth of plastic production but fails to note that production is growing in response to increasing global demand for lightweight automotive parts, building insulation and product packaging — all of which will play an important role in reducing greenhouse gas emissions," Russell said.

    Courtney Bernhardt is director of research at the Environmental Integrity Project, another group involved in the study.

    "Our world is drowning in plastic, and the plastics industry has been overlooked as a major source of greenhouse gases. But there are ways to solve this problem. We need to end the production of single use, disposable plastic containers and encourage a transition to a zero-waste future," she said in a statement.

    The full report is available at: ciel.org and an executive summary is at: https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Plastic-and-Climate-Executive-Summary-2019.pdf

    Russell's full statement is here: https://www.americanchemistry.com/Media/PressReleasesTranscripts/ACC-news-releases/Study-Misses-the-Mark-Plastics-Help-Significantly-Reduce-Carbon-Footprint.html.
     

    Get our newsletters

    Staying current is easy with Sustainable Plastics' news delivered straight to your inbox, free of charge.

    Subscribe

    Subscriptions to Sustainable Plastics, the leading Pan-European magazine for the circular plastics industry are coming soon.

    Subscribe now
    Connect with Us
    • LinkedIn
    • Twitter

    "In a changing world, Sustainable Plastics is a constant: a platform the plastics industry can rely on to deliver the news and knowhow impacting the industry going forward”

    SustainablePlasticsFINAL
    Contact Us

    11 Ironmonger Lane, EC2V 8EY
    United Kingdom 
     

    Customer Service:
    1-313-446-0450

    [email protected]

     

    Resources
    • Advertise
    • Sitemap
    • Careers
    • Subscribe
    Affiliates
    • Plastics News
    • Plastics News China
    • LSR World
    • Urethanes Technology
    • Tire Business
    • Rubber & Plastics News
    • Automotive News
    • Automotive News Europe
    • Crain Publications
    Legal
    • Terms and Conditions
    • Privacy Policy
    • Privacy Request
    Copyright © 1996-2021. Crain Communications, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
    • News
      • Recycling
      • Sustainability
      • Bioplastics
      • Technology & Materials
        • Injection Moulding
        • Blow Moulding
        • Extrusion
        • Thermoforming
        • 3D printing
        • Technology
        • Materials
        • Machinery
    • Opinion
      • View Point
    • Events
      • Our Exhibitions
        • Plastics Recycling Show Europe
      • Plastics Industry Awards (PIA)
      • Ask the Expert
      • Sustainable Plastics Live
      • Reifenhäuser Technologies Livestreams
      • Plastics News Europe Live Archives
    • Prices & Resources
      • Polymer Prices
      • Data Reports
      • White Papers
    • Contact
      • Advertise
      • Media Pack
    • Subscribe
    • Digital magazine
      • Digital Magazine
    • Multimedia