The short answer is no. It’s not possible to live in a free plastic world, today. The more complete one is that scientists have proven that plastic is one of the most sustainable materials, more sustainable than paper or glass. In many instances, it is the only material that works and contributes to save lives. Most people are not aware of the many uses of plastics and what a plastic-free world would really mean. There are many types of plastic with distinct properties, making it an exceptional material for an extremely wide range of products and applications.

To know if a material is sustainable you need to study its life-cycle analysis (LCA) also known as life-cycle assessment, ecobalance, and cradle-to-grave analysis. The LCA consists of a detailed study of everything that is needed to make a product including raw materials, energy, waste, by-products, transportation, waste, disposal, and so on. After adding everything up you can understand the total environmental impact of the product.

There are 7 categories of plastic according to their material:

1 – PETE (Polyethylene Terephthalate): beverage bottles, cups, other packaging, etc.

2 – HDPE (High-Density Polyethylene): bottles, cups, milk jugs, etc.

3 – PVC (Polyvinyl Chloride): pipes, siding, flooring, etc.

4 – LDPE (Low-Density Polyethylene): plastic bags, six-pack rings, tubing, etc.

5 – PP (Polypropylene): auto parts, industrial fibers, food containers, etc.

6 – PS (Polystyrene): plastic utensils, Styrofoam, cafeteria trays, etc.

7 – Other: other plastics, such as acrylic, nylon, polycarbonate and polylactic acid.

Yes, all plastics can be recycled, however, most facilities only recycle PET, HDPE, and PP, because they are the most common types. Plastics are very sensitive to contamination, so they need to be sorted and recycled by type. This means that facilities have to recycle PET with PET, HDPE with HDPE, and so on.

PET bottles have the lowest emissions because of their lightweight properties and the low amount of energy required to produce them. When compared with other materials, aluminum cans have two times the emissions of PET bottles, and emissions from glass bottles are three times higher.

No, according to recent studies that compared and analyzed different packaging categories – caps and closures, beverage containers, stretch and shrink film, carrier bags, other rigid packaging, and other flexible packaging. The substitute packaging would result in significantly higher impacts for all results categories evaluated: total energy demand, expended energy, water consumption, solid waste by weight and by volume, greenhouse gas emissions and global warming potential. According to McKinsey Chemical Insights: “Plastics are arguably among the most revolutionary materials humanity has invented. They are low-cost yet lightweight, durable, and highly customizable.”

No, this is a myth. Standard plastics degrade outdoors in a few years, or even sooner, unless they are stabilized. Plastics only last as long as they last because of the stabilizers that are added, without those stabilizers, they would simply degrade and become useless.

Degrading plastic release carbon dioxide and methane, that are considered greenhouse gases when released to the environment in large quantities. However, degrading plastic releases less of these gases than terrestrial vegetation including trees, shrubs, herbs, grasses, a sedge, and a fern.

These biodegradable polymers are less green, more expensive, and have worse properties than the plastics we use today. They have also other issues like taking too long to mold, and it softens at such low temperatures that it can’t be used in many important applications or in other cases being too rigid to use in most plastic applications.

Yes, according to the LCA (life-cycle analysis) solid wood is better than plastic (e.g., wood decking is way greener than plastic decking) and natural cork comes out ahead of plastic corks and aluminum closures.

No, plastic allowed to reduce waste. Replacing plastic would mean we had to produce 3 or 4 times more materials, leading to far more waste, more carbon dioxide, and more energy consumption. Also, waste pollution is a serious problem. The way people use and treat plastic and other materials lead to pollution. Plastic isn’t responsible for pollution, people behavior is.

There are many types of plastic with distinct properties for a wide range of applications. Plastic is used for almost every sector, from our clothes to toys, containers, construction, vests stop bullets, food packaging, working protecting clothing (firefighters, doctors, nurses), medical devices, personal devices (mobiles, computers), water pipes, electric cables, the list of uses is almost infinite. It saves our lives, helps people to survive, protect our houses and ensures world’s water, energy, and communication.

• Don’t believe in everything you hear. Go after facts and scientific proof
• Try to create each product with only one type of plastic
• Prioritize plastics like PET to simplify the sorting and recycling process
• Make the plastic materials more durable so they can be recycled more times before losing strength