Challenging Big Plastic, Reclaiming Our Future

Something important and historic is happening.  The California attorney general has launched a first-of-its kind investigation into the fossil fuel and petrochemical industries for their role in causing and exacerbating the global crisis in plastic pollution.  The investigation is largely pinned on the aggressive campaign by the plastics industry to deceive the public into believing the plastics problem can be solved by recycling.  It can’t. 

You know all those little chasing arrow symbols on various types of plastic?  That was a trick by Big Plastic to make us believe the stuff is actually recyclable.  To date, less than 9% of all plastic ever created has been recycled and most of what is being produced can’t be recycled with current technology.  Big Plastic is comprised of Big Oil, Big Beverage like Coca-Cola and Nestle, and the chemicals industry and lobbying firms.  They have been, and are engaged in a massive, ecologically disastrous campaign of fraud and misinformation.  Internal documents show that as far back as the 1970s, industry executives noted that plastic recycling was infeasible and likely never could be economically viable. 

In an undercover interview, a representative from Greenpeace UK, obtained video footage of Keith McCoy, one of ExxonMobile’s top lobbyists, explaining that the company’s approach to dealing with public outrage over plastic pollution is just like the one on climate change, an intentional effort to downplay a deadly trend. 

A Brief History of Plastic:

·      Originally the word plastic referred to materials that were flexible and easily formed.  The first such materials were made of plant and animal products including cotton fiber, bone and tortoiseshell. 

·      By the mid-1800s elephants were being wiped out at a rapid pace for their ivory tusks which were being made into billiard balls, piano keys, etc. 

·      In 1862, Birmingham England based, Alexander Parkes creates a synthetic polymer combining cotton fibers, nitric and sulfuric acid, and vegetable oil.  He patented the plastic material as Parkesine. 

·      A $10,000 reward is offered for anyone who could find an alternative to ivory for billiard balls.  In 1989, John W. Hiatt invented celluloid.

·      In 1907, Belgian Leo Baekeland, creates Bakelight by combining formaldehyde and phenol, sparking another boom in plastic consumer products.

·      In the early 1900’s petroleum and chemical industries begin to formulate alliances in companies like Dow Chemicals, ExxonMobil, Dupont, and BASF with a goal of creating products from the waste by-products of oil and gas production.  Eventually this led to nylon, Teflon, and polyethylene, that spread across the globe at break-neck speed. 

·      WWII brings a massive expansion in plastic use and waste.

·      In 1960 plastic debris in the oceans is first observed. 

·      The first plastic shopping bag is created in 1965 by Sten Gustaf Thulin, an employee at a company called Celloplast. 

·      The first cheap, single-use plastic beverage bottle is patented in 1973 by American Nathaniel Wyeth. Today around 500 billion PET bottles are purchased every year. 

·      In the 1970s some plastic industry executives acknowledge, privately, that recycling was not going to be a viable option. 

·      In the1990s, plant-based, compostable and biodegradable plastic alternatives begin to emerge. 

·      In 1997, Charles Moore discovers the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, an area in the Pacific Ocean, larger than the state of Texas, comprised of plastic debris that accumulates and is held there due to ocean currents.

·      In the early 2000s jurisdictions across the globe begin banning plastic shopping bags. 

·      More than half of the plastic ever created has been produced since 2004. 

And here we are, in a world, an economic system, and lifestyles so saturated with plastic it seems there is no way out.  But there is.  It might not be easy, and indeed it will bring significant upheaval to certain industries, supply chains, and our addiction to convenience.  It’s important to note such upheaval is virtually guaranteed.  We are either going to step up and transform systems and norms proactively, or we are going to be forced into a far greater degree of disruption as fundamentally unsustainable systems, products, and ecosystems break down.  The most dangerous course we can take is to stay the course we’re on. 

What’s Needed Now at a Policy Level:

·      Let’s learn from precedent -- the Montreal Protocol.  In the mid 1980s the world learned that we were destroying earth’s ozone layer through the use of certain hydrocarbon chemicals.  Environmentalists and scientists rallied and world leaders came together in Montreal Quebec and signed an agreement to phase out emissions of the harmful chemicals.  The treaty has been revised and updated nine times.  It's working – the ozone layer is healing.  We need a Montreal Protocol approach to the plastic pollution crisis.

In a hopeful development in March of this year, 175 United Nations’ member countries agreed to forge an international legally binding agreement by 2024 aimed at ending plastic pollution. The resolution addresses the full lifecycle of plastic, including its production, design and disposal.

·      Implement mandatory manufacturer take-back and Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) programs that require producers to take-back and recycle the products they put out in the world.  There is momentum toward a circular economy and more companies are implementing end-of-life take-back programs.  However, in the U.S. many of these voluntary programs are not resulting in good recycling rates.  Several European countries have much stronger, and mandatory, Take-Back policies. 

A notable U.S.-based leader is Patagonia which boasts one of the most genuine and thorough takeback programs in the garment industry. In addition to producing all of its clothing from sustainable materials, Patagonia offers free repairs to its products, and recycles or reuses 100% of the collected garments when they do reach end-of-life.  The brand’s resale platform, Worn Wear, is an online market for quality used Patagonia clothing where you can get store credit for your old items.

·      Major countries need to implement war or moonshot effort approaches to research and development of plant-based alternatives to plastic across a wide spectrum of uses, as well as an all-out effort to create truly effective recycling systems. 

·      Bans of certain types of plastics.  Period.  It is insane to say it is too economically disruptive to ban poisonous, “forever” substances from our environment and bodies. 

Our Own Personal Choices:

One of the challenges of these times is that the scale of environmental problems are far beyond individual actions and one of our greatest threats is that people, recognizing the magnitude, will give up and give in to the status quo.  We are in fact in the midst of a revolution of awareness as more and more of us become aware of these problems and the urgent need to change course.  I feel so strongly, this is a critical time to commit to our own individual behavior changes and talk about those every chance we get, while also continuing to pressure business and governments to act. 

Here are a few of my own personal anti-plastic actions I commit to:

·      Bring my own water bottle and mug – everywhere.

·      Keep a stash of portable silverware in my car and my backpack so that I can get take-out food without the plastic.

·      Avoid ordering from restaurants that provide plastic take-out containers and let them know why I am choosing not to use their services.

·      Buy second-hand whenever possible.

·      Avoid ExxonMobile gasoline and products until they are willing to step up to ownership of their role in the plastic pollution crisis.  Of course, the main action is to get off all Big Oil products but EM is the lead culprit in the plastic piece. 

·      Write and speak about these issues every chance I get whether on a stage or at the dinner table. 

The Future of Plastic: 

We find ourselves facing yet another case in which our technology outpaced our ability to foresee, or manage, the associated problems caused by said technology.  I believe there is reason to hope that the spotlight now being turned on Big Plastic’s dishonesty, the U.N.’s acknowledgement of the need for action to address the crisis, and innovations currently underway will result in a future in which plastic is not viewed as trash nor is it visible on our beaches, and landscapes.

One such hopeful and inspired innovation is the Plastic Bank.  Plastic Bank is a for-profit social enterprise based in Vancouver, British Columbia, that builds recycling ecosystems in under-developed communities in an effort to fight both plastic pollution in oceans, as well as high poverty levels in developing countries.  The company allows people living in poverty to collect plastic waste and trade it in for goods such as school tuition, medical insurance, medicine, internet access, and cooking fuel.  Plastic Bank reprocesses collected plastics to be sold to companies creating products from recycled plastic.  Plastic Bank currently has operations in the Philippines, Indonesia, Brazil, and Egypt.   

Solving the plastic crisis will require innovation in technologies and products.  It will also require governments mustering the will to wrest power away from Big Plastic special interests.  Finally, it will require all of us to rethink convenience and consumption norms.  According to Merriam-Webster, plastic as an adjective means pliable and capable of adapting to varying conditions.  By all means then, may we be plastic in our thinking about how we redesign and reclaim a future that works better for all beings.