• Question: why do people make plastic that isn't needed and they know that it is bad for the environment?

    Asked by anon-177154 to Andrew, Becky, Daniel, Helen, Nicola, Urslaan on 18 Jun 2018.
    • Photo: Urslaan Chohan

      Urslaan Chohan answered on 18 Jun 2018:

      Plastic is perhaps one of the most adaptable materials there is. It can be used to preserve food, it can be used as a container, it can be used for many things… it’s both strong and relatively inert (meaning it doesn’t react with lots of chemicals), which makes it ideal for this. It can also be pressed into many shapes and be thinned out (as in plastic bags). Until we get a safe alternative, unfortunately plastic is going to be here to stay.

    • Photo: Becky Thomas

      Becky Thomas answered on 18 Jun 2018:

      Great question Charles. Until we as consumers start demanding other things (like biodegradable cutlery rather than plastic), there will still be demand for single use plastics and so people will continue to produce them. I have seen a real shift in the last few years in how people view plastics, and in the increased use of other more environmentally friendly materials (like reusable bags), partly because of programmes like Blue Planet, which really raised awareness for this issue. Hopefully we’ll be able to start tackling the problems caused by plastic to the environment as it’s a really big issue.

    • Photo: Daniel Marsh

      Daniel Marsh answered on 19 Jun 2018:

      Plastic is incredibly versatile and strong as a material and can be easily made in many shapes or forms but we have known for a long time that it is really bad once it’s in the environment. The biggest reason it is used though as it’s often very cheap compared to alternatives so until people are willing to pay slightly more and deliberately avoid products wrapped in plastic or regulations for use are changed we won’t see a decline. Recent media coverage of the damage it is doing to the environment has helped and the ‘plastic bag levey’ has helped hugely.

      In 2014 over 7.6 billion single-use plastic bags were given to customers by major supermarkets in England. That’s something like 140 bags per person, the equivalent of about 61,000 tonnes in total. The 5p charge introduced in 2015 has led to an 80% decrease and is helping to reduce all that waste!

    • Photo: Helen Littler

      Helen Littler answered on 19 Jun 2018:

      One major issue is the use of mixed plastics in products – if an item uses a single type of plastic then it is easy to recycle. If it uses a mixture of materials then it is a lot harder to separate and reuse – one big example is disposable coffee cups. Like the other scientists have said, using plastic is easier and cheap. On my construction sites, they have to pay for waste to be taken away so they are keen for there to be less packaging or for it to be reusable. I think the construction industry will lead the way in demanding less plastic or plastics that can easily be recycled because they don’t want the cost.

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