Nairobi Ideas Explainer: Plastics
Author: Elizabeth Laurence
What is plastic?
At their most basic, all plastics are polymers. From the Greek word 'Polumeros' meaning 'having many parts', polymers are large molecules made up of smaller units that are joined together to create a long chain. In the 'Meet Our Host' episode of the Nairobi Ideas Podcast, Dr. Rose Mutiso, a polymer scientist, gives listeners a basic introduction to polymers and her research into polymers.
What is the origin of plastic?
For centuries, scientists strived to synthesise a material that would be cheap to produce, strong and highly malleable. They saw some of these desirable properties in naturally occurring plastics, including tar and latex from tree sap, and in the mid-19th Century, scientists began to modify these materials.
But the term 'plastic' didn’t come around until 1907, when Leo Baekeland created the first fully synthetic plastic, named Bakelite. After this landmark discovery, synthesised plastic slowly became ubiquitous. These days it is so common, you might have even encountered it inside your sunscreen, toothpaste, body wash, clothes and make-up.
What are the origins of single-use plastic bags?
It was not until the consumer revolution in the 1950s that plastics began to be produced on a single-use basis.[1] When the single-use plastic bag was first patented in 1965, it revolutionised food shopping, providing a convenient and hygienic way of transporting produce. Plastic bags quickly became a staple in supermarkets across the world replacing cloth and paper bags. Today, the use of the plastic bag is higher than ever, with on average 2 million plastic bags consumed every minute (Earth Policy Institute).[2]
Have plastic bag bans been effective?
Currently 127 countries have enacted legislation against the use of plastic bags, 34 of which are in Africa, with Kenya's 2017 ban being the most severe in the world.[3] But two years on from this historic ban, what have we learned about the efficacy of plastic bag bans?
Kenya's ban has certainly had a major and visible impact on the environment. Public spaces are free of the eye sore of used plastic bags. Waterways are less obstructed, combating the risk of flooding and the spread of disease. With less plastic being consumed by livestock people are also now less likely to ingest plastic in their food. Public awareness about the need for environmental sustainability has also increased dramatically since the ban. People’s mindset towards plastic are changing as the bans encourage consumers to stop seeing plastic as a single-use disposable material. More people now use reusable shopping bags, such as woven bags.
Public awareness was also raised globally, as the ban’s harsh penalties of up to four years in jail, and fines of up to $40,000 made headlines across the world. James Wakibia, the environmental activist behind the ban, who spoke recently on the Nairobi Ideas Podcast, believes the severity was essential in order for the ban to be taken seriously. Across the globe, plastics bans are now being suggested and implemented to include bans on plastic plates, cups, straws, and bottles. Plastic bans are also paving the way towards the development of more long term and comprehensive strategies to combat plastic waste and has incentivised plastic manufacturers to act more responsibly.
Do plastic bans really work?
Plastic bans do not always prove to be effective. In 50% of the cases information about the impact of plastic bag bans is lacking. In countries that do have data, 30% have registered a drop-in consumption of plastic bags within first year and remaining 20% have reported little or no change (UN, 2018). The underwhelming results are usually down to a lack of enforcement and a lack of affordable alternatives, as well as lack of public awareness about the environmental reasons for the ban. Most studies have also found that taxes on plastic bags are actually usually more effective and have a greater longevity.
What do opponents of plastic bans say?
Due to the absence of viable and affordable alternatives life is being made more challenging for those who rely on plastic bags in order to fulfil everyday tasks as Dr Leah Oyake-Ombis, a part time lecturer and notable critic of Kenya’s plastic ban notes in an episode of the Nairobi Ideas Podcast. Moreover, the so called 'knot plastic bag' used for fresh food handling is still the most practical and hygienic way of transporting food and its sudden removal, with no viable alternative poses a public health risk.
Are alternatives to plastic bags actually better for the environment?
Bio-degradable plastic bags, initially heralded as the solution, are currently more problematic than they are productive. They are not cost effective, often being as much as six times more expensive than a normal plastic bag. Customers often will refuse to pay this price, and so it is small business owners who are hit hardest. (The Guardian, 2018)
Though most would assume that a product labelled 'bio-degradable' would degrade when left in soil, there are actually no international standards by which plastics labelled 'biodegradable' must comply.
Often when left in nature, so called bio-degradable bags can remain as waste as long as a traditional plastic. This is because they need certain climates to degrade, which can only be found inside industrial composting plants, such as temperature of up to 60 degrees Celsius.
Since most bio-degradable bags are much flimsier than conventional plastic, they are also discarded after a single-use into the environment, which poses the exact same problem as traditional single-use plastic bags. Currently in many parts of the world the infrastructure to collect and recycle bio-degradable plastic on a large scale does not exist, and until it does the positive impact that bio-degradable bags can have is very limited. Thankfully there is a growing impetus for improvements in the development of bio-degradable bags, and in the infrastructure that facilitates their bio-degradation.
Is recycling the solution?
But it’s not only bio-degradable waste-management that needs improvement, but the recycling industry also has drastic improvements to make. Only 2% of total plastic packaging waste is effectively recycled according to the UN (UN, 2015 pg. 7). The industry is a hugely expensive enterprise and uses up many resources as well as having a considerable waste footprint. Most single-use plastic bags are recyclable; however, most recycling plants were never built with the capacity to process thin plastic bags, and so they often jam up the machinery. As a result, they are among the least recycled plastic products. This is why Dr. Oyake-Ombis an expert on plastic waste management, thinks that instead of banning plastics Kenya should focus, first, on improving its waste management strategies.
Sources
[1] https://www.bpf.co.uk/plastipedia/plastics_history/Default.aspx
[2] http://www.earth-policy.org/mobile/releases/plastic_bags_fact_sheet
[3] https://wedocs.unep.org/bitstream/handle/20.500.11822/25496/singleUsePlastic_sustainability.pdf?isAllowed=y&sequence=1 p.52