Future of Sustainable Plastics

I he future of sustainable plastics can be described as excellent growth, especially for biobased plastics. In 2010, bioplastics comprise less than 1% of the 181 million metric tons of synthetic plastics (Nampoothiri et al. 2010). Biobased polymer production capacity is expected to triple from 3.5 million tons in 2011 to 12 million tons in 2020. Bioplastics are expected to comprise of 3% of the global polymer production in 2020 (Nova 2013). 

North America is expected to have modest gains from 159,000 tons in 2011 to 202,000 tons in 2016 (Environmental Leader Calculations 2012). The largest gains areexpectedfor South America and Asia due to better access to agricultural feedstock and favorable political framework (Nova 2013). 

The growth in bioplastics can be supported by the development of biobased plastics from non-food-based agricultural sources, the development of durable products in addition to biodegradable products, and the development of new biobased chemicals for thermoplastic and thermoset polymers. 

Sustainable Plastics Environmental Assessments of Biobased, Biodegradable, and Recycled Plastics, First Edition. Joseph P. Greene. 

---

Sustainability has many definitions. One way to think of it is meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs (defined by the World Commission on Environment and Development held by the United Nations in 1983). The concept of sustainability is that we should synchronize our consumption of natural resources with the Earth s production - in other words, using up natural resources at the same rate at which they are produced. Compared to traditional polymers typically made from petroleum and other fossil resources such as natural gas, sustainable polymers are fuUy or partially biobased and/or biodegradable or compostable. They are bioplastics made from renewable resources (biomass) and can be broken down faster than traditional plastics. Sustainable polymers could also protect our Earth by offering a reduced carbon footprint, a reduced use of fossil resources, and improved end-of-life options. 

The BSEF said that recycling was the key to future environmental sustainability of many industrial processes and it was necessary for additives manufacturers also to help users of plastics (e.g., makers of electronic equipment) to close the loop . 

More recently, interest in life-cycle assessment is being superseded to some degree by interest in development of sustainable systems. Sustainability is perhaps a more useful concept than life-cycle assessment, since it avoids some of the complexities of determining, for example, whether a amount of air emission A is better or worse than y amount of water emission B. Rather, the focus is on whether goods are being produced, used, and disposed of in a manner that allows us to continue to produce and use them into the indefinite future. One intersection of sustainable development with plastics is increased interest in biobased plastics, since these likely come from renewable feedstocks, with potential for sustainable production, rather than from nonrenewable fossil fuels. Of course, recycling may also help make production systems more sustainable. 

It is true that LCA has not yet been able to demonstrate the ecological superiority of biobased plastics, since most published studies consider only the energy utilised in the manufacture of products and do not include the energy used or produced in ultimate recovery. For example incineration produces the same amount of energy when hydrocarbon polymers are incinerated, whereas most biobased polymers produce much less. Unless or until the complete life-cycle energy has been determined, this statement must remain a hypothesis [72-74]. However, there is already sufficient information in the technical literature to conclude that further LCA studies will have not have a significant influence on whether intermediates for the plastic industry will in the future be more sustainable based on renewable resources or upon fossil fuels [73,74],... 

This is part of the environmental issues series of the UK Environment Agency. The report provides an overview of plastics looking at manufacture, uses and disposal. The aim of the report is to make recommendations on ways to ensure that society s use of plastics is more sustainable in the future. 

The minimization of waste is an important issue. Recycling is a good option but should only be considered if reuse is not possible. For a sustainable future, it is necessary to recycle as much as possible. The amount of waste varies from country to country, with the United States leading the list with 0.88 ton per person per year, followed by Australia (0.74 ton per person per year), and Canada (0.5 ton per person per year) [35,36]. Only 27% of the municipal solid waste generated in the United States in 1995 was recycled. Materials typically recycled included paper, plastic, wood, steel, aluminum, and glass. 

The margins are partly supported by a sustainable share of imports, allowing for import parity pricing. In 2003, approximately 21 percent of China s total chemicals consumption was covered by net imports, mainly commodities. For example, at least half of the consumption of synthetic rubber (69%), plastics (55%), and organic chemicals (50%) was met by net imports. Even at production growth forecasts of 9.6 percent p.a., Chinese capacity levels will not meet demand in the foreseeable future and the country is expected to remain a chemicals net importer beyond 2020. 

Lastly we examine attempts to design structures for particular functions, namely, films that act as barriers and capsules that contain bioactive substances. In the future, we will need to create novelty in the long-term stability of products and delivery of specific molecules for a health benefit. These technologies are attracting attention not only from the food industry but also for nonfood use. Sustainable and environmentally friendly attributes of biomaterials are increasingly discussed, compared to petrochemically derived, synthetic polymers and plastics. For once, food materials scientists can teach other industries the rules of the game. ... 

Major oil spills attract the attention of the public and the media. In recent years, this attention has created a global awareness of the risks of oil spills and the damage they do to the environment. However, oil is a necessity in our industrial society, and a major sustainer of our lifestyle. Most of the energy used in Canada and the United States is for transportation that runs on oil and petroleum products. According to trends in energy usage, this is not likely to decrease much in the future. Industry uses oil and petroleum derivatives to manufacture such vital products as plastics, fertilizers, and chemical feedstocks, which will still be required in the future. 

For a sustainable future, more things will have to be made from renewable resources and fewer from nonrenewable resources. This means using paper instead of plastic wherever possible, unless the plastic is based on a renewable source (as described in Chap. 12). The throwaway habit must be thrown away in favor of reusable objects, designed for long life, easy repair, and ease of recycling of the materials in them. Objects made of 100% postcon sumer waste must become common, instead of being rare as they are today. 

M. A. Svoboda. Property profiles and structure-property relationships of polypropylene-wood composites with high wood content. In Wood-Plastic Composites, A Sustainable Future. The International Conference, Vienna, Austria, May 14-16, 2002. 

---