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10 Plastic Facts That Might Surprise You

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The plastic topic is a complicated one. Let’s go through some of the myths and realities of plastic, its environmental impact and what we can change at an individual level.  

1. In Spain, Most of the Plastic Put In the Yellow Bin Gets Recycled

FALSE: Unfortunately, no. Greenpeace did a detailed investigation and found that only 25.4% of the plastic that ends up in the yellow bin gets recycled. What happens to the rest? It is incinerated, exported to poorer countries like Malaysia or ends up in landfills.

2. Plastic Can Be Recycled into the Same Object It Previously Was

FALSE: Of the plastic that does get recycled, only a very small part can be remade into the same product. Why? Because the polymers that make up plastics degrade and become lower quality during the recycling process. It is called downgrading. Why is this a problem if it gets recycled anyway? Because it means that there are hundreds if not thousands of applications for which “new” plastic resin is still required.

3. All Plastics Can Be Recycled

TRUE & FALSE: What is key to understand is that in theory even a plastic bag can be recycled. In practice it will never be. Why? It’s not cost effective. Various factors determine the cost of producing new plastics—the price of oil and natural gas is just one of them. But the fact is that it often costs more to recycle plastic than to make it new. When that is the case, the demand for recycled plastic is very low.

4. Bioplastics Are a Great Environmentally Friendly Alternative to “Standard” Plastic

FALSE: Bioplastics are made from plants, such as sugarcane or corn. There are three main problems with that:

5. Paper Has a Bigger Carbon Footprint than Plastic

TRUE: Paper may seem like a better choice than plastic for food packaging because of its compostability. However, producing a paper bag takes three to four times as much energy and water as it does to make a plastic one and the paper manufacturing process also produces a higher concentration of toxic chemicals compared with making single-use plastic bags. Additionally, paper bags are heavier, so they cost more to transport which increases their carbon footprint.

6. All the Microplastics in the Ocean Can Be Collected

FALSE: Most of the microplastics in the ocean are so tiny they are invisible to the human eye. Microplastic pollution is so pervasive that we consume it through the fish, seafood and even sea salt that we eat. While there are a number of interesting studies looking for ways to remove the many tons of microplastics already in the oceans, we’re only beginning to understand the enormity of the problem. Currently, there is nothing we can do to remove microplastic from the bottom of the sea, and it will continue to damage marine life for years to come.

Data from Eurostat, image courtesy of the EU Commission.

7. It Is Impossible to Live without Plastic

TRUE: Plastic has a bad rap, but there are so many applications for which plastic brings a real benefit: building materials, car and electronic components, household appliances, medical equipment, etc. The durability of plastic makes it the perfect solution for a multitude of long-term uses. But the proliferation of single use plastics is a huge environmental problem. In fact, more plastic is produced annually for packaging than for construction and the automotive industry combined, and most of this is single use.

Luckily, alternatives to plastic packaging are growing: zero waste and circular economy are two key approaches consumers can take to help fight the plastic packaging problem.

8. A Zero-Plastic Lifestyle Is Only for People with a Lot of Free Time

FALSE: While it does require some planning, it is getting easier to significantly reduce and even avoid plastic packaging altogether. Startups like wezero, a plastic-free online shop with carbon-free deliveries, offer new ways of purchasing your groceries without plastics. With same day delivery and returnable packaging for many items, wezero makes the transition to a zero waste life easier than you might think. There are a number of places in Barcelona where you can buy everything from groceries to cleaning products a granel (in bulk). So going zero waste isn’t as challenging as you might think.

9. Zero Waste Living Is Expensive

NOT NECESSARILY: Adopting zero waste habits can save you money. Many products, such as solid cosmetics, are made to last longer than conventional ones, and they are usually higher quality making them better for your health and the planet. While pricing can vary from shop to shop (just like at a supermarket) foods offered at zero waste shops will be of similar prices to the ones found at the supermarket. Wezero is one example of a zero waste shop with affordable prices, so that zero waste can be accessible to everyone.

10. What I Do Doesn’t Matter

FALSE: It can be discouraging to see our individual efforts to reduce plastic not matched at the national or corporate level. But individual actions matter. Not only because we each have an impact on our city, but also because it sends a strong signal to the big players. Consumer demands for reduced packaging influences companies to either reduce their packaging or lose out to companies that do.

Barbara Chaplain, Sustainability enthusiast, Barcelona citizen.

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