Page 80 - Plastics News July 2024
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4. Cost-Effective: Manufacturing of plastic prod- However, several strategies can help balance these
ucts is inexpensive keeping in mind the overall ex- concerns:
penditure for the consumers.
1. Sustainable Material Choices: Substituting
5. Protective Properties: A major use of plastics is plastic with such material which can be biode-
in the packaging industry because they do not allow gradable or have lower ecological impact can
the entry of moisture, chemicals, or impact as the help in decreasing on conventional plastics. For
items enclosed are protected by plastics. instance, Bio plastics that are made from renew-
able sources such as corn starch is currently be-
C. The Environmental Impact of Plastics ing developed.
In this context, plastics have many advantages, how- 2. Recycling and Reuse: Controlling the improp-
ever, during the last decades their impact on the er disposal of plastics by improving on the infra-
environment had been observed. Here are some of structure for recycling as well as improving on
the key issues: consumer awareness on the need to recycle can
a. Non-Biodegradability: The problem with most go along way in minimizing the problem. When
plastics is that they hardly break down and instead, it comes to preventing plastic waste from end-
end up in the environment for several centuries. ing up in the oceans strategies such as design-
This results in aggregation in landfills as well as oth- ing products that can be easily recycled and en-
er wellsprings of nature. couraging the recycling of plastic items can also
be of great help.
b. Pollution: Plastics are known to cause pollution
on land, water, and marine sources once they are 3. Innovative Packaging Solutions: On the oth-
not disposed of properly. It pollutes nature and im- er hand tackling the packaging problem can be
pacts animals and plants through ingestion, entan- eased if the packaging material has less or no
glement or from toxic chemicals. plastics at all or packaging material made from
recycled items. Employers can also look into pa-
c. Resource Depletion: Plastic production involves per, glass, or metal as packaging materials also.
the use of some raw materials that are derived from
fossil fuels and are globally considered limited re- 4. Circular Economy: The utilization of another
sources as they are scarce and cannot be regener- economy system where goods are manufac-
ated. It adds to depletion of resources as well as tured in a way that they can be used for quite a
pollutes the environment given the inclusion of haz- long time and materials used can be used over
ardous materials in production. again or recycled helps reduce waste and use
of identify resources. This approach is based on
d. Greenhouse Gas Emissions: Plastics production long use of materials or put in another way, it
and disposal emit greenhouse gases into the at- advocates for minimal disposal of material.
mosphere, thus are internationally claiming change.
5. Consumer Awareness and Behavior
e. Microplastics: Microplastic exists in marine and Change: Making consumers aware of the men-
freshwater water bodies, soil, and air; therefore, they ace caused by plastics in the environmental and
are a global threat. It has pointed out that they are get them adopt and embrace use of reusable
potential threats to human life and the ecosystem. bags, bottles, and containers can help in the re-
duction of plastics.
D. Balancing Functionality and Environmental
Responsibility 6. Government Regulations and Policies: To
this end the government perhaps has a big role
Balancing between environmental effects and plas- to play by means of different regulation and pol-
tic usability in products is a difficult task. However, icy directions that would entail the sustainable
several strategies can help balance these concerns. use of plastics. This can be in the form of prohib-
82 PLASTICS NEWS July 2024
