Plastic Sustainability - It’s Where We need to focus
Every day we use many plastic products, from shopping carts to food containers and computers to appliances. But as with most things, there are pros and cons to using plastic in a lot of applications with the most common challenge probably being sustainability.
So, we asked an industry leader – Bruno Pereria, Chief Sustainability Officer – from BiologiQ, a company that strives to make plastics better through its, unique biopolymer (NuPlastiQ®), about their thoughts on plastic sustainability.
Q. Why are sustainable resin options important for the plastics industry?
A. Let us begin by saying we love plastics. They are indispensable to our society and way of life. But they do put our long-term sustainability at risk because we rely on finite resources for plastics manufacturing – it is projected to need 20% of our fossil-fuel resources by 2050. However, a more concerning factor is plastic leakage into the environment. Currently, 2 mtpa (million tons per annum/year) of plastic is recycled, an alarming 11 mtpa ends up in the ocean, significantly disrupting the delicate ocean ecosystem. If we continue on our current path, that number will jump to 29 mtpa by 2040. But, if we take significant action, we can decrease to 5 mtpa by 2040.
Q. What are the differences between compostable, biodegradable and recycled/reclaimed resins?
A. Honestly, none are better or worse than the other. It all depends on the end product’s use and challenges. In some instances composability is a viable option, while others like durable goods it will not work. Mechanical and chemical recycling is a great option but needs to be done efficiently. In most cases, reduce, reuse and recycling of packaging is preferred to biodegradation. But since some amount of plastic will unfortunately continue to be leaked to the environment, engineering for reduced environmental persistence can be a meaningful last line of defense.
Q. What industries have the greatest opportunity to embrace sustainable resin for their products?
A. There are opportunities in all industries to use emerging technologies to make plastic better for the environment. Unfortunately, many companies are afraid of trying to take a leap, or even baby steps, toward new things – they have a fear of change.
In addition to Bruno’s insight, the Plastics Industry Association (PLASTICS), an organization supporting the plastics supply chain, encourages all plastic manufacturers to make sustainability a guiding principle. By doing so, there will be a reduction on natural resources (as pointed out by Bruno), less waste generation and a shift to renewable energy options. To help with this, the organization offers a variety of resources, including a Sustainability Benchmarking Tool for members to take an inventory and reporting of its sustainability activities and identify areas for improvement.
Intertech is focused on doing the right thing. For us sustainable manufacturing makes sense. By investing in energy conservation, minimizing waste and scrap, and identifying sustainable solutions for plastics injection molded products we are able to provide eco-friendly solutions our customers and the community want.
We have recently partnered with Nexeo to create a custom biodegradable blend resin utilizing BiologiQ’s NuPlastiQ. It has allowed us to bring sustainable solutions to customers that feature a stable shelf life, normal or improved functionality while being biodegradable.
To learn more about Intertech’s sustainable resin initiatives please contact Mike Klestinec at sales@intertechplastics.com.