Would you discard gold after using it once? Probably not. So why discard plastic so promptly? At some point in this material’s history we decided that it completely lost all value after a single use. How would you feel about learning that synthetic plastics, currently causing a slew of environmental, social and economical issues, were born as a way to tackle environmental and economical issues (WWF, 2023; Forbes, 2023)?

How did we get here? First a little bit of history!

Plastic is a loose term to describe materials that can be formed and moulded under heat and pressure. While we think of plastic as a 20th-century material, natural plastics such as horn, tortoiseshell, amber, rubber and shellac have been worked with since antiquity. Modern plastics on the other hand are made by polymerising synthetic monomers to produce large molecules consisting of a chain of repeating smaller molecules also known as polymers. Semi-synthetic materials based on natural substances were first invented in the mid 19th century (in the wake of industrialised goods production) to match the demand for a decreasing supply of ivory from elephants and turtle shells. With the arrival of the 20th century came a revolution in the production this class of materials marked by the advent of entirely synthetic plastics. Bakelite, the first fully synthetic plastic came about in 1907: it was an immediate hit and sparked a consumer boom in easily mass-produced affordable yet highly desirable products (The Science Museum, 2019).

Then oil and gas got involved.

In the early decades of the 20th century, driven by a desire to make use of waste material from processing crude oil and natural gas, the petroleum and chemical industries began forming alliances with major producers of raw material resins still used in the plastic industry. Very few of those alive today can remember a time before plastic being so abundant in our everyday life. From wonder inventions such as nylon stockings to polyethylene knee joint replacement prosthetics to the horrible(?) single-use PET bottle those that were once strong suits and significant advantages of synthetic polymer plastics have become their greatest fault... once we chose to use them once:

60% of global plastic production is for single-use products.

Single-use plastics wouldn't inherently be this problematic were they recycled effectively however, only 9% of plastic waste is recycled globally with the remainder ending up in landfills and waterways where 20 to 500 years later it'll turn into microplastics. These are arguably worse. The estimated social, economical, health and environmental costs produced by plastic pollution fall disproportionately upon the poorest nations with estimates upwards of 10 times the costs per kilogram than high income countries, despite consuming 3 times less plastic waste per capita (WWF, 2023). Before disregarding a very reasonable demand for accountability it would be best to think back on what the global COVID-19 pandemic taught us: we live in a globalised world where inequalities in one place affect everyone. Without discriminating, plastic pollution imposes a significant social, economic costs globally range from $300b to $600b annually. The estimated health-related costs in the USA alone exceed $920b as a result of exposure to harmful substances correlated with plastic pollution (UNEP, 20223; Annuals of Global Health, 2023). These findings underscore the urgent need for global cooperation and robust policies to mitigate the impact of this worldwide issue.

Thankfully, the solutions to this problem are very straightforward. First we must learn to appreciate plastic for its value once again. Perhaps the most versatile class of materials ever to be created, synthetic plastics are a true testament of human ingenuity. Light-weight and virtually indestructible, can be moulded into whatever shape necessary, be as flexible or as rigid as needed, heat proof, cold proof, water proof, available in any colour and opaqueness level while remaining cost-effective and widely available. How can something meant to solve so many problems become itself so problematic?

Secondly we must address and solve all those inefficiencies in its value chain and beyond consumer use. Ever noticed how much of your household trash is made up of single use plastic packaging?

Lastly, we must agree on radical solutions to single use plastics even going as far as banning them altogether. Our client, Evanesce may have just the thing. Positioned to provide a complete sustainable solution to replace single-use plastics and Styrofoam aiming to drive the new circular economy, Evanesce has developed and patented cost-competitive, completely biodegradable products that turn into fertiliser and can even be composted at home in under 90 days! Their patented moulded starch products are designed to simplify waste streams, particularly in the packaging and food service industry (valued at $1.1t), by providing an eco-friendly alternative that starts from the earth and returns to the earth.