Are alternatives to plastic really environmentally friendly?

Transitioning from plastic to renewable sources such as wood and paper is an impressive move, however, are these alternatives to single use plastic truly a viable solution as a sustainable alternate to plastic?

Numerous studies conducted globally have highlighted ‘single-use’ plastic as the devil incarnate and held this material responsible for the tsunami of waste worldwide including the “Pacific Garbage Patch”. Governments worldwide in response have banned or are banning ‘single use’ plastic. Circular economy the buzzword of the day is driving a push towards use of recycled plastic in packaging, with major companies committing to reduce or eliminate use of virgin plastic. The race is on to find sustainable alternatives to “SUP’s”. Alternative sources such as wood, paper and metal are also being considered at micro and macro scales in order to find a sustainable permanent resource. Across the spectrum be it malls, supermarkets, restaurants, fast food eateries or other establishments, plastic based serving products are being replaced by wood, paper or metal.
While these items, being “green” resources, are popular, the question remains if they are environmentally friendly. Green Alliance, a UK-based think tank which has been working since 1970s to find sustainable energy solutions submitted in their report in January 2020 that while these ‘green’ resources have a short-term role in mental satisfaction to various brands, the carbon footprint is higher than plastic. It is not due to the disposal or usage where the ‘environmentally friendly’ factor plays a role, it is, in fact, in manufacturing of such products that the greenhouse gases (GHG) emissions are higher.

The report by Green Alliance suggests that a number of consumers are confused between the alternatives to plastic and admit that they may have banned single-use plastic in haste, that the alternatives are affecting the environment in a much larger scale. The report also emphasises that some of the consumers of plastic also agree that the packaging technology innovations can be a competitive advantage in this climate change and also suggests to have a much stronger authoritative body that could bring out a permanent solution to this conundrum behind single-use plastic. The report aptly titled, “Plastic is the tip of the ‘single-use’ iceberg” also has excerpts from industry experts who suggest the following methods.
The External Affairs Director at SUEZ Recycling and Recovery, UK, Adam Read said,” “If we aren’t careful, short term decisions could cause longer term problems for establishing a true circular economy. As the war on plastics continues to rage, avoiding unintended consequences should be at the forefront of everyone’s minds, and that includes government, industry and, of course, consumers. Change must be managed and planned if we’re to move towards fully closed-loop systems for recycling and, more importantly, reuse. That means we need to think much more carefully (and quickly) about how materials like compostable plastic are introduced. We must ensure a system where they are used where they make sense and in a way that people will understand to limit contamination and leakage.” Libby Peake, Senior Policy Adviser on resources at Green Alliance added, “The public are right to be outraged about plastic pollution. But what we don’t want is, a few years down the line, for them to be outraged about new environmental problems caused by the alternatives. We need to address the root of the problem, our throwaway society. Companies need much more help from the government to tackle plastic pollution without making climate change and other environmental impacts worse in the process.”

While plastic is the touted as the evil behind the landfill problem faced globally, the alternatives to plastic are not a permanent or sustainable solution in the long run. These alternate solutions eventually will affect the environment due to a higher carbon footprint and is not a sustainable solution to the problem of plastic. In addition, if plastic is fully recycled and circularity achieved, the objective of sustainability can be reached. Having said that, plastic, even if it represents only six percent of total waste, poses a severe problem contributing to landfills globally and needs decisive but structured solutions to address the problem.