vii ix x 15 25 37 45 57 81 89 109 123 adidas APME (Association of Plastics Manufacturers in Europe) British Plastics Federation Cannon Rubber Ltd Dunlop Siazenger Dyson Ltd Ford GE Plastics GlaxoSmithKline Harkness Hall UK ITDG (Intermediate Technology Development Group) Nicholas Grimshaw and Partners Ltd Nuffield Design and Technology POD PP Global Technology Priestman Goode Rapak (0 S Smith Plastics) Seymour Powell Skystreme smart"? (DaimlerChrysler UK) St Paul's Nursery School, York Symphony Environmental Ltd The British Council The Design Council The Eden Project The Fabric University UCB Group Wolfson Electrostatics Worshipful Company of Horners John Amner, Ivor Davies, David Egglestone, John Featherstone, Mandy Haberman, Bernie Hanning, Denny Lane, David Oxley, John Sale, Colin Williamson Our grateful thanks also to ATOFINA for their very generous financial support. adidas,70 Aesculap AG and Company KG, 20 Amanda Penny, 85 Arcadia Group, 48 Apex Photo Agency Limited, 34 ATOFINA, 19, 52, 55, 61, 62, 73, 75, 76, 77, 88, 91, 108, 113, 115 AVENT, Cannon Rubber Limited, 40, 41 BASF,69 Board-a-Line Limited, 32, 33 Cambridge Display Technology Limited, 17 City of York Council, I I DaimlerChrysler, 63 Dan Gavere, 10I DuPont, 5 I, 69 Dyson, 72 Elizabeth Hubbard, 85 Erhard & Sohne GmbH, I I Freefoto.com, 27 Gilbert, 54 GlaxoSmithKline, 55 Graham Johnson, NSW Agriculture, 9 Graham Hearn, Wolfson Electrostatics, 12 Graham Mathers 4, 8, 9, 19, 21, 22, 27, 39, 43, 64, 66, 68, 84, 85, 91, 92, 94, 96, 97, 99, 102 Hemera Technologies Incorporated, 18, 27, 43, 67, 10I, 104 Horners Company, 20, 21 Hugh Craig Harpsichords, 79 Hutchison Picture Library, 30 James Pitt, 19, 28, 36, 43, 47, 48, 67, 72, 83, 85, 87, 101 Kath James, 35 Kelvin Fagan, 69 Koninklijke Philips Electronics NY, 18 Larson Boats, 80, 103 Lucite International, 87 Mandy Haberman, 41,42 Microban International Limited, 17 Mothercare, 39 National Museum of Photography, Film & Television, 28, 78 Negri Bossi, 93 NetMotion Incorporated ([email protected]), 19 Plastics Historical Society, I 13 Priestman Goode, 59 Robert Speht Energy Tech Limited (http://www.energytech.co.uk), 5 Roger Ferragallo, 79 RPT Company, 19 Salomon Sports, 53 Samsonite, 59 Sanford, 68 Seymour Powell Design, 29 Shell UK, 22, 117 Skystreme UK Limited, 86 Sony, 47 Sossna GmbH, 108 Stanmore Implants Worldwide Limited, 87 The Centre for Alternative Technology, 4 Tripleplas, 100 UCB Films, 30 University of Leicester, 39 University of York, 28 Wacky Wet World, 71 PLASTICS - MATERIALS FOR A SUSTAINABLE FUTURE? Civilisation does not stand still. Every year there are litter roadsides, get caught in trees, and remain for changes to the way we live, the products we use, the decades in landfill sites. systems through which society is organised. One only But when we think about the issue more, it is not so needs to consider the impact of computers and mobile straightforward. The manufacture of paper carrier bags phones as products, and the Internet and telephone certainly uses a renewable source (trees). If we cellular networks as systems, to see how changing consider the energy used over the whole life cycle of technologies and life-styles interact. the bag, it does not compare well with the plastic But do all changes make life better? Are we sometimes alternative. Papermaking is not without its toxic meeting needs now in a way that will create problems problems. And is the real problem not so much the for future generations? Are the choices being made product, but the behaviour of the people who use it? today limiting the chance of people in the future to After all, people create litter, not plastics manufacturers. meet their needs? Whether or not there are good collection and recycling facilities is a matter of choice, which is of course These are the questions that underlie the concept of affected by economics. Collection points exist in some sustainable development. The Simplest definition is countries, for example Germany, or in some parts of that development (or change) is sustainable if it meets Britain, but not in others. the needs of today without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs. Sustainability is All these questions can be asked about many other essentially about choices. If governments, companies or plastic products. So is a society that is making greater individuals commit irreversible acts, such as cutting use of plastic products moving towards more down forests or releasing toxic chemicals, this reduces sustainable living? On balance, we would argue that the choices of future generations. given the right infrastructure, the development towards plastic products is a move in the right direction, that is, Sustainable development is now a policy priority at all plastics can contribute to sustainable development. But levels - the United Nations, international agencies such there is more to this issue than simple environmental as The World Bank, individual governments, companies impact. One needs to look at economic and social and NGOs (non-governmental organisations) - all have factors to get a balanced picture. policies on sustainable development. They do not always live up to these policies, but at least the question of 1.2 The different facets of sustainable sustainable change is becoming central to their thinking. development This is a book about plastics. To what extent have There are three main dimensions to sustainable plastic products and the industries that lie behind them, development - environmental, social and economic. contributed towards sustainable development? To Three interlocking circles can represent them: answer this, we need first to examine the concept more closely. 1.1 Sustainability is a direction of travel, not a destination There is no such thing as a truly sustainable product, be it made from a plastic or another material! What is more important is whether the new or redesigned product is more sustainable than the product it is replacing. Consider plastic bags being used at supermarkets. These have replaced paper bags. Are they more sustainable? In some ways they are. They are far lighter and thinner, thus the transport costs and environmental When analysing the impact of a new product, material, pollution incurred in getting them from factory to shop processing technology or system, it is helpful to use is less. They can be used again and again. They can be these three broad headings. It is not enough to simply collected and recycled or burned to create heat. But say that a product is good or bad. We need more are they? Better collection, sorting and recycling subtle tools for analysis. facilities would enhance the sustainability of the move from paper to plastic carrier bags. But there are also The Total Beauty of Sustainable Products is the name of a negative consequences of this development. Most book by philosopher and design guru Edwin Datschefski. plastics are made from oil, which is a finite resource. In it he describes five simple tests for sustainability - They require energy intensive processing. Toxins can be cyclic, solar, safe, efficient, social. We will add another released. And we all know how plastic carrier bags can - economic. The questions overlap to some extent. PLASTICS - MATERIALS FOR A SUSTAINABLE FUTURE? But this simply reflects the synergy between the three Box 1.1 Fully biodegradable plastics from dimensions of sustainable development. The sustainable sources descriptions below describe an ideal we are working towards. In some cases the goal may not be achievable. 1.2. I. Is it cyclic? This phrase 'Is it cyclic?' is a short-hand way to ask is the product made from compostable, organic materials, or from minerals that can be continuously recycled in a 'closed loop'? The idea here is that there should be no such thing as waste! All by-products should be the 'raw material' for something else. Metals can be recycled again and again. Something that really has to be thrown away might be burned to release the energy stored in it. Or it can be put into compost, to provide nutrients for the soil. In New plastics are being developed that can be made this way, carbon and nitrogen can be recycled. from organic chemicals obtained from renewable "We've often heard that we're running out of resources such as corn or wheat. An example is resources. But there are still the same number of polylactic acid, PLA. The starch produced by atoms around on the earth's surface - we have simply photosynthesis in the plant is first separated and is converted atoms into molecules that are of no use to then converted into dextrose sugar. This is in turn us. With continuous cycling of both organic and converted to lactic acid using a fermentation inorganic materials, we will never run out of the process. A cyclic dimer is formed using a resources we need." condensation reaction. This is purified using vacuum distillation and is then polymerised in a reaction Edwin Datschefski where the lactide ring opens up forming a polymer PLA. This polymer can be used to make a range of 1.2.2 Is it solar? items including clothing, home and office furnishings, In manufacture and use, do the products consume only cups, food containers and sweet wrappers. It is renewable energy that is cyclic and safe? hoped to be able to make We can use energy directly from the sun through bottles also. photovoltaic cells and through using other types of solar I Claims have panels. Energy comes indirectly from the sun in wave been made and wind power, hydro-electricity, and biomass (energy that the stored in plants) (see Boxes 1.1, 1.2 & 1.3) production of "Each day more solar energy falls to the earth than PLA consumes the total amount of energy the planet's 6 billion 20%-30% less inhabitants would consume in 25 years.