FEATURE
INGENIEUR
Plastics : Chemically Engineered to Pollute ?
By Dr Theng Lee Chong Environment / Waste Management Specialist
Plastic pollution is one of the most pressing environmental issues today as the consumption of plastic products has increased drastically over the past century and plastic waste generation has been overwhelming , to an alarming level that is beyond the world ’ s ability to deal with . Many initiatives have been proposed and adopted to address the issues , with a tremendous amount of money spent on these various activities . Many business opportunities have been created , and not only technologies but many experts have suddenly emerged in recent years in matters dealing with plastic waste issues . Are we putting our focus right ? Or we are just focussing only on the tip of the iceberg , while other bigger issues are left hidden ? Why don ’ t we just replace plastics with some other materials and then all problems are solved ?
Figure 1
How much we rely on plastics
There are different literatures showing the year when plastics were invented on earth . Some believe plastics were first invented in 1862 , while the first fully synthetic plastic was recorded to be introduced in New York in 1907 . Since then , life has evolved into an era where in our daily life we are heavily reliant on wide range of products made from plastics with their unique properties : durable , lightweight , high strength , resistant to shock , corrosion , chemicals , water , and having excellent insulation against both electricity and high temperatures .
It is not unusual that people tend to associate plastics with products such as plastic straws , plastic bags , plastic cutlery , food and detergent containers . Most people are not aware that many of the things we use have “ hidden ” plastics , such as disposable diapers ( baby and adult ), face masks , sanitary pads , cigarette butts , synthetic or nylon clothes and even your so-called environmentally-friendly non-woven fibre shopping bags ! Don ’ t be surprised that paper cups are also coated with a layer of plastic and are totally non-recyclable . Even the metal cans for food and drinks have a layer of plastic to prevent chemical reactions .
Based on the statistics , worldwide plastic production has increased from 1.5 million tons / year in 1950 , to 322 million tons / year in 2015 , with Compound Annual Growth Rate ( CAGR ) of 8.6 % from 1950 to 2015 ( see Figure 1 ).
Table 1 presents statistics on the consumption of plastic products worldwide which may be an eye
50 VOL 87 JULY-SEPTEMBER 2021