Towards a Zero Plastic Bio-Economy
Résumé
Every year we use and discard the equivalent of our body weight in plastic, 90% of which will be
released and will remain in our environment long after we have disappeared (Thompson et al. 2009).
Food and agricultural sectors consume most short usage duration and single use plastics (e.g. a
few hours only for fresh foods), almost half of the total plastic production (more than 40% for food
packaging, the largest sector of plastic application, and agriculture more than 5%) and constitute the
bulk of the plastics already dispersed in the environment (Ellen Mc Arthur foundation, 2015). Plastic
was a remarkable petrochemical discovery in the 1960s. They have revolutionised everyday life in all
sectors: construction, the automotive industry, electronics and, above all, the food industry, where, when
used as a lightweight, inexpensive packaging material, plastic has led to enormous progress in terms of
food safety. Plastic packaging is indeed the essential element in preventing external contamination
(chemical or microbial), preserving quality and product traceability as well as reducing losses and waste
by protecting our food.
Today, providential plastic has turned into a time bomb, with the revelation of its long-term effects on
health and the environment. It is accused of contaminating our food and polluting our environment.
Petro-chemical plastic is persistent and 90% ends up in our environment where it will degrade into
micro- and nano-particles in a few hundred years. Plastic particles have already been detected in
many foods, including tap water. Once they reach the micro and nanometric size, they have the
ability to diffuse everywhere, even from landfilling stations where they accumulate, up to the organs
of living beings (including humans) where they are expected to accumulate and lead to potential
dysfunctions.
Most efforts are currently focused on intensive recycling to kill two birds with one stone: both to solve
the environmental issue and to develop a plastic waste economy. However, recycling aligns with circular
economy principles if, and only if, it is a closed loop recycling i.e. the recycled material is similar to the
virgin one. Closed loop recycling is applicable to only a few percentage of specific plastic (e.g. PET
bottles, Barthelemy et al. 2014). Widespread recycling is a range of open-loop processes, usually
called “down cycling” that just postpones, but not eradicates, the emission of plastic waste in the
environment, as the resulting material is partially degraded and not recyclable anymore to produce the
same product.
It is important to know that recycling is only part of a circular economy if the loop can be reproduced
infinitely, which is virtually the case for glass or metal. Biodegradable materials are a natural part of
the biological cycle of organic matter, which ensures unlimited renewal.
The recycling of plastic does not therefore represent a step towards saving our earth's ecosystem from
the potential harm of waste, even if it can modestly contribute to delaying it.
Eco-efficient actions have still to be developed urgently in this sector to stop the indiscriminate use of
persistent plastic and start changing agricultural and food practicing for alternative eco-friendly
ones.
There is only one solution: to rethink the entire cycle of plastic materials in the more general context of
a circular bio-economy where the future of waste will be a key element in our consumption choices.
And coordinate our efforts internationally, because small particles of waste do not respect borders.
The ban on putting plastic waste in landfills, sending it instead to be recycled or incinerated (although
this option is not recommended and requires a purification stage) is a first step (EC resolution
3016/C482/09) .
Further measures are expected and must be immediately and wholeheartedly supported: (1) effectively
reduce our plastic consumption by consuming plastics differently and consider phasing them out of the
market1 (2) replace plastics wherever possible with biodegradable alternatives (not to be confused with
bio-sourced or compostable products) provided this does not have a negative impact on agricultural
production for human consumption and does not harm the environment and (3) only retain irreplaceable
plastics that are effectively recycled in a closed loop, as is potentially the case for PET bottles.
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