In most cases, I would bet the CO2 impact of the alternatives you list is on the order of 2x - 10x.
So long as plastics are not being burned, at least their carbon is not going into the atmosphere.
So long as plastics are not being burned, at least their carbon is not going into the atmosphere.
They told us they're inert. Then we've learned about bpa, pfas and microplastics.
They told us they're recyclable. Now we now that's not really the truth.
They tell us it's for saving CO2. Now we have the stuff in our seas, on beaches, microplastics in rain and wind, there is no place on earth free of it (not even the most remote areas).
The only reason why it's used is money ... to make & wrap stuff we don't need, and we (shall) pay for it with our health and poisoned environment.
Give me the glass, and reuse it and or recycle it. Energy is (soon will be) free.
> So long as plastics are not being burned, at least their carbon is not going into the atmosphere.
Keep it in the ground, then.
Granted, at some point the human race will need to act more holistically about their resource usage, but I think that will take a very long time and probably not until it has become a much more painful problem.
Can we say, for sure, that this is true? My grandma just died a few years ago. I couldn't tell you exactly when the plastic revolution happened, but I would say it was significantly long after she became an adult. I'm not sure we are at the point of knowing yet whether my plastic generation outlives my grandma's non-plastic generation, statistically speaking.