Image by congerdesign CC0
Guest Post by Erika Mastrorosa*
Welcome to the third post in a series about tackling the global emergency of plastic pollution. We will discuss each of the categories below. In this article we take a look at how using alternative mixtures in manufacturing could help reduce the pollution associated with plastic production.
There are FIVE things we can do to reduce our plastic footprint.
- Eliminating virgin plastic bottles
- Eliminating plastic packaging for food
- Using alternative mixtures in manufacturing
- Introducing a deposit return scheme
- Choosing reusable cups and bottles
Alternative Mixtures
Although much attention and capital has been invested in recycling schemes and awareness campaigns, other initiatives are contributing to the reduction emissions associated with a plastic footprint. One of these is ‘PlantBottle.’
Traditional PET (Polyethylene Terephthalate) bottles are made entirely from fossil fuels, thus a contributing factor to greenhouse gas emissions. While traditional PET bottle production results in a damaging carbon footprint, a PlantBottle is a step in a more sustainable direction. It is the first-ever fully recyclable plastic bottle made partially from plants, rather than entirely of fossil fuels.
Using plant made bottles is certainly a more sustainable practice companies can adopt to reduce the harmful impact of plastic packaging. PlantBottle for example is 100% recyclable like traditional PET plastic, but it’s produced using sugar cane residue instead of petroleum, which reduces the carbon dioxide emissions. Not using fossil fuels, PlantBottles produce 60% less greenhouse gases and use 50% less fossil fuels in their production.
Stay tuned to find out about using deposit returns schemes!
*Please note that the views are that of the author, not necessarily that of en-form.