IPCC report, carbon emissions, and soft plastics. Is there a connection?
On the 9th of August the most recent Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report was published, providing daunting yet very important information on the current state of our climate.
The information provided in the 3,900-page report can seem a little overwhelming, so we are here to make everybody’s life easier, by summarizing the main takeaways, just for you!
Some good news and (unfortunately) a lot of bad news
Bad news: many of the changes observed in the climate are unprecedented in thousands of years.
Bad news: some of the changes already set in motion are irreversible over hundreds to thousands of years.
Good news: strong and sustained reductions in emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2) and other greenhouse gases would limit climate change.
Bad news: it could take 20-30 years to see global temperatures stabilize.
Bad news: the oceans are getting warmer, causing the mass death of marine life. Sea levels have increased 0.2 meters between 1901 and 2018 and oceans are also getting more acidic.
Bad news: human influence on climate change is now confirmed for the first time.
Good news: we can still act to prevent the worst-case scenario. To stabilize the climate, CO2 emissions must reach net zero, and other greenhouse gas emissions must decline significantly.
The findings are overall alarming and the main takeaway is that we all need to act fast.
Carbon footprint and plastics. Is there a correlation?
CO2 emissions need to be reduced at any cost and everyone is called to do their part, so we decided to understand what is the correlation between CO2 and plastic. The plastic industry is growing faster than ever, and by 2050, when the production of plastic is expected to have tripled, will be responsible for up to 13% of our planet’s total carbon budget.
Why does plastic have a huge carbon footprint?
Plastic has a huge carbon footprint because greenhouse gases are emitted at every stage of plastics’ life cycle:
Fossil fuel extraction and transport
Plastic refining and manufacture
Managing plastic waste
Plastic’s impact once it reaches our oceans, waterways, and landscape
1. Fossil fuel extraction and transport
Significant greenhouse gases are produced at this stage
Sources include:
Direct emissions (methane leakage and flaring)
Emissions from fuel combustion and energy consumption in the process of drilling
Emissions caused by land disturbance
2. Plastic refining and manufacture
Plastic refining is among the most greenhouse-gas-intensive manufacturing industries and the fastest growing one. Annual emissions from just two facilities are equal to adding almost 800,000 new cars to the road.
3. Managing plastic waste
Plastic waste is primarily landfilled, recycled, or incinerated. Greenhouse gas emissions are produced with each one of these processes.
So let’s compare them:
Landfilling emits the least greenhouse gases on an absolute level, but we know that it creates other problems too.
Recycling has a moderate emissions profile but it prevents new virgin plastic from entering the market, making it advantageous from an emissions perspective
Incineration has extremely high CO2 emissions and should be avoided.
Source: Plastic & Climate: The Hidden Costs of a Plastic Planet (May 2019)
4. Plastic’s impact once it reaches our oceans, waterways, and landscape
Unmanaged plastic waste ends up in the environment and continues to have climate impacts as it degrades.
We are still at early stages in understanding what is the exact impact of it, but studies show that plastic at the ocean’s surface continually releases methane and other greenhouse gases.
Emissions from the 99% of plastics that lie below the ocean’s surface are harder to estimate, but studies show that microplastic in the oceans interferes with the ocean’s capacity to absorb carbon dioxide
What can we do?
3 actions you can do to reduce your CO2 impact
Consider offsetting your carbon footprint. You can invest in environmental projects around the world in order to balance out your carbon footprint. At RecycleSmart we use Trace to do so (if you want to learn more about the projects we support, click here)
Eat no (or less) meat. Studies show that the dietary emissions for meat-eaters are 50 to 54% higher than they are for vegetarians and 99 to 102% higher than for vegans. Why not give a try at plant-based recipes?
Look for clean energy options. The carbon footprint of solar, wind and nuclear power sources are much lower than coal or gas.
3 actions you can do to reduce the plastic problem
Avoid single-use plastics. Some common items you can easily avoid or swap for reusable options: plastic bottles, plastic bags, straws, plastic wraps, cotton buds, plastic cutlery, balloons, plastic cups and plastic containers.
Reward good companies. Sometimes is hard to avoid plastic completely, but some companies are doing their best to use recycled plastic for their products. Support them!
Recycle. This is a no-brainer, if you have plastic items, recycle them. Use your council’s bin collection for hard plastics and RecycleSmart’s Power Pickup for all your soft plastics. Click here to book a Power Pickup and have your tricky waste collected and recycled for you.