ABSTRACT
This chapter states that plastics are not problematic per se, but rather the way we manage them once they are no longer. Plastics do not break down naturally, they just degrade into smaller pieces, which can enter the food chain. A brief history of plastics is presented, followed by an explanation of why the recycling of plastics is problematic, as there are so many different polymers contained in Household Waste. There is a discussion of OPRLs that appear on plastic film packaging, which the author suggests is more about greenwashing than real methods of collection. There is a discussion of the markets for reprocessed plastics, including the exporting of collected Household Waste plastic, for so-called reprocessing. Biodegradable plastics are discussed and it is suggested that these don’t actually biodegrade and can ruin a batch of oil-based plastics collected for reprocessing. Three changes are discussed: the tax on plastics that do not contain at least 30% recycled content; the fact that the price of oil became briefly negative in 2020; and the impact the move away from oil as a fuel will have as oil producers look to expand plastics production. Research is discussed to develop chemical and biological methods for reprocessing plastics, but concludes that in the medium term, mechanical reprocessing is the only option that can operate at scale. It is proposed that the use of polymers in consumer plastics should be limited to just PET and PE.
