#single-use plastic

Coca-Cola is the worst plastic polluter in the world for the sixth year in a row ( as of 2023)

Plastics are made from fossil fuels, the production of which makes the climate crisis worse

Single-use plastics, like Coca-Cola’s plastic bottles, are one of the biggest contributors to plastic pollution

Recycling Dilemmas

I've long been an avid recycler, and I get annoyed by cynics who point out the many shortcomings of the process without offering a solution other than doing nothing. Plastic recycling, however, seems uniquely problematic, given the massive carbon inputs used to create plastic in the first place, the tiny fraction that actually gets recycled (especially now that China has stopped taking our shipments), and the fact that plastic pollution is rapidly pervading every space on Earth, including our own bodies.

Plastic bags are handy for carrying light items. But many are trashed after a single use. Some of these bags end up as litter that may harm animals (including those in the ocean). That’s one reason some companies have switched to biodegradable plastic. These are supposed to break down faster than regular plastics. But a new study in England shows that may not happen.

“Single-use plastic bags are a huge source of litter worldwide. We wanted to test whether biodegradable plastic bags could help reduce plastic pollution,” says Richard Thompson. He’s a marine biologist at the University of Plymouth in England. Thompson and a graduate student, Imogen Napper, decided to test that.

Materials break down through rot or decay. That’s usually a process whereby microbes feed on them, breaking big molecules into smaller, simpler ones (such as carbon dioxide and water). Other living things can now feed on these breakdown products to grow.

The problem: Ordinary plastic bags are made from oil, which few microbes can digest. So these plastics don’t decay easily.

Biodegradable plastics are sometimes made from materials that microbes do readily digest. Others may be held together with chemical bonds that break apart when exposed to water or sunlight. There’s also no one rule for how quickly biodegradable plastic bags should break down. Some plastics may even need special conditions — such as heat — to fully break down.