THE so-called war on plastic is tackling the symptoms rather than the disease.
That’s the view of Barry Twigg, chief executive of National Flexible, a distributor of polypropylene, laminates and special films. He recently told Packaging Scotland that the answer to the issue of plastics ending up in the oceans lies with proper waste disposal strategies rather than widespread reduction in plastic usage.
He believes that reducing plastic use to tackle this problem would be akin to making fewer cars to avoid motorway pile-ups.
Prime Minister Theresa May recently announced a plan to rid the UK of all avoidable plastic waste within 25 years, while David Attenborough highlighted the issue of plastics entering the seas and oceans on the BBC’s Blue Planet II series.
Barry Twigg has now hit out at the “paranoia” that currently exists around the material, which he claims would be considered a “wonder material” if it was invented tomorrow.
He said, “I cannot understand the paranoia that is now taking place on the whole plastics debate. It is totally and utterly misplaced.
“Plastic is light, easy to use and very variable. It’s a material that if it were invented tomorrow, would be considered a wonder material. All around us we’re surrounded by plastic. It does everything and anything that people want with it.
“The problem is how we dispose of plastic. If we invented it tomorrow, and it was considered a wonder material, the last thing that would influence people would be how to dispose of it.
“For the most part, if you look at the packaging materials we get – what’s called single-use plastic – it’s all 100% recyclable. There is no argument that says this material isn’t recyclable in one form or another.
“The problem is not the fact it can’t be disposed of; not the fact that it’s not recyclable; not the fact it’s in any way, shape or form detrimental to the environment. The problem is waste management.”
Barry said there are 380 local authorities in the UK, with 80% of them having different plastic waste disposal policies. He isn’t denying a problem exists around plastics ending up in the world’s oceans and seas. However, he said research shows the contribution of the UK, Europe and USA to this global problem accounts for less than 1%. He highlighted countries like India and China as being responsible for washing their waste into the sea.
Barry is also on board with moves to avoid the use of microplastics in things like toothpaste and cosmetic products. “These are the things that fish eat,” he explained. “Fish don’t eat bags from Tesco. They eat microplastics they pick up off the ocean floor.
“If we didn’t use any plastic whatsoever in the UK, it would barely touch the amount of waste going into the oceans. The only plastic that enters the seas around the UK is from shipping and what people leave behind when they have a picnic at the seaside. We used to wash all sorts of rubbish into the sea but we don’t do it now.”
Barry is frustrated that people are focusing on the material rather than the way it is being disposed of.
“If you have a multi-car pile-up on the M8, do people blame the cars and say the solution is to make fewer cars? Of course they don’t, they blame the drivers,” Barry said. “The packaging companies are no more guilty than the people who built the motorways.
“When you look at waste disposal, how can you blame the material for something as simplistic as not disposing of it properly when it’s been used? We are blaming the material for the negligence of local authorities and all other people associated (with waste disposal).”
Barry said he can’t be accused of bias in this debate, not least because his business doesn’t depend on single-use plastics.
“We are fundamentally a distributor,” he explained. “We don’t have millions of pounds of embedded capital in plant and machinery designed to supply plastics.
“Although it is fundamental to our business (at the moment), we can change as the market changes.
“If customers want something that is biodegradable or compostable, that is wonderful. They can have it no problem. We can supply it to them. But in some cases it comes to six or eight times the cost and it demands more of the environment.
“People will look for alternatives and we’ll give them alternatives. We can supply paper if they want, but don’t let anyone claim it’s an environmentally beneficial thing because it isn’t. Paper is energy intensive and water intensive.
“It’s a fact that plastic is without doubt the least damaging on the environment of any material.
“The only thing people can say against plastic is how we dispose of it. That’s a much easier problem to solve than CO2 emissions.”
