Is Plastic A Natural Resource?

plastic:

The zero waste community has a habit of criminalizing plastic. But is it really as bad as they say? 

Let’s take a look, shall we?

is plastic a natural resource?

First, most plastic (not counting the bio-plastics) are petroleum-based, thus making the materials non-renewable and unsustainable to harvest.

Drilling for oil has caused many problems, including disturbing land and marine ecosystems.

Also, dealing with oil tends to result in oil spills, which contaminate soil and water and may cause horrendous fires and explosions. 

carbon footprint of plastic

The carbon footprint of plastic is pretty hard to ignore.

From the moment raw materials are made into plastic to their disposal, plastic emits carbon dioxide.

In fact, the emissions from plastic in 2015 were equivalent to nearly 1.8 billion metric tons of CO2. 

It doesn’t help the factories used to create plastic also run on fossil fuels and produce emissions as well.

To be fair though, factories that produce glass also create emissions and run on fossil fuels for the most part.