Applications and societal benefits of plastics

Andrady, Anthony L.; Neal, Mike A.

doi:10.1098/rstb.2008.0304

Cited by 1,637 publications

(880 citation statements)

References 28 publications

(20 reference statements)

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“…The diversity of polymers and the versatility of their properties are used to make a vast array of products that bring medical and technological advances, energy savings and numerous other societal benefits (Andrady & Neal 2009). As a consequence, the production of plastics has increased substantially over the last 60 years from around 0.5 million tonnes in 1950 to over 260 million tonnes today.…”

Section: Plastics As Materials: An Overviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Some additive chemicals are potentially toxic (for example lead and tributyl tin in polyvinyl chloride, PVC), but there is considerable controversy about the extent to which additives released from plastic products (such as phthalates and bisphenol A, BPA) have adverse effects in animal or human populations. The central issue here is relating the types and quantities of additives present in plastics to uptake and accumulation by living organisms (Andrady & Neal 2009;Koch & Calafat 2009;Meeker et al 2009;Oehlmann et al 2009;Talsness et al 2009;Wagner & Oehlmann 2009). Additives of particular concern are phthalate plasticizers, BPA, brominated flame retardants and anti-microbial agents.…”

Section: Plastics As Materials: An Overviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Almost all aspects of daily life involve plastics, in transport, telecommunications, clothing, footwear and as packaging materials that facilitate the transport of a wide range of food, drink and other goods. There is considerable potential for new applications of plastics that will bring benefits in the future, for example as novel medical applications, in the generation of renewable energy and by reducing energy used in transport (Andrady & Neal 2009). …”

Section: Plastics As Materials: An Overviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Plastics, the environment and human health: current consensus and future trends

Thompson

Moore²,

Saal

et al. 2009

Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B

2,292

1,021

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Plastics have transformed everyday life; usage is increasing and annual production is likely to exceed 300 million tonnes by 2010. In this concluding paper to the Theme Issue on Plastics, the Environment and Human Health, we synthesize current understanding of the benefits and concerns surrounding the use of plastics and look to future priorities, challenges and opportunities. It is evident that plastics bring many societal benefits and offer future technological and medical advances. However, concerns about usage and disposal are diverse and include accumulation of waste in landfills and in natural habitats, physical problems for wildlife resulting from ingestion or entanglement in plastic, the leaching of chemicals from plastic products and the potential for plastics to transfer chemicals to wildlife and humans. However, perhaps the most important overriding concern, which is implicit throughout this volume, is that our current usage is not sustainable. Around 4 per cent of world oil production is used as a feedstock to make plastics and a similar amount is used as energy in the process. Yet over a third of current production is used to make items of packaging, which are then rapidly discarded. Given our declining reserves of fossil fuels, and finite capacity for disposal of waste to landfill, this linear use of hydrocarbons, via packaging and other short-lived applications of plastic, is simply not sustainable. There are solutions, including material reduction, design for end-of-life recyclability, increased recycling capacity, development of bio-based feedstocks, strategies to reduce littering, the application of green chemistry life-cycle analyses and revised risk assessment approaches. Such measures will be most effective through the combined actions of the public, industry, scientists and policymakers. There is some urgency, as the quantity of plastics produced in the first 10 years of the current century is likely to approach the quantity produced in the entire century that preceded.

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Section: Plastics As Materials: An Overviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Plastics As Materials: An Overviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Plastics As Materials: An Overviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Plastics, the environment and human health: current consensus and future trends

Thompson

Moore²,

Saal

et al. 2009

Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B

2,292

1,021

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Another example is plastic. While there are great advantages regarding energy savings of plastic (Andrady and Neal 2009), it also causes massive environmental problems (Cole et al 2011;Wright et al 2013). UNEP's Green Economy Report illustrates the belief in decoupling by presenting a promising scenario that accommodates economic growth and the reduction in resource consumption in absolute terms (UNEP 2011a).…”

Section: The First Incidence Of Relative Decouplingmentioning

confidence: 99%

The idea of weak sustainability is illegitimate

Biely

Maes

Passel

2016

Environ Dev Sustain

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Since the introduction of the sustainability challenge, scientists disagree over the interpretation of the term ''sustainability.'' Weak and strong sustainability are the two main interpretations of sustainability, which are opposing each other. Some researchers stated that the interpretation of the term depends on the context; others disagree pointing out that it always implies the meaning of continuation. The term ''sustainability'' can be used as attribute, which adds a certain characteristic to the noun. If something can be attributed as being sustainable, it can also be unsustainable. The sustainability challenge consists of shifting from the current unsustainable towards a sustainable system. This paper outlines that the weak sustainability term is illegitimate, as it leads to a contradiction with the acknowledged assumption that the current state is unsustainable. This contradiction is revealed through an analysis of the occurrence of decoupling in agriculture: Agricultural land use could be decoupled from agricultural production, but only with the trade-off of massive increases in fertilizer, pesticide, energy and water usage. This paper outlines an inherent inconsistency within the ongoing discussion about the interpretation of sustainability. Through identifying the invalidity of the weak sustainability interpretation the focus can be shifted form the discourse to the sustainability challenge itself.

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“…Additives are incorporated into plastics during plastic production although the quantities used vary greatly. It is estimated that additives account for around 4% of the total weight of plastics produced (Andrady & Neal, 2009;Lambert et al, 2014).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%