Plastic Waste and the Environmental Crisis Industry

Abstract

Our relationship with plastic is complex. While the societal benefits of plastic are undeniable, plastic has also come to occupy a central role within a culture of waste and disposable living that constitutes a significant problem for health and the natural environment. Public awareness of the harms asociated with plastic is high, thanks, in part, to a range of sustained media exposure. This, however, has so far failed to materialize in any significant global reduction in plastic pollution. Meaningful regulatory change that adressess the harms of plastic at the point of production is curiously absent, while some apparent gains have been rolled back—against a backdrop of a global pandemic and a rehabilitation of plastic. This article highlights the assemblage of media, government and corporate interests that performs the role of what we identify as the “Environmental Crisis Industry” (“ECI”), which perpetuates stasis in the face of environmental catastrphe. The ECI manages our anxieties through media discourses of precarity and danger, while at the same time, offering us attainable “solutions” that exist well within the logic of consumer capitalism—in effect, compelling us (at least morally) to become eco-consumers. In this way, the political energy of grassroots climate resistance is “pre-corporated,” so to speak, into the product design of major corporations, dissipating the chance of real progressive change in favor of a new green spirit of capitalism.

Stages and Kinetics of Mechanochemical Depolymerization of Poly(ethylene terephthalate) with Sodium Hydroxide

“…The world’s production processes have historically relied on linear economies in which raw materials are processed into manufactured goods that are later discarded as waste. Consumer plastics are emblematic of the negative aspects of this model; they are sourced from unsustainable fossil resources and their resistance to decay and poor waste management pose threats to the environment. , It was estimated that over 359 million tons of plastics were produced globally in 2018, and this number is projected to grow at a rate of 3% annually . Less than 10% of the total plastic ever produced has been recycled, with the majority of the plastic waste either landfilled or released into the environment .…”

“…Less than 10% of the total plastic ever produced has been recycled, with the majority of the plastic waste either landfilled or released into the environment . Microplastics disperse into marine environments, cause adverse effects throughout the ecosystem and food chain, and eventually induce potential health threats to the human population. , In efforts to alleviate environmental strain and improve resource efficiency, there has been increasing interest in a transition to a circular economy, which is rooted in the reuse and recycling of waste materials into intermediates that are practically identical to virgin starting materials and can be remanufactured and reprocessed …”

Power(ful) Connections: Exploring the Revolving Doors Phenomenon as a Form of State-Corporate Crime

“…In addition to grey hydrogen, given the decrease in demand for coal and oil following the carbon tax, fossil fuel companies are marketing the use of plastics (The Story of Plastic 2019 ). As reported, plastics present an opportunity for big oil corporations to keep up demand (The Story of Plastic 2019 ), leading to a whole new range of harms attributed to plastic pollution (see Smith and Brisman 2021 ). Thus, fossil fuels are finding a new form and place to flow through the economy in the form of plastics and hydrogen, damaging the climate and environment even further.…”

Understanding Public Environmental Awareness and Attitudes toward Circular Economy Transition in Saudi Arabia

“…While some respondents assumed these were fake environmentally friendly products, others claimed that this was probably a marketing strategy. In another study, participants argued that the solution to plastic waste and environmental disaster was initiating pseudo-individualized green products by many corporations [59]. Furthermore, studies have indicated that the price sensitivity of green products undermined the environmental impact on the green consumption objective [35,60,61].…”