Alternatives not always a silver bullet
Consumers are increasingly choosing plastic alternatives, believing they are doing what is best for the environment, and it makes them feel good.
However, according to executive director of industry association Plastics SA, Anton Hanekom, their satisfaction is often misplaced.
So, you’ve ditched plastic shopping bags in favour of nonwoven, durable bags made from polypropylene and you’re using a refillable, multilayer water bottle with a metal hook to hang on your belt instead of carrying water in a polyethylene terephthalate bottle. Feeling self-righteous? Perhaps not so much when you discover that these containers are imported and are not locally recyclable.
You might also feel less satisfied when you learn that, though your canteen uses biodegradable take-away containers, it doesn’t have access to composting facilities.
And about those imported metal and bamboo straws bought to replace the plastic versions? Do they, as Hanekom alleges, represent little more than “money leaving the country to make another country rich”?
The problem, he says, is that too little homework is done in SA on matters such as compostability, recyclability, traceability and carbon footprint before decisions are made about plastic alternatives.
“Just because it sounds environmentally friendly does not mean that it necessarily is.” Proper life cycle assessment studies should be done on all alternative plastic products,” says Hanekom. “These results should form part of a general national awareness campaign.”