Kim Hill moderates on plastic perils, positives
Hundreds braved the rain to pack a Lincoln University lecture theatre on Thursday, glued for hours to unforgiving seats. They were there hear a group of experts – moderated by Aotearoa’s grand dame of broadcasting – dissect plastic dependence, at this year’s Kim Hill Hot Topic panel.
Charitable trust Lincoln Envirotown, which has hosted the annual event since 2011, works on sustainability projects across Selwyn – dispatching pests, holding clothes swaps and business awards, managing community gardens, water testing and more.
But it was the marquee name that drew the crowds, and the cavernous theatre was at capacity as Hill moderated, grilled and parried with academics and industry figures.
This year’s topic was our love/hate relationship with plastic, from the positives to the pollution, health and environmental impacts and disquiet over recycling.
Auckland University microbiologist professor Gavin Lear praised the utility of plastics before relaying the first of several dismaying statistics.
“Globally, every year, the amount of plastics we produce weighs the same as four million blue whales.”
Two thirds of the resins imported into New Zealand are predominantly used for packaging, which have a short life before they are disposed of, he said.
“I think plastic’s fantastic, but we need to give it the respect it deserves.”
Rachel Barker, chief executive of Plastics New Zealand, spoke of the ubiquity and benefits of the material, including the expansion of human longevity via medical technology. “Despite the media rhetoric, plastics are not the root of all evil.”
University of Canterbury toxicology professor Ian Shaw also acknowledged plastics’ plus points, but spoke of the risk-benefit analysis that needed to be applied to each use. He warned about the need for more research, but said there appeared to be a link between microplastics and colorectal cancer.
Microplastics are tiny pieces of plastic, which break down from plastic or are intentionally manufactured for beauty products.
“They [microplastics] could be there because the colorectal cancer itself has trapped them, they could have caused the inflammatory response ... we haven’t got a clue – but what we do know is they can transport carcinogens.”
Shaw said leached plasticisers impacted on the immune and reproductive systems of humans and other species, highlighting coral die off and the shrinking penises of alligators. But the difficulty of discovering which chemicals plastic contains hinders research, Lear said, quoting a recent study suggesting around 16,000 different chemicals are added to plastic.
Rob Wilson, operations manager of EcoCentral, the council-owned company that manages the city’s refuse transfer stations, resource recovery centres and EcoShop, spoke of his role dealing with the things people don’t want any more.
He urged the audience to use consumer power to push back on companies that refuse to use recyclable packaging.
New Zealand has a poor record on recycling, featuring way down the international league table for the amount of waste that goes to landfill.
Most plastic cannot be recycled, and the global recycling rate has never surpassed 9%.
Next year’s Hot Topic is provisionally scheduled for March 27, and will look at future sources of energy.