But are paper products always better
for the environment?
Paper products come with many benefits, such
as decomposing relatively quickly, being easy
to recycle, and being made from a renewable resource.
However, manufacturing a paper bag has an estimated
carbon footprint of 5.52kg CO2e compared to 1.58kg
CO2e for a single use plastic bag or 6.92 CO2e for a
reusable plastic bag. Moreover, paper products are often
difficult to reuse. In our example, a basic reusable plastic
bag only has to be reused once in order to make it more
environmentally friendly in terms of its carbon footprint.
Likewise, the chemicals and fertilisers used in the
production of paper create additional harm to the
environment, and production can contribute to
deforestation if paper is not sourced sustainably. It is
important to ensure paper products are FSC certified,
confirming the forest is being managed in a way that
preserves biological diversity.
Currently the UK’s increasing demand for paper
alternatives has outstripped domestic manufacturing
capabilities. The UK accounted for 4.3% of global paper
imports in 2020, in turn increasing the carbon footprint
of paper products through increased transportation.
Are bioplastics the solution?
The past few years has also seen many advances in
bioplastics. Bioplastics, according to the European
Bioplastics Association, are either bio-based,
biodegradable, or both. Some examples include: starch
based, water soluble, vegetable oil based, and even
plastics made from fish waste. Though these innovations
allow a substantial carbon footprint reduction in the
stage of resource extraction, they often come at a much
higher cost with generally inferior properties, resulting in
limited uptake by businesses; with bioplastics accounting
for only 0.6% of total global plastic production in 2019.
Biodegradation is often seen as the most appropriate end
of life option for biodegradable bioplastics, though this
is not always the case, as biodegradation under landfill
conditions leads to high levels of methane pollution,
with emissions from landfill accounting for 1.9% of total
global GHG emissions in 2016. Industrial composting
is a more sustainable option, as the presence of oxygen
substantially decreases methane emissions, though
it has been reported that only a small percentage
of biodegradable bioplastic is composted.
For references and further reading, please visit
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