The Covid pandemic has given us much to be sad about, but its effect on plastic use and waste is one of the less visible but very serious emerging issues. Whilst the “lockdown” phase brought some environmental advantages, with clear skies and goats roaming the streets, we are now seeing the darker side of environmental impact.
Single use plastic is being consumed in huge quantities, as a key element in much PPE (personal protective equipment) in particular, but also in increased use of plastic for wrapping foodstuffs (no more open bowls of food on the buffet counter), single use cutlery and cups, and in the supply chain for home deliveries of many different items. No more bringing your own cup to Starbucks or your own tankard to your “local” (public house)! Screens have appeared in unexpected quantities in schools, offices, shops and bars – whilst Perspex is not technically single-use, it is not clear what will happen to these items when they aren’t needed or require replacing if Covid becomes a really long-term issue.
Plastic producers are lobbying the EU Commission to delay its 2021 ban on single-use plastics, and in the US, plastic bag bans have been delayed or repealed. But now PPE is being found washed up on beaches, or forming part of the plastic “islands” that pollute major oceans, and campaigners are fighting back. As Wired reported in a very good article on the topic, environmental organisation City to Sea commissioned a survey in May “showing 36 per cent of Brits feel pushed into using more single-use plastic due to Covid-19”. So they have launched a "contactless coffee" initiative to encourage coffee shops to safely accept reusable coffee cups again, and Costa Coffee is already doing so.
Other firms have produced visors and facemasks made from more environmentally friendly materials, such as wood pulp and paper board. Masks can be washable and reusable, and there are exciting developments around antimicrobial materials, which can be used in fabrics or applied as surface coatings. But there have been underlying economic issues too. As travel and economic activity collapsed back in the spring, oil prices sank to such a level that it became cheaper to make new virgin plastic than recycle.
That anomaly may have passed as oil prices recover, and on the positive side, most of the major firms that have made strong sustainability commitments – like Unilever, Nestle and Mars – have not changed their approaches because of Covid. And while a Canadian study found that people had become less focused on plastic pollution since the pandemic started, the change was small and the vast majority of people are still concerned about the issue.
So let’s hope this is something of a “blip” on the road to a more sustainable future for plastics. Few people would argue that plastic shouldn’t be used in certain important areas, such as for key medical purposes. But if we can restrict its use to where it really is essential, and make that use based on a circularity approach, then we can avoid the contamination of oceans and land that we face if plastic production continues to grow unchecked.