The hidden lifecycle of plastic

It’s not as flashy as an iPhone or as life-saving as penicillin, but plastic may be one of the consequential human inventions of all time. 

Plastic is cheap to produce, lasts basically forever, and can be used in almost any product. All of which helps explain the enormous amount of plastic waste. 

When a person uses and then throws away or recycles a piece of plastic, they’re only catching a tiny glimpse of one part of the plastic lifecycle. Here’s a rundown of the parts of plastic’s life cycle that you might not be aware of. 

Plastic production

Most plastic is made out of oil or natural gas that’s synthesized into hard and durable polymers. And there’s an awful lot of it. Last year, about 35 million tons of plastic was created in the United States alone. That’s more than the combined weight of every single American. 

The process of making plastic involves a great deal of waste and pollution. One set of ingredients in plastic, chemicals known as plasticizers, escape into the air, and can lead to some types of cancer and reproductive problems. 

Another source of pollution are nurdles — lentil-sized plastic pellets that act as building blocks for plastic products. Trillions of nurdles are produced every year, and many of them spill out of trains, boats and factories and into waterways. Once nurdles are out in the “wild,” they can kill wildlife or spread dangerous toxins. 

Plastic use 

Because plastic is so cheap and durable, it can be made into an almost unimaginable variety of products. Many of these products may be useful or even essential. The problem, however, is that a huge portion of plastic production is products that are single-use: meant to be used quickly and then thrown away. 

According to the UN, 36% of all plastic is single-use. That includes water bottles, packing peanuts, plastic wrap, straws and plastic bags. 

Now, you might not think that single-use plastic is that much of an issue. After all, doesn’t it just get recycled? But the reality is: not so much. 

Recycling 

Let’s imagine that you toss a piece of plastic into the recycling bin. What happens next depends on the type of plastic it is. Most recycling plants cannot recycle a wide variety of plastic. Plastic bags, PVC pipe, and packing foam are all types of plastic that generally cannot be recycled. 

But recycling isn’t even a cure-all for recyclable plastics. 

Let’s say that you recycle a plastic bottle. It’s not usually possible to turn a recycled plastic bottle into another plastic bottle, as you could with, say, a glass bottle. That’s because unlike glass, plastic degrades every time it’s reused. So instead of being reborn as good as new, that plastic bottle is likely going to be turned into carpet filling or some other lower-quality product.  

That’s why, whether or not it’s recycled once or even a few times, almost all plastic will eventually end up being incinerated or landfilled, or just tossed away. 

The long afterlife of plastic 

Once it’s thrown away, plastic has served its useful purpose, but its life is only beginning. 

As it lies in a landfill or bobs in the ocean, plastic will break down into tiny pieces over the course of decades. Whether in large pieces or small, the plastic can kill wildlife, who mistake it for food.

Humans aren’t immune to the effects of plastic pollution. Already, researchers have found microplastics in tap water and even in human brains. 

But the most concerning thing about plastic’s future is what we don’t know. Plastic was first used less than a century ago, meaning that we don’t fully understand how long plastic will last or how it will affect the environment or even ourselves. 

People might imagine that plastic’s lifecycle is an eternal circle of use and reuse. But the reality is that plastic is a one-way street. Every step of the process, from production to use and disposal, results in waste — plastic ending up where it doesn’t belong. 

The only way to reduce the amount of plastic in our environment is by reducing plastic production, especially single-use plastic. We’re working to do that.