1

Strategy by Single-Use Plastic Industry to Mitigate Climate Change

Kanika Malhotra

Masters of Global Management, Royal Roads University

MGMT 542: Argument and Communication for International Business

Alisa Gordaneer

March 01, 2020

 2

Strategy by Single-Use Plastic Industry to Mitigate Climate Change

Plastics have become an unavoidable part of this world, constantly circulating in

everyone’s life through the usage of single-use plastics (SUPs) found in packaging and fast-

moving consumer products. It is, however, one of the most common and enduring pollutants on

earth. The SUPs industry needs to make efforts to mitigate climate change by offering a more

sustainable option; bioplastics because it helps reduce and control greenhouse gas emissions in

the atmosphere. However, in order to manage plastic waste efficiently, the industry can also

adopt another alternative strategy called recycling. The problem with this alternative is that it is

carbon-intensive and expensive.

The SUPs industry impacts the climate throughout the stages of manufacturing and

refining. Increasing levels of carbon dioxide (CO2) and other greenhouse gases produced by

manufacturing, refining of plastics, generates heat in the earth’s atmosphere that leads to a rise in

global temperatures. First, as stated by Yune (2019), fossil fuel extraction and transportation

used to produce plastic release greenhouse gases while drilling for petrochemicals and digging

forests to build pipelines (para. 9). Second, plastic production and refinement is the most energy

and emission-intensive process that breaks alkanes into olefines, polymerize, and plasticizes

olefins into plastic resins and other chemical refining processes (Hamilton et al., 2019, p. 2). For

example, according to Major (2019, as cited in World Wide Fund, 2019), “4% of the world’s

annual petroleum production is diverted to making plastic, and another 4% gets burned in the

refining process” (para. 6). Therefore, plastic processing and refining stages contribute to global

emissions that industries need to tackle in order to mitigate climate change.

 3

The SUPs industry needs to address the most crucial issue of increasing carbon emissions

and pursue a sustainable option of bioplastics to mitigate climate change. As stated by Nunez

(2019), the burning of fossil fuels produces CO2 and other atmospheric gases, which then traps

heat and primarily leads to global warming and climate change (para. 2). This issue needs serious

attention, as plastics have become a pivotal asset to society because of its durability and water-

resistant properties. Demand for plastic packaging, disposable plastic bags or bottles, and other

forms of plastics increases the demand for its production, hence, increases the CO2 emissions in

the atmosphere (Yune, 2019, para. 4). Therefore, bioplastics manufacturing serves as a potential

option for the industry to switch its supply from single-use goods, packaging, and to substitute

bioplastics for its raw materials. According to Morgan (2019), Samsung is changing its product

designs to reduce waste by substituting its plastic packaging with recyclable goods and

bioplastics (para. 9). Other manufacturing firms such as Coca-Cola, Nestlé and Danone

substituted a component of traditional plastics used in their beverage containers with bioplastics,

and retailers replaced SUPs bags, compostable trays, and straws (Mitchell and Pinsky, 2019, p.

16). The industry's actions to adopt a renewable source as its mitigation strategy to reduce carbon

emissions will help the environment.

Bioplastics are emerging as the most sustainable alternative to single-use conventional

plastics as they have lower carbon footprints, need low energy costs for manufacturing, are made

from renewable resources, and helps in waste management. First, the properties of bioplastics

help in the reduction of CO2 emissions as bioplastics made by biological resource isolates the

CO2 absorbed by plants during photosynthesis (Aminu et al., 2017, p. 67). Second, bioplastics

need less energy to process because there is no reliance on the use of oil that needs additional

energy (p. 67). Third, Bioplastics eliminate dependence on fossil fuels and are made from
 4

renewable resources rather than petrochemicals, substituting with organic crops (p. 67).

According to Harvey (2016), “When the global community eventually reduces fossil fuel use—

the major source of GHG emissions—aerosol pollution emissions will fall, as will their

concentrations (their lifespan in the atmosphere is only a matter of days)” (p. 6). Additionally,

Bioplastics can help to deal with waste management by reducing or eliminating litter of SUPs

and makes industrial organic recycling as an effective solution to manage waste (Aminu et al.,

2017, p. 67). Hence, Bioplastic production is a practice adopted by many industries and

governments to reduce the use of SUPs. As mentioned by Schnurr et al. (2018),” “France passed

a law, effective in 2020, as a part of Energy Transition for Green Growth to ensure that all SUPs

(including plastic cups, cutlery and plates) are compostable and biodegradable (Independent,

2016)” (p. 162).

However, concentrating on another strategy called recycling by reusing the plastic wastes

can also prove to be useful in mitigating the impact on climate change. This alternative conserves

energy, reduces greenhouse gases, raw materials use, and lessen the environmental impacts of

landfills (Soffar, 2016, para. 2). According to Soffar (2016), plastic recycling preserves the

energy required to process plastic by using recycled materials instead of raw materials from

natural resources that use more energy, and it limits pollution and health risks (para. 6).

Processing plastic wastes by minimizing the use of fossil fuels that release hazardous gases helps

in mitigating the global warming issue (para. 7). Online platforms offer consumers to buy, use

and send back the empty package to the firm for recycling reducing carbon emissions by 50%

less as compared to traditional plastics (Impact hub, 2019, para. 14). Plastic recycling minimizes

non-biodegradable waste discarded to landfills that takes many years to break down (Soffar,

2016, para. 8). The problem with this strategy is that it is not efficient and is expensive to follow.
 5

First, melting plastics for recycling releases carbon emissions that result in global warming and

affects the climate (Soffar, 2016, para. 13). Second, it also requires separate facilities that could

lead to energy consumption and emissions of gases for the process of cleaning, sorting, storing,

and shipping the waste materials (para. 15). Third, they are not ideal for the second round of

recycling; as a result, they end up in waste, and the need for raw material by producers is always

there (para. 16). Therefore, given the potential effects of carbon footprints, it is essential to

develop a sustainable alternative like bioplastics for the SUPs industry, rather than recycling

plastic wastes as it leads to an increase in carbon emissions.

 6

References

Hamilton, L. A., Feit, S., Muffett, C., Kelso, M., Rubright, S.M., Bernhardt, C., Schaeffer, E.,

Moon, D., Morris, J. & Labbé-Bellas, R. (2019). Plastic & climate. Center for

International Environmental Law. https://www.ciel.org/reports/plastic-health-the-hidden-

costs-of-a-plastic-planet-may-2019/

Harvey, D. (2016). Global warming: Is it too late? Peace Magazine, 32(4), 6-7.

https://ezproxy.royalroads.ca/login?url=https://search-proquest-

com.ezproxy.royalroads.ca/docview/1903939824?accountid=8056

Impact Hub. (2019). Plastic: Solutions in a Complex Industry. Impact Hub.

https://impacthub.net/plastic-solutions-in-a-complex-industry/

Major, K. (2019, July 04). Plastic waste and climate change - what's the connection? World Wide

Fund. https://www.wwf.org.au/news/blogs/plastic-waste-and-climate-change-whats-the-

connection#gs.xyousu

Morgan, B. (2019, August 26). 101 companies committed to reducing their carbon footprint.

Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/blakemorgan/2019/08/26/101-companies-

committed-to-reducing-their-carbon-footprint/#483f1866260b

Nunez, C. (2019, April 02). Fossil fuels, explained. National Geographic.

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/energy/reference/fossil-fuels/

Pinsky, D. & Mitchell, J. (2019). Packaging away the planet. Greenpeace, 1(1), 1-52.

https://www.greenpeace.org/usa/reports/packaging-away-the-planet-2019/
 7

Schnurr, R. E., Alboiu,V., Chaudhary, M., Corbett, R. A., Quanz, M. E., Sankar, K., ... &

Walker, T. R. (2018). Reducing marine pollution from single-use plastics (SUPs): A

review. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 137(1), 157-171.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2018.10.001

Shamsuddin, I. M., Jafar, J. A., Shawai, A. S. A., Yusuf, S., Lateefah, M. & Aminu, I. (2017)

Bioplastics as better alternative to petroplastics and their role in national sustainability: A

review. Advances in Bioscience and Bioengineering, 5(4), 63-70.

https://doi.org/10.11648/j.abb.20170504.13

Soffar, H. (2016, July 27). Plastic recycling advantages and disadvantages. Online Sciences.

https://www.online-sciences.com/industries/plastic-recycling-advantages-and-

disadvantages/

Yune, T. (2019, September 12). Plastics and climate change are more deeply linked than you

may think. Mic. https://www.mic.com/p/plastics-climate-change-are-more-deeply-linked-

than-you-may-think-17890716