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Plas-Pak Blog is being regularly updated by Mr. Stephen Kiss, a visionary entrepreneur focusing in less harmful plastic packaging manufacturing process
Environment Minister Stephen Dawson announced on 12 September 2017 that single-use plastic bags will be banned in Western Australia from the 1 July 2018.
This step will put Western Australia in line with actions that other states, such as South Australia, Northern Territory, Australian Capital Territory and Tasmania have taken. Queensland has also undertaken to ban single-use plastic bags from the same date next year.
What plastic bags are banned, and what will you still be able to use?
What you will not be able to get anymore is the light-weight single-use bags.
The thicker, more durable bags available at some retail outlets will still be available. Barrier bags, such as those used to package meats will not be banned.
Is a ban on single-use plastic bags really going to save the environment?
When we look at the statistics available regarding the banning of single-use plastic bags in other states, we are confronted with mixed results.
In the Northern Territory, where single-use plastic bags have been banned since 2011, research has shown that plastic bag litter increased in the past five years. Heimo Schober, chief executive of the Keep Australia Beautiful Council in the Northern Territory, said, “The issue really is that the Government has introduced an act in writing, when it’s the people that we need to act.[1]”
The statistics in the ACT and Tasmania are quite different.
In these two areas, according to the National Litter Index of 2015-2016, a National Overview, Littering Locations, Case Studies, Rural Highways, Infrastructure and Graffiti, published by the Keep Australia Beautiful National Association in November 2016[2], the number of single-use plastic bags consumed by Tasmania and the ACT fell significantly and almost immediately after the bans came in to effect. The numbers have also been sustained.
Education and legislation should happen simultaneously
As in most things, education and the understanding of the need to change our habits, are paramount. If people do not care nor understand that using a plastic bag for a few minutes, then discarding it, will have an environmental impact for the next ten years, how will we make a change?
On a global scale, single-use plastic bags are a major culprit in the plastic contamination of our oceans and waterways. If the trends continue as they are, our oceans will contain more plastic than fish by the year 2050. Our oceans and waterways are becoming the dumping ground of plastic litter.
Every one of us is impacted by the waste products of our consumerism.
The simple answer to this question is, “No. Taking one source of litter away will not ‘save’ the environment, but it is a start, and however small that start is, it will make an impact. This impact may be the beginning of the butterfly effect that will put other chain reactions into play, and will hopefully culminate in a significant and sustainable change.”
Plas-Pak is continually looking at ways to minimise our carbon footprint, which will, in turn, limit the impact that plastics have on the environment. It is also important that in doing so, our clients are assured that they are working with a company that cares about them and their environment.
Plas-Pak is a big picture company. We know that our actions have a direct influence on the environment around us, and it is very important to us that the impact we have on our environment is a positive one. One of the ways that we accomplish that is by using renewable energy.
When we signed the Australian Packaging Covenant, which is an initiative by the Australian government, we had to demonstrate that we would be following certain initiatives to reduce our carbon footprint.
One of those initiatives was the substantial investment that we made when we installed our solar panels. This investment to the reduction of our carbon footprint shows the tremendous responsibility we feel towards the environment.
Few people actually know the role that plastics play in optimising the use of renewable energy and subsequently reducing carbon footprints and greenhouse gas emissions.
Plastics and Renewable Energy
Plastics have a high abrasion resistance, self-lubricating properties, minimal thermal expansion, and electrical insulation. This gives it an important role in the supply of renewable energy. Some examples of tools used to harness the energy potential of the sun, wind, water and chemical energy, are solar panels, wind turbines, hydro-electric power and fuel cells[1]. (A fuel cell converts stored chemical energy into electrical energy[2].) In the following paragraphs we will discuss how plastics are used in wind turbines and solar cells.
Not only does plastic play a role in the use of renewable energy, but it plays a large role in the conservation of energy. Vinyl replacement windows and home insulation has plastics as a key component and as such contributes to reduced energy costs and limited greenhouse gas emissions[3].
Plastics and Wind Turbines
Using lightweight plastic composites, engineers experimented and created the durable, aerodynamic blades of wind turbines. These lightweight blades can spin faster, resulting in more turbine speed and megawatt output.
Plastics and Solar Cells
Solar panels often use plastics to protect or connect panel parts.
In the near future we may see significant improvements in solar panel technology. Researchers have found that certain plastics’ molecules can be manipulated to create ordered pathways along which electrical charges can travel more efficiently[4].
Plastics can be flexible, lightweight, and thin, making the solar panel solutions of the future very exciting. In the foreseeable future solar panels will be more affordable, making the use of renewable energy available to more people, homes and businesses, which will in turn result in a minimised carbon footprint.
Waste to energy
A new initiative in re-using plastic is the conversion of plastics into energy.
We support the recycling and repurposing of plastics, but not all plastics are recycled or repurposed and with new developing initiatives plastics can become a source of energy.
More and more countries, including Australia, are investigating and developing plants where waste can be converted into energy. They do this through gasification. The waste is heated in an oxygen deficient atmosphere, and this product is changed into chemicals or fuels.
Plastics are part of our future. With responsible and intelligent use it will be quite a bright future.
Data Sources:
[1] Michael Sanclements, Plastic Purge, How to use less plastic, eat better, keep toxins out of your body, and help save the sea turtles, p. 89
[2] FUEL CELLS – ALTERNATE ENERGY STORAGE
[3] Michael Sanclements, Plastic Purge, How to use less plastic, eat better, keep toxins out of your body, and help save the sea turtles, p. 89
