Plastic Waste Management: Challenges & Alternatives

In August 2021, the Plastic Waste Management Amendment Rules notified by the Centre acknowledge the gravity of pollution caused by plastic articles of everyday use, particularly those that have no utility beyond a few minutes or hours.

• Plastic was invented in 1907, and given that it was cheaper and more convenient than other materials, it soon found use in varied ways in our daily lives, from money to electronic appliances, and in multiple sectors, including packaging, building, construction, transportation, industrial machinery and health among others.
• However, the lack of sustainable plastic waste management (PWM) poses a serious threat to our environment and natural ecosystem globally. Plastic waste management is a major issue because of their widespread use, easy availability, and affordability, slow rate of decomposition and lack of effective alternatives.

Challenges in Plastic Waste Management

• Ubiquitous Use: Plastic is ubiquitous and is used in various industries in different ways. Due to its varied and complex nature of use, collection, treatment and disposal of plastic waste becomes highly strenuous.
• Disrupts Economy: Regulating and banning of plastics to tackle the menace of plastic waste disrupts the economy due to closure of industries, unemployment, etc.
• Failure of Policy Framework: India’s policies on environment are divergent; they are intentionally good but poor on outcomes. Also, plastic industry lobbyists are very powerful.
• Poor Implementation: Lack of strong will from state governments to implement plastic waste management strategies.
• Low Rate of Recycling: Owing to lack of segregation and collection, considerable amounts of plastic waste cannot be recycled.

Need for Alternatives

Plastic waste has numerous implications on the environment and health.

• The plastic waste dumped in landfills leaches into the ground and nearby water systems causing land and water pollution and ultimately reaches the food chain.
• The uncontrolled burning of the waste, including plastic, causes air pollution.
• The clogged plastic waste in sewerage systems further pollutes rivers and groundwater.
• The plastic in food and water can cause severe health issues such as genetic disorders, and endocrine system damage.

In such a situation, there is a need for an alternative solution to plastic to protect human life and environment. Bioplastics and polymers of cellulose and polymer have emerged as recent alternatives to plastics.

Bioplastics

Bioplastics are those plastics which are manufactured from biomass i.e. sugarcane, maize, potato starch, corn starch, fiber, jute and banana stems, etc. Thus components of Bioplastics are made entirely of natural polymers and are decomposed by the process of biodegradation.

Types of Bioplastics

• Depending on the feedstock used for making bioplastics there are two main types of bioplastics:
• PLA (polylactic acid): It is typically made from the sugars in corn starch, cassava or sugarcane.
• PHA (polyhydroxyalkanoate): It is made by microorganisms, sometimes genetically engineered, that produce plastic from organic materials. PHA is often used for medical applications such as sutures, slings, bone plates and skin substitutes; it is also used for single-use food packaging.

Properties

The following properties make Bioplastics a sustainable solution:

• Technical Advantage: Milk and other foodstuffs that are packaged in ordinary plastic have a very short shelf life. This can be avoided by using Bioplastics.
• Reduction in Waste Management Cost: Research has confirmed that the use of Bioplastics can reduce the problem of permanent waste and reduce the cost of landfill sites in cities. Bio-degradable waste can be collected and converted into natural compost using Bioplastic bags. The recyclable properties of Bioplastics can help the agriculture and food industries.
• Sustainable Manufacturing: Early research on Bioplastics suggests that it has a very low carbon footprint. They can be manufactured through low energy cost and avoid the use of polluting crude oil.

Concern Related to Bioplastics

• Negative Impact on Food Availability: Most of the Bioplastics are made from corn, wheat, other grains or starch. Commercial use of food products in the plastics manufacturing industry can have a negative impact on the availability of food globally.
• Deforestation and Greenhouse Gas Emissions: With the increase in the use of Bioplastics, there is a possibility of expansion in arable land, which can lead to an increase in deforestation and the emission of greenhouse gases.
• Additional Research Needed: To separate the chemical components of the Bioplastic, it needs to be heated to high temperatures. Under normal conditions, Bioplastics can prove to be as harmful as petroleum based plastics if it is discharged into the environment.
• Lack of Infrastructural Facilities: Bioplastics require industrial decomposition units to decompose in less time than synthetic plastics. There is lack of industrial decomposition units in India.
• Lack of Public Acceptance: Due to lack of awareness, Bioplastics have not received the required amount of public acceptance.

Polymer of Cellulose and Castor Oil

Scientists at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru have developed polymers using non-edible castor oil and cellulose extracted from agricultural stubble to make a substitute for single-use plastic (SUP) that could help mitigate the problem of accumulating plastic waste in the environment.

• These polymers can be moulded into sheets having properties suitable for making bags, cutlery or containers.
• The material is bio-degradable, leak-proof and non-toxic.
• Tests are being done to establish it as food-grade. Once established, it can be used for food packaging.

Potential Benefits

• Reducing Use of Single Use Plastic: Given the surge in the usage of single-use plastics and the challenge of managing the landfills choked with SUPs, such alternatives could bring a paradigm shift, especially in the packaging sector, the largest consumer of SUPs.
• Effective Use of Agricultural Stubble: Stubble burning is responsible for air pollution in several northern states in India. The new process effectively uses agricultural stubble to make the polymer.
• Application in Healthcare: As the material is biodegradable and non-toxic, researchers are planning to use the material for healthcare applications too.

Globally, plastic pollution has emerged as a serious menace in the absence of streamlined plastic waste management. Combatting the challenges related to plastic waste will require robust National Action Plans, establishing and monitoring domestic recycling, setting criteria and standards for packaging plastics, promoting sustainable alternatives of plastic, shift to cotton and jute bags and mass awareness programmes.