July 27, 2007

Plastic is made from oil. You knew that, right?

According to a nationwide online survey conducted in April of this year, 72 percent of the American public does not know that conventional plastic is made from petroleum products, primarily oil. This study was a joint venture between Metabolix, Inc, a bioscience company and Archer Daniels Midland, one of our biggest agribusinesses. They have joined to develop plastics made from corn sugar.

Now let me be clear: I am NOT, I repeat NOT, promoting ADM’s corn products. Read Michael Pollan’s The Omnivore’s Dilemma to understand all the problems of the mainstream corn industry. But it is interesting to me to know that most people don’t understand some of the reasons why plastics are a problem. So, from start to finish, I’ll list all the reasons that I can think of:

1) Plastic comes from petroleum. According to the ADM press release, about 10% of U.S. oil consumption is used to make plastics. And as we know, oil is a resource that is running out. In the next few years, if we don’t find alternatives to oil voluntarily, we’ll be forced to do so. In the meantime, the U.S. has 2% of the world’s oil reserves, yet uses 25%. This is why we fight wars. Because other countries have the precious oil that we want. Perhaps if we found alternatives to oil, we wouldn’t need to extract it from other people’s back yards.

2) Petroleum extraction and shipment is a dirty business. According to the NRDC, each year, the oil industry spills tens of thousands of gallons of crude oil and other hazardous materials on the North Slope of Alaska. Oil operations also pollute the air with toxic emissions and poison the water and wetlands. Tanker spills are legendary, but we don’t often think about the pollution that goes on every day from oil drilling.

3) Before becoming plastic products that we can use, the petroleum is made into tiny raw plastic pellets, called “nurdles.” These tiny nurdles are shipped in containers all over the world to factories, where they will be processed into products. But before the nurdles reach their destination, many of them blow off the ships and into the ocean, where they are fatally swallowed by birds and fish. (Read more here.) Additionally, the nurdles are accumulators of hydrophobic pollutants – things like DDE and PCB. These can be up to one million times more concentrated on the surface of these pellets than they are in the ambient sea water, according to a recent Japanese study. In short, these plastic pellets not only kill the birds and fish that eat them, they are also a source of poisons in our food.

4) The nurdles are melted down and formed into all kinds of products for us to use. Some of these objects seem to be benign, but others have been found to be harmful. 2 kinds of plastic in particular are of concern: PVC (polyvinyl chloride, #3 plastic), which is used for cling wrap, some plastic squeeze bottles, cooking oil and peanut butter jars, detergent and window cleaner bottles, poses risks to the environment and to humans. And polycarbonate (#7 plastic), which is used in most plastic baby bottles, 5-gallon water bottles, “sport” water bottles, metal food can liners, clear plastic “sippy” cups and some clear plastic cutlery has recently been found to leach Bisphenol A (BPA), a chemical that mimics the action of the human hormone estrogen and has been linked to several cancers and genetic damage in infants. (Read more here.)

5) And there are further dangers to sea animals. Like nurdles, bottle caps are small pieces of plastic. And bottles caps are not recycled! Every bottle collection program I’ve seen requires the caps to be removed. So what happens to them? Many of them end up in the ocean, where albatross mothers feed them to their young, who die shortly thereafter. (Read more.) But the dangers to sea animals is not just from tiny pieces of plastic; plastic bags and wrappers are also hazardous. Floating in the ocean, they can look like jelly fish to creatures, like leatherback turtles, who feast on them. The plastic blocks the turtle’s digestive tract and leads to starvation. (Read more.)

6) And the really worrisome thing about plastic is that it doesn’t go away. According to ADM’s survey, 40% of respondents don’t know that petroleum-based plastic does not biodegrade. They think it will decompose underground, in home compost, in landfills, or in the ocean. But petro-plastics will not biodegrade in any of these environments. They are, however, photodegradable, which means that if they’re exposed to light, they will degrade into smaller and smaller pieces of plastic that are not only swallowed by marine creatures, but become embedded in the zooplankton, the very bottom of the food chain, and thereby poison our food with toxins. For a very clear explanation of this problem, click the arrow to play the video on the left. Or read a transcript here.

Scientists are unclear as to how long it could take plastic to finally degrade, but they do know that all the plastic that has ever been created is still with us today. And the more plastic we produce, the bigger the problem of plastic waste will become.

Now, do I think that plastic is the biggest environmental problem in the world? No. Because I have no idea what our biggest problem is, if problems can even be ranked that way. What I do know is that plastic is something that I can handle. I don’t own a car, so I can’t cut down my driving to save petroleum. I don’t own a house, so I can’t remodel to make my home more energy efficient. But I am a consumer. And I can control what products I choose to buy. And I can be an example and share through this blog the discoveries that I make. So that’s what I’m doing!

July 27, 2007 by Beth Terry
Filed under: Environmental
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Comments

22 Comments on Plastic is made from oil. You knew that, right?

Scott on Sat, 28th Jul 2007 6:40 am

Beth,

This is so sad. I was ignorant for years of the true hideous nature of plastic and now I see that the problem is even worse than I had imagined. Thanks for the great info. I am going to put a link on my blog to this post.

Sunny on Sat, 28th Jul 2007 10:48 pm

I appreciate your sentiment too. I sent the article Polymers are Forever to my husband earlier this week – didn’t say anything about it, just sent the link. I tend to be the more environmentally concerned. He wrote me back that it scared the bleep out of him. I think I’ll have a little better participation in the recycling department! Maybe his wife isn’t so crazy after all.

Beth in the Fake Plastic Fish Tank on Sun, 29th Jul 2007 3:31 am

Yep, Sunny, I think that’s the best way. Provide them with information without nagging and then sit back and watch the changes happen. I’ve seen this tactic work at my job somewhat. And also backfire when I get too strident. More on that in a future post.

just ducky on Sun, 29th Jul 2007 10:37 am

These kinds of facts always alarm me…as they rightly should…and then I get introspective and start thinking (which is always dangerous)…could the increase in psychiatric illnesses (both my kids have bipolar disorder), autism spectrum disorders, as well as other physical illnesses (fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue, cancers, etc.) at all be tied—even a little bit—to the photodegrading and therefore food/water pollution of/by plastics? I could be completely crazy for going out on this limb, but plastics were invented 100 or so years ago, but didn’t really “explode” into daily use until the last 50-60 years…put them in a landfill 50 years ago…they photodegraded…we consumed them for how many years now…onslaught of physical/mental illness….? I am NOT a scientist. I am NOT a doctor. I am just a woman letting her mind wander and proposing an idea…

Aurora on Sun, 29th Jul 2007 2:16 pm

great article! (I found this via BlogHer)another problem with plastics is how they pollute our ocean beaches…I have started trying to eliminate plastic bags from my life (one small step) and have been making repurposed cloth shopping bags for an alternative to plastic grocery bags, You can see them on my blog.
aurora
http://foxyartstudio.blogspot.com/

terrible person on Fri, 3rd Aug 2007 11:13 am

Here is a scary, scary article about BPA leaching out of drinking bottles …

I’ve got to get one of those KleanKanteens for work. Sorry, Nalgene.

Raskil on Wed, 5th Dec 2007 11:44 am

My compliments on being ahead of the curve. A friend of mine just forwarded me your blog and it is QUITE interesting that most people did not know the relationship between most plastics and oil. Your entire website is incredible though with some links I have not seen yet.

I have been researching the problem of nurdles from the environmental policy perspective and am actually working on an international clearinghouse (because I have the longest list of citations of anyone I know… and I asked around). I’m familiar with AMRF’s work and actually visited their cute office in Long Beach! I presented my research in three different academic conferences and received positive feedback with high interest level.

Have you seen the NOAA’s new Marine Debris 101 website? It’s industry-funded but a nice job nevertheless even though it is VERY incomplete.

Let’s talk. What’s your email address?

Laura Prater on Thu, 28th Feb 2008 2:12 pm

I’m so glad that you’ve made all of this information avaialble. I have been trying to get my family to understand how dangerous plastic can be. I recently purchased canvas bags in various sizes (small for produce, larger for other items, etc.). It was fun and I can’t wait to create more to give as gifts. People get together to scrapbook all the time…why not get together for a canvas bag-making night!

kamla on Sun, 20th Jul 2008 8:11 pm

I love your website, Beth.
FYI, I have been recycling ALL plastic bags at the supermarket. This includes dry cleaner bags, department store bags, clean zip locks, etc. Just make sure they don’t smell of food. I asked my local store first. Make sure it is not opaque black plastic or celophane. (Plastic stretches; celophane rips.)
P.S. I’d like to hear more from Raskil.

Azura Skye on Sat, 1st Aug 2009 3:46 pm

This is a wonderfully written post. Very well explained.
Thank you for writing so concisely so I don't have to read a huge massive article to understand plastic production : )
I'm inspired to write up this process on my blog too, so thank you too for linking the sources.

Take care,
Azura Skye.

Chicky on Tue, 4th Aug 2009 12:31 pm

The ones that make plastic are the ones that should be stopped from making plastic period. Then why aren't they stopped? It's all polictics. It's the same thing with the car manufacturers…yes it is….they have the cars that run on electricity why are there so many cars that run on gasoline then? Because they are bought some way or another. If they sell the elctric cars then the gas mogles won't get filthy rich right? It's all money and convenience their convenience..It's a shame but it's the truth.

Todd Histand on Fri, 6th Nov 2009 3:42 pm

Hey Beth
I’m trying to find somene interested in letting me interview them about the effects of endocrine disrupting chemicals in plastic that leach into our food but am not having much luck. i’m writing my main english paper this semester on the dangers of plastic and would love to either interview you or get steered in the right direction.
thanks
Todd
Todd Histand´s last blog ..Baking Soda: So Many Uses; So Little Money… and Plastic

Michele on Sat, 7th Nov 2009 9:22 pm

Hi,
Well this was the only site that came up when I googled the dangers of plastic fish tanks and my reason for wondering is that I have beta fish and I was given by my friend who also had beta fish a couple of plastic tanks. Her beta fish died she had two she got hers after I purchased my first one and we went and I got two more and bought two. Mine have always been in glass bowls or a glass tank hers were in plastic tanks Hers are dead in maybe 6 months and all of mine are still thriving. This makes me think that maybe I shouldn’t use the plastic tanks I was going to put one in and wait a few months and see what happens but I don’t have the heart to use one as a guinea pig I realize they are just fish but for some reason it just seems wrong. So if you have any input for me I’d appreciate it.
Thanks and have a great day

Beth Terry on Mon, 9th Nov 2009 11:53 am

Michele, I’m sorry but I really don’t have information about plastic fish tanks and the possible affect on fish. I do know that plastics can leach all kinds of endocrine-disrupting chemicals that can affect fish in various ways. But I don’t know if would kill them suddenly. I just don’t know. I would check with an expert on that type of fish.
Beth Terry´s last blog ..Baking Soda: So Many Uses; So Little Money… and Plastic

Shawnee on Sun, 3rd Jan 2010 10:33 am

Beth, I enjoyed your article on recycling plastic so much I have included the link in my blog on glass etching art. Thanks for the chance to spread the word on recycling. It makes much more of an impact when people can read the reasons why.
Shawnee´s last blog ..Meet the Artist

Recycling for the New Year « Blog Archive « Shawnee Etches on Sun, 3rd Jan 2010 10:40 am

[...] to recycle and explains why plastic is such a menace to our society if we do not recycle it. http://fakeplasticfish.com/2007/07/plastic-is-made-from-oil-you-knew-that/ I recommend this article if you have doubts about why recycling is so important to our world. [...]

Heretic on Fri, 2nd Apr 2010 12:34 pm

I don”t think it’s nice to say plastic is made from oil. It might incite violence from or against Islamic people. We should be sensitive to their needs, not ours.

It’s best to keep the plastics issue focused on environmental concerns ONLY. And we should NOT talk about how much money our oil/plastic/energy saving projects earn in equivalent interest compared to our retirement or savings accounts.

These are big elephants in the room, but if we put on our ipods and pretend it’s sculpture, will anybody know the difference?

Sharon on Wed, 2nd Jun 2010 9:24 am

Hi. I was just thinking about the plastic problem and how far spread it really is, all with stores talking about either not carrying plastic bags or charging the customer extra for their uses. We’ll see. I am not sure where the remark about the Islamic people fits in, but facts are facts. I am aware that certain plastics used to be made of pvc material and in one of my webpages (on archival scrapbooking) talks about it a little.

Many stores, such as Wal-Mart have stopped carrying products that have pvc in them. But I wonder how far everyone will really have to go to stop the petroleum craze that has been part of our societies for so long? So much of what we have is made of plastics in one way or another…even the computers we use to communicate with. I don’t expect people to understand everything from the first decisions humans have made. Life is a learning process. Yes, certainly, we need to make changes where we are able. It is ironic that it was not that long ago that plastic was being praised for it’s use in life-saving mechanisms for people in hospitals. Truly ironic. Maybe the best thing we can all do is stop buying any items made of plastic? But how far does that go?

Dicci Brignoni on Fri, 25th Jun 2010 11:40 am

I had no idea plastic was made from oil. what an eye opener and I will do allI can to reduse my use of plastic.

Thanks for the info.

Aaron on Sat, 26th Jun 2010 5:58 pm

I bet the American public also don’t realize that more petroleum is used to create a hybrid car than a non-hybrid car. The factories that produce lithium batteries used in hybrids are all run on oil based energy.. So in reality, hybrid cars are more harmful to the environment (Lithium is extremely harmful to mine and produce into batteries) than gasoline based cars. Just something else to think about.
Aaron´s last blog ..Free Blogs

The Story of Cosmetics | 5 Seed on Wed, 21st Jul 2010 10:44 am

[...] else can you do? Eschew plastic containers whenever possible. Why? You guessed it – plastics are made from petrochemicals. Just say no to the oil industry by filtering out petrochemicals from your life wherever [...]

We Read, We Follow « The Nail That Sticks Up on Wed, 25th Aug 2010 8:53 am

[...] Fake Plastic Fish was born out of Beth Terry's disgust with our excessive plastic use, and she decided to stop purchasing all plastic as much as possible. If she did obtain some, she kept it as a running tally. Often contains great re-purposing ideas and ways to de-plasticize our life in general. If you have no idea why plastic is bad, read this. [...]

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