RNR Journal: 1) Managing Plastics in a Sustainable Way – A Global Necessity; 2) Particulate Matter Pollution Remains a Human Health Threat

Tim Smith sent me a link to the current issue of the Renewable Natural Resources Journal 34(2). The issue contains the two articles listed below - click here to download the issue. 

You can click on the highlighted titles below to download them free of charge.

1) Managing Plastics in a Sustainable Way – A Global Necessity

Plastic is everywhere, but insufficient thought is given to what happens to it after it is discarded. Most plastic is considered waste after its first, brief use. In the absence of an efficient recapture process, plastic "leaks" into the environment, most notably into the oceans, and creates damage far exceeding its original value. Plastic should be managed as a precious commodity because its cost skyrockets when allowed to occupy natural environments. Plastic in the environment is a big and complicated problem – the solution is also big and complicated.

The Ellen MacArthur Foundation, in partnership with the World Economic Forum and McKinsey and Company, proposed the implementation of a circular plastics economy to deal with these issues. Their roadmap to creating a sustainable lifecycle for plastic packaging is described in The New Plastics Economy: Rethinking the Future of Plastics. This Renewable Natural Resources Foundation (RNRF) Special Report summarizes the key ideas and concepts of the New Plastics Economy.

2) Particulate Matter Pollution Remains a Human Health Threat

Particulate matter (PM) pollution remains a serious threat to human health. It causes disease in the lungs, heart and cardiovascular system, and also has neurological impacts. Recently, there has been a reversal of decades of progress in reducing PM pollution.

This is an excerpt from the Environmental Law Institute's 2020 report, Reducing Indoor Exposure to Particulate Pollution from Outdoor Sources: Policies and Programs for Improving Air Quality in Homes. It outlines the health impacts of PM exposure, the continued prevalence of PM pollution in the United States, and the challenge of reducing indoor exposure to PM.

Enjoy!

"True ignorance is not the absence of knowledge, but the refusal to acquire it." - Karl Popper (quoted in @TheTimes via @TheWeek)

Comments

[EJ Hanford]

The problem with "sustainability" of plastics is that plastic cannot be repetitively recycled without degradation. The fibers become shortened with each reprocessing. Many plastics can only be recycled one or two times before it becomes unusable and must be viewed as waste.
In contrast, substances like glass, aluminum, and steel may be endlessly recycled and that recycling process requires substantially less resources than manufacturing the substance from raw materials. For example, recycling aluminum requires about 10% of the water needed to process bauxite to produce aluminum.
The "solution" to plastics … minimize creating them in the first place.