Plastic Pollution
Plastics are a major contributor to climate change. Read below to find out what you can do as a UCSD student to reduce your own personal plastic footprint.
Written by Michelle Lee
It’s no secret that massive amounts of plastic are floating around in our oceans. However, we don’t just pollute the oceans below us; with each ounce of plastic (more specifically polyethylene PET) produced, one ounce of carbon dioxide is emitted to the atmosphere above us as well.
Making Plastic
Photo: Plastics Info Mart
It may not seem like it, but plastics are made out of petroleum and natural gas. Beyond fossil fuel extraction, it takes a great deal of energy to turn these raw materials into the synthetic polymer chains that make plastic resins. Making PET resin takes about one-third of the total carbon footprint required to make a 500mL plastic bottle. And that’s just the first step of production.
Each subsequent step of the process contributes further to a plastic product’s large carbon footprint. Some of these steps include: melting down the resin, fitting it into a mold, cleaning the product, storing and packing it. Already the carbon emissions footprint is growing. But let's not forget about what else can occur throughout the supply chain.
Gas leaks can occur during extraction via drilling or fracking, and the plastics collect these costs into their environmental impact. Following the carbon-heavy plastic production process, the carbon footprint continues to grow as the plastic is introduced into the market. Transporting, discarding, recycling and burning plastics also contribute a significant amount to a plastic’s heavy carbon footprint.
The Plastic Lifecycle
Photo: CIEL, Plastic & Climate: The Hidden Costs of a Plastic Planet
The Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL) reports that emissions from the plastic lifecycle, from extraction to post-consumption, can contribute to beyond 56 gigatons of carbon between now and 2050. This is the equivalent to 10-13% of our remaining carbon budget of 420-570 gigatons (an existing budget of how much emissions is permitted, given the goal of remaining below a certain global temperature average, which is 1.5°C).
If the current rate of plastic production and consumption continues, greenhouse gas emissions can reach 1.34 gigatons per year by 2030, which is approximately the same size as filling up over 400,000 Olympic pools. As of last year, the global demand for plastic is projected to jump up 22% by 2024, meaning we’ll have to reduce emissions by 18% to maintain balance.
So how can we address this issue?
RETHINK, REFUSE, REDUCE, REUSE, REPURPOSE, RECYCLE, ROT.
We can start to implement the 7 R’s of sustainability more into our everyday habits to help the planet! We’ll focus on and highlight the advantages of refusing, reducing, reusing, and repurposing plastics in our Tips & Tricks to Reduce Plastic Reliance post.
Photo: UCSD HDH Dining Services, Triton2Go Mobile App
To start our reduction of single-use plastics now, UCSD is making this SO easy and accessible with the new on-campus Triton2Go reusable takeout container program! Simply order to-go from the Triton2Go mobile app (or in-person) and pay a $5 refundable deposit to use the reusable takeout containers. When you are done with the container, you can return it to any nearby Triton2Go machine and you will get your $5 deposit back within 24 hours.
Say hello to never wasting plastic in the dining halls again!