(749d) Plastics: Redefining Single Use

There is currently over 7.3 billion tons of plastic in the Earth System, and it will grow to be 40 billion tons by 2050. Approximately 10 mega tons of plastics reach the oceans every year; 12 billion tons are projected to be in landfill by 2050. As these are released, the flux of plastics to surface waters, coastlines and oceans is amplified, with significant environmental, social and economic cost. In the global north, plastic ends up in the environment through leakages from waste collection, recycling and disposal, driven by the growth in single-use plastic, with a significant amount of egregious litter and informal disposal. The problem is now part of public consciousness and is on the political agenda nationally and internationally. The work presented here is part of the £1m Redefining Single Use project at the University of Sheffield which aims to stimulate creative thinking across disciplines and explore novel ideas and solutions with potential to deliver more circular economic
approaches to plastics manufacture and utilisation.

A whole systems analysis approach, including life cycle assessment (LCA), has been conducted for proof of concept studies on agricultural plastics and reuse of plastic packaging. LCA and behaviour change results will be presented for dairy farms, where plastic is used to wrap silage and transport feed as well as to transport milk, and for horticultural farms, where plastic is used as mulches on fields. LCA and behaviour change results will also be presented for packaging of food and home goods, including consideration of light, single use packaging, alternative single use packaging materials and reusable packaging materials. The impact of bio plastics compared to fossil fuel plastics will also be discussed as will the impacts of reuse in a circular economy and the eventual end of life of the materials.