#5 08/02/14

 PLASTIC  

    If you are an environmentalist, plastic is a word you tend to say with a sneer or a snarl. It has become a symbol of our wasteful, throw - away society. But there seems little doubt it is here to stay, and the truth is, of course, that plastic has brought enormous benefits even environmental ones. It't not really the plastics themselves that are the enviromental evil - it's the way society choose to use and abuse them.

    Almost all the 50 or so different kinds of modern plastic are made from oil, gas or coal - non - renewable natural resources. We import well over three million tones of the stuff in Britain each year and, sooner or later, most of it is thrown away. A high proportion of our annual consumption is in the form of packaging, and this constitutes about seven per cent by weight of our domestic refuse. Almost all of it could be recycled, but very little of it is, though the plastic recycling industry is growing fast.

   The plastics themselves are extremely energy-rich - they have a higher calorific value than coal and one method of "recovery" strongly favored by the plastic manufactures is the conversion of waste plastic.