The end of the most pervasive product of the 20th century may come sooner than expected. World production of plastic bags is at an all-time high, but an additive developed in the United Kingdom is said to be reducing their lifespan from decades to just a few months.
In a quiet revolution, four of the UK’s five big supermarket chains, which together hand out up to 10-billion plastic bags each year, have conducted trials and now have partly or wholly switched to using degradable bags. Made with an additive known as D2W, they become brittle when exposed to air and then decompose into water and carbon dioxide with minimal trace elements at a speed that can largely be predetermined.
D2W, which can cause flexible plastic to self-destruct in just two months, has been welcomed by some local authorities and waste and food industries, which are under pressure from the government and consumers to reduce plastic packaging and litter.
Britain throws out almost a million tonnes of plastic waste a year, much of which ends up in landfill sites after being used for only a few days.
A rubbish sack or carrier bag could have a useful life expectancy of two years, while a bread bag may be expected to last no longer than a few months. Two-thirds of all food is now wrapped in plastic, and only one in every 200 plastic bags is thought to be recycled by industry. Britain is considering a plastic bag tax after the Republic of Ireland successfully introduced a tax in 2002 that has cut waste dramatically.
”The technology is not new, but the application is,” said Allan Blacher, of Hertfordshire-based Symphony Plastics in south-east England, one of several companies worldwide pioneering the technology. ”Britain is leading the world; the revolution is being driven by European legislation and environmental awareness.”
Symphony has recently struck deals with Brazil, South Africa and Caribbean countries, all of which are plagued by plastic litter that can seriously affect drainage. — Â