Life of Plastic – The hidden story of ‘convenience’ and ‘cost savings’
- 3 July, 2024
- ckcvietnam
Have you ever wondered about the life cycle of a plastic product? On International Free Plastic Bag Day, which falls on July 3rd, let’s join CKC to explore the various stages of a plastic product’s life cycle to understand the trade-offs related to their convenience and perceived cost savings.
- Extraction, refining, and production: Before reaching consumers, plastic products undergo extensive chemical transformations from vast fossil fuels. The process of extracting, transporting, and refining can annually release up to 12.5 million tons of greenhouse gases into the environment, with an additional 184 to 213 million tons emitted during production.
- Distribution and consumption: Globally, approximately 300 million tons of plastic are distributed and consumed each year, with more than half being disposable items. On average, a plastic bag is used for just 12 minutes before disposal.
- Disposal and recycle: Despite prevalent eco-friendly messaging on product labels, only about 2% of plastic waste is effectively recycled*. The majority is either incinerated, buried in landfills, or ends up in oceans. It is estimated that a plastic product takes more than 1,000 years to decompose.
Landfilling, incineration, or recycling has never provided a sustainable solution for managing plastic waste. Genuine environmental progress will only be achieved when we relinquish the convenience of plastic products.
*Effective recycling: Refers to the process of recycling plastic products back into materials suitable for their original use, though this can only be done once before the downcycle.
Source:
2021, The Story of Plastic: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iO3SA4YyEYU
2023, Kayla Vasarhelyi, The impact of plastic on climate change, https://www.colorado.edu/…/impact-plastic-climate-change
(Han Nguyen)
Recently News
Kick off the Activity ‘Creative Voices: Youth and Gender Diversity’
25 October, 2024
‘Beside and Inspire’ Campaign
1 October, 2024
Integrating Art in Development Studies
9 September, 2024
Related Articles
“Groundwater: Making the Invisible Visible”
22 March, 2022
According to the United Nations World Water Development Report, groundwater is an important natural resource that supplies nearly half of the world’s drinking water, about 40% of the water for irrigation in agriculture, and around a third of the water...
Successful Kick-off Meetings for the “Sustainable Tourism through Cultural Heritage at the Tam Giang-Cau Hai Lagoon” Project
5 April, 2021
On 29th, 30th and 31st of March 2021, the kick-off meetings with local authorities and field visits for the project “Sustainable Tourism through Cultural Heritage at the Tam Giang-Cau Hai Lagoon” funded by PT Foundation were successfully organised in five...
WE ARE HIRING – PROJECT OFFICER (2 POSITIONS)
24 February, 2021
Center for Knowledge Co-creation and Development Research (CKC) is looking for (2) motivated and high performing Project Officers to support in CKC’s social planning and social development projects. OVERALL JOB PURPOSE: ∙ Responsible for the day-to-day management of medium...
Support To Pa Ko Ethnic Minority Community Affected By Typhoons And Floods In A Luoi District, Thua Thien Hue Province
20 November, 2020
Shortly after the Typhoon No. 13 (Vamco), on November 17, CKC arrived to present support packages to the Pa Ko ethnic minority community affected by typhoons and floods in Ka Cu 1 village, Hong Van commune, A Luoi district. Ka...
Post-Flood Relief 2020: Support Packages Were Delivered To The Villagers In Phong My Commune
27 October, 2020
On 24th October, CKC arrived in Phong My commune, Phong Dien district to present support packages to all households affected by typhoons and floods of Khe Tran village, and to give 100kg of rice from the Winter Heaven Florida volunteer...
Support To Pahy Ethnic Minority Community Affected By Typhoons And Floods
21 October, 2020
Remotely located in the western mountainous part of Thua Thien Hue province, near the Vietnam-Laos border, Khe Tran is the home of the Pahy ethnic minority Khe Tran villagers who have encountered special difficulties in their daily life have been...
Post-Flood Relief To Ethnic Minority Communities In Phong Dien District, Thua Thien Hue Province
14 October, 2020
More than two decades since the historic flood in 1999, people of Thua Thien Hue province have suffered again severe losses from heavy flooding while they have not yet recovered after the cumulative impacts from the early and mid 2020...