We need to talk about plastic!

This reporting reinforces the negative image of plastic in the media. The claim that plastic wrap contains BPA is false. Furthermore, there are numerous food-safe plastic options for food storage containers—this is clear to all of us (in the industry).

 Unfortunately, however, fact-based information rarely reaches the public; even even political decisions are often based on half-truths. Buzzwords like “plastic crisis” and calls for a “future without plastic” suggest that plastics are inherently a problem. The opposite is true: when used correctly, they are often the material of choice—not only from a technical and economic perspective, but also when it comes to environmental protection.

Public relations efforts can help restore plastics to the image they deserve. We must therefore continually highlight how and where plastics can be used effectively. For example, when they replace metals and make material-intensive structures lighter, or enable components with an exceptionally long service life. Other examples include the decarbonization of the Earth’s atmosphere through CO2-based plastics and the increasingly closed material cycles driven by rising recycling rates. Here, too, groundbreaking developments are constantly emerging. For example, a research team at Georg-August University of Göttingen has developed a process that not only allows polystyrene to be recycled cost-effectively but also produces valuable hydrogen as a byproduct.

 Plastics are fascinating, important, and valuable. We should talk more about them—including with people outside our bubble.

 Raphael Hegglin, Editor

r.hegglin@sigimedia.ch

Editorial in the trade journal KunststoffXtra