While the Pret A Manger and Starbucks coffee chains are reopening with caution, one thing is missing in their stores: customers’ reusable cups, ubiquitous before the pandemic, are currently banned for hygienic reasons.
The return to disposable cups, lined and coated with polymers, is just one sign of how the coronavirus has pushed back the battle against single-use plastics.
Concern over the infection has brought consumers back to disposable packaging, while bans on disposable items have been delayed in the United Kingdom and the United States.
At the same time, switching from eating out to buying takeout food has also increased demand for packaging.
Andrew King, CEO of packaging supplier FTSE 100 Mondi, said the company has seen “a widespread increase in Europe for all types of flexible plastic packaging”, from films used to cover cheese and meat to sachets containing products like detergents, pet food, crisps and candy.
The plastics industry, which also produces personal protective equipment, has chosen this time to plead its case with governments, while record oil prices have made plastic cheaper than ever to produce.
Each year, around 300 million tonnes of plastic waste are produced worldwide, less than a tenth of which is recycled. Plastic also contributes to climate change. According to a 2019 report from the Center for International Environmental Law, the production and incineration of plastic generated more than 850 million tonnes of greenhouse gases during this year, an emission level similar to 189 power plants charcoal.
The momentum on reducing plastic pollution has increased since David Attenborough’s 2018 series, Blue Planet II, brought attention to the problem. Sian Sutherland, co-founder of the campaign group A Plastic Planet, said: “We were just at the point where the audience was on the side and people wanted to see a reduction.”
But concrete change has so far been limited, with the production of “virgin plastics”, made directly from fossil fuels, continuing to increase. Just as the economic downturn of 2008-2009 delayed action on climate policies, activists fear that the same thing will happen now for plastics.
In the UK, a ban on plastic straws and agitators has been delayed by six months due to supply chain disruptions caused by coronavirus, while a decision on a tax on plastic packaging has been delayed three months; charges for plastic bags have been waived for online deliveries.
Due to concerns over the transmission of viruses on reusable bags, California and Oregon have lifted the plastic bag ban, Maine has delayed its own ban, and a series of cities and US grocery chains have prohibits reusable bags.
“Plastics play a vital role in health and personal care,” said Tony Radoszewski, head of the US trade organization Plastics Industry Association. “Production… Is stable or increasing to meet the demand for safe and hygienic protective equipment and more, due to the coronavirus pandemic.”
Activists dispute health arguments for plastic packaging, highlighting evidence that the virus appears to persist longer on plastic surfaces than on alternatives such as cardboard. In all cases, the primary mode of transmission is person-to-person. But consumers still seem concerned.
Dave Lewis, CEO of the largest UK supermarket Tesco, said that customers’ tendency to avoid packaging had reversed: “Before the crisis, people were looking for more bulk, unpackaged, [but] people are interestingly returning to prepackaged products because they believe it is a safer purchase, ”he told the BBC.
Fiona Walker, a 39-year-old teacher from Yorkshire, runs errands for her father and girlfriend, who are isolated and have asked to receive only plastic-wrapped products.
“I try not to buy plastic as much as possible, but now I have to actively go look for plastic packaging,” said Walker, adding that her father’s girlfriend was [the virus] will be transmitted by people touching food. . . It’s not what I think is the right thing, but you have to respect what they’re going through. “
A surge in demand for cleaning and hygiene products has required even more plastic. The British Plastics Federation has said that its members who supply food and drink packaging, bleach, handwashing and medicines are operating at record capacities. Lids and bottles for hand sanitizer are in particular demand.
Wood Mackenzie, a chemical consulting company, said that plastic product manufacturers had pre-ordered large quantities of plastic film, anticipating a shortage due to higher demand.
Jacob Hayler of the Environmental Services Association, a London-based group representing the waste and recycling industry, said some of the in-demand single-use plastics would be difficult to recycle.
“Particularly in the medical environment. . . it has always been recognized that single-use plastics have a role to play in these environments for maintaining hygiene, “said Mr. Hayler. “With some of them, plastic films, flexible films or mixed plastics, it may be more difficult to find ways to recycle some of these things.”
Even before crude oil prices collapsed last month, prices for the most common plastics were at lows never seen in years. Chemical producers have spent considerable sums over the past decade to build new facilities to take advantage of shale gas as a raw material, which has resulted in oversupply.
Prices for high density polyethylene (HDPE), used for shampoo bottles and hoses, have fallen by almost half since the start of 2018, according to S&P Global Platts. The prices of polypropylene, present in auto parts and food packaging, fell by more than a third. “Low prices will make it more difficult to abandon single-use plastics,” said Rob Stier, head of petrochemical analysis at S&P Global Platts.
At the same time, a type of recycled plastic used to make beverage bottles has become more expensive in Europe than “virgin” material. Recycled polyethylene terephthalate, or PET, exceeded virgin PET prices on the continent last year for the first time since S&P Global started its index, as demand outstripped supply. The price gap has widened further since then.
“You really have to hire consumers who are willing to pay extra for recycled content,” said Mr. Stier.
This places yet another obstacle on the path of shifting the economy from the consumption of plastics. But not all signs point in this direction.
Despite industry calls for a delay, the European Commission has said it will meet its 2021 deadline to ban straws, cutlery and other single-use items.
And consumer goods groups say they will keep their promises to cut plastics. Mark Schneider, CEO of Nestlé, said: “We are fully meeting our sustainability commitments. . . Time is running out and these challenges must be met. Nestlé has pledged to spend up to $ 2 billion to increase the use of recycled plastics in food packaging.
Activists would like more action from governments and businesses, particularly by focusing on reuse rather than recycling. But Ms. Sutherland said public sentiment was also crucial.
“There was this time when we all got into a lockout and everyone who was involved in the fight against plastics stopped, creating a vacuum where the plastics industry piled up. . . But it is also a time when the public is more aware than ever of the fragility and connectivity of our environmental, economic and societal systems. “
While the Pret A Manger and Starbucks coffee chains are reopening with caution, one thing is missing in their stores: customers’ reusable cups, ubiquitous before the pandemic, are currently banned for hygienic reasons.
The return to disposable cups, lined and coated with polymers, is just one sign of how the coronavirus has pushed back the battle against single-use plastics.
Concern over the infection has brought consumers back to disposable packaging, while bans on disposable items have been delayed in the United Kingdom and the United States.
At the same time, switching from eating out to buying takeout food has also increased demand for packaging.
Andrew King, CEO of packaging supplier FTSE 100 Mondi, said the company has seen “a widespread increase in Europe for all types of flexible plastic packaging”, from films used to cover cheese and meat to sachets containing products like detergents, pet food, crisps and candy.
The plastics industry, which also produces personal protective equipment, has chosen this time to plead its case with governments, while record oil prices have made plastic cheaper than ever to produce.
Each year, around 300 million tonnes of plastic waste are produced worldwide, less than a tenth of which is recycled. Plastic also contributes to climate change. According to a 2019 report from the Center for International Environmental Law, the production and incineration of plastic generated more than 850 million tonnes of greenhouse gases during this year, an emission level similar to 189 power plants charcoal.
The momentum on reducing plastic pollution has increased since David Attenborough’s 2018 series, Blue Planet II, brought attention to the problem. Sian Sutherland, co-founder of the campaign group A Plastic Planet, said: “We were just at the point where the audience was on the side and people wanted to see a reduction.”
But concrete change has so far been limited, with the production of “virgin plastics”, made directly from fossil fuels, continuing to increase. Just as the economic downturn of 2008-2009 delayed action on climate policies, activists fear that the same thing will happen now for plastics.
In the UK, a ban on plastic straws and agitators has been delayed by six months due to supply chain disruptions caused by coronavirus, while a decision on a tax on plastic packaging has been delayed three months; charges for plastic bags have been waived for online deliveries.
Due to concerns over the transmission of viruses on reusable bags, California and Oregon have lifted the plastic bag ban, Maine has delayed its own ban, and a series of cities and US grocery chains have prohibits reusable bags.
“Plastics play a vital role in health and personal care,” said Tony Radoszewski, head of the US trade organization Plastics Industry Association. “Production… Is stable or increasing to meet the demand for safe and hygienic protective equipment and more, due to the coronavirus pandemic.”
Activists dispute health arguments for plastic packaging, highlighting evidence that the virus appears to persist longer on plastic surfaces than on alternatives such as cardboard. In all cases, the primary mode of transmission is person-to-person. But consumers still seem concerned.
Dave Lewis, CEO of the largest UK supermarket Tesco, said that customers’ tendency to avoid packaging had reversed: “Before the crisis, people were looking for more bulk, unpackaged, [but] people are interestingly returning to prepackaged products because they believe it is a safer purchase, ”he told the BBC.
Fiona Walker, a 39-year-old teacher from Yorkshire, runs errands for her father and girlfriend, who are isolated and have asked to receive only plastic-wrapped products.
“I try not to buy plastic as much as possible, but now I have to actively go look for plastic packaging,” said Walker, adding that her father’s girlfriend was [the virus] will be transmitted by people touching food. . . It’s not what I think is the right thing, but you have to respect what they’re going through. “
A surge in demand for cleaning and hygiene products has required even more plastic. The British Plastics Federation has said that its members who supply food and drink packaging, bleach, handwashing and medicines are operating at record capacities. Lids and bottles for hand sanitizer are in particular demand.
Wood Mackenzie, a chemical consulting company, said that plastic product manufacturers had pre-ordered large quantities of plastic film, anticipating a shortage due to higher demand.
Jacob Hayler of the Environmental Services Association, a London-based group representing the waste and recycling industry, said some of the in-demand single-use plastics would be difficult to recycle.
“Particularly in the medical environment. . . it has always been recognized that single-use plastics have a role to play in these environments for maintaining hygiene, “said Mr. Hayler. “With some of them, plastic films, flexible films or mixed plastics, it may be more difficult to find ways to recycle some of these things.”
Even before crude oil prices collapsed last month, prices for the most common plastics were at lows never seen in years. Chemical producers have spent considerable sums over the past decade to build new facilities to take advantage of shale gas as a raw material, which has resulted in oversupply.
Prices for high density polyethylene (HDPE), used for shampoo bottles and hoses, have fallen by almost half since the start of 2018, according to S&P Global Platts. The prices of polypropylene, present in auto parts and food packaging, fell by more than a third. “Low prices will make it more difficult to abandon single-use plastics,” said Rob Stier, head of petrochemical analysis at S&P Global Platts.
At the same time, a type of recycled plastic used to make beverage bottles has become more expensive in Europe than “virgin” material. Recycled polyethylene terephthalate, or PET, exceeded virgin PET prices on the continent last year for the first time since S&P Global started its index, as demand outstripped supply. The price gap has widened further since then.
“You really have to hire consumers who are willing to pay extra for recycled content,” said Mr. Stier.
This places yet another obstacle on the path of shifting the economy from the consumption of plastics. But not all signs point in this direction.
Despite industry calls for a delay, the European Commission has said it will meet its 2021 deadline to ban straws, cutlery and other single-use items.
And consumer goods groups say they will keep their promises to cut plastics. Mark Schneider, CEO of Nestlé, said: “We are fully meeting our sustainability commitments. . . Time is running out and these challenges must be met. Nestlé has pledged to spend up to $ 2 billion to increase the use of recycled plastics in food packaging.
Activists would like more action from governments and businesses, particularly by focusing on reuse rather than recycling. But Ms. Sutherland said public sentiment was also crucial.
“There was this time when we all got into a lockout and everyone who was involved in the fight against plastics stopped, creating a vacuum where the plastics industry piled up. . . But it is also a time when the public is more aware than ever of the fragility and connectivity of our environmental, economic and societal systems. “