“WHAT HAPPENS TO PLASTICS WHEN THE OIL RUNS OUT AND WHEN WILL IT RUN OUT?”
It is a really interesting article as it raises both the positive and negative points about oil in plastics but I found this quote to be most interesting:
“Is Substitiution of Plastics an Option?”
No - In 2005 the GUA consultancy found that 40% of the life cycle energy cost of products is determined by the use phase: plastics are in general more energy efficient in the use phase than alternative materials.
- Production of plastic products uses far less energy compared to traditional materials
- Substitution of plastics by second best alternatives gives at 26% increase in energy consumption; and a 56% increase in global warming.
So, in fact at this point in time, there is no suitable alternative to plastics. Therefore it raises the question what will happen to all our products when oil run out?
Also, will people start to develop alternatives to plastics and is there enough time to find a better alternative before oil runs out?
No comments:
Post a Comment