Plastics, the Environment and You | Ramani Narayan | TEDxMSU
The speaker argues that banning plastics is problematic because they are essential for hygiene, preservation, and global efficiency; instead, the solution involves developing compostable and bio-based plastics using materials like lactic acid derived from biomass. The central evidence is the demonstration of composting, showing plastic items like bottles and bags completely degrading within a compost pile, unlike landfill waste. The speaker recommends adopting compostable products for all events and venues to achieve zero waste.
## Theses & Positions
- Banning plastics is likely to create greater problems than the presence of plastics itself.
- Plastics are necessary for preservation, protection, and hygiene in modern life, citing food packaging and medical supplies (e.g., flu vaccine syringes).
- Using plastic components where other materials would increase weight can lead to fuel reduction and better fuel economy, noting that reducing product weight by one kilogram reduces 10 kilograms of $\text{CO}_2$.
- The solution is not elimination, but changing the *nature* of plastics to ensure their end-of-life is compostability.
- Adopting a zero-waste system using compostable products in conjunction with composting is a viable, necessary step for venues and campuses.
## Concepts & Definitions
- **Mismanaged plastic waste:** Waste dumped by emerging economies, which is estimated at 80% of all land-based waste.
- **Compostable:** Plastic designed to become food for microorganisms in a compost system, allowing it to be removed entirely from the environment.
- **Bio-based:** Manufacturing plastic products using plant matter and biomass instead of traditional petroleum and oil.
- **Lactic acid:** A molecule produced during anaerobic exercise, used as a precursor to create a new, compostable polymer molecule.
## Mechanisms & Processes
- **Plastic Degradation:** Composting process allows microorganisms to break down compostable plastics, completely removing them from the environment.
- **Bio-Polymer Synthesis:** Manufacturing process involves taking lactic acid molecules and linking thousands of them to create a new polymer molecule that mimics performance plastics but adds compostability.
- **Efficiency Improvement:** Using plastics components in place of heavier materials results in weight reduction, which directly translates to fuel reduction and better fuel economy.
## Timeline & Sequence
- **Historical observation:** Modern life relies heavily on plastic packaging, seen in supermarkets for items like chicken and utensils.
- **Global flow:** Mismanaged waste flows from developing economies (China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand) into the oceans.
- **Future Projection (If nothing changes):** By 2025, an estimated 618 million tons of mismanaged waste will be formed, with about 200 million tons leaking into the oceans annually.
## Named Entities
- **China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand:** Specific emerging/developing countries cited as sources of mismanaged waste.
- **North America:** Area mentioned as receiving plastic leakage into the North American plastic gyre.
- **Paulaner/Portland Trailblazers Morris Center:** Venue cited as an example already using the zero-waste composting system.
- **Minnesota Twins:** Professional sports team associated with the Portland Trailblazers Morris Center usage.
## Numbers & Data
- **80%:** Percentage of land-based waste that constitutes mismanaged plastic waste.
- **5 million tons per year:** Estimated amount of mismanaged plastic waste leaking into the oceans from specific developing countries.
- **618 million tons:** Estimated amount of mismanaged waste to be formed by 2025 if nothing changes.
- **200 million tons:** Estimated amount of this waste that will leak into the oceans every year by 2025.
- **10 kilograms of $\text{CO}_2$:** Reduction achieved for every one kilogram of product weight reduced by incorporating plastic components.
## Examples & Cases
- **Supermarket Tray:** Plastic tray holding chickens, protected by packaging film, exemplifies everyday single-use plastic usage.
- **Vaccinations:** Use of syringes and needles (e.g., flu vaccines) highlights the role of plastic in maintaining hygiene.
- **IPhones and Automobiles:** Examples of consumer products that benefit from plastics due to weight reduction properties.
- **PLAs Drink Cup:** A specific example of a compostable item available on campus.
- **Compost Pile Demonstration:** Visual proof showing a bottle and bag completely dissolving within the time frame observed in a compost pile.
- **Food Waste Integration:** Showing that food waste can be combined with utensils and placed in compostable bags for proper composting.
## Tools, Tech & Products
- **PLA (Poly Lactic Acid):** A specific, compostable polymer used to manufacture items like drink cups.
- **Bio-based materials:** Plant and biomass derived inputs used to manufacture the alternative plastic products.
- **Compostable plastics:** The target material designed to decompose fully in a compost environment.
- **Composting System:** The necessary mechanism (the controlled pile) for the end-of-life management of bio-based plastics.
## References Cited
- **Illinois State University/MSU:** The location/context where the speaker recommends implementing solutions ("what are you going to do at MSU").
- **Facebook, Google:** Corporations cited as examples of large campuses/venues already implementing zero-waste composting systems.
## Trade-offs & Alternatives
- **Plastics vs. No Packaging:** Comparison shows that while open exposure would result in unusable products (like raw chicken), packaging is necessary for preservation and hygiene.
- **Petroleum-based vs. Bio-based:** The alternative is to substitute fossil fuels with plant/biomass matter (bio-based) to create polymers.
## Counterarguments & Caveats
- The primary counterargument implicitly addressed is that the solution cannot be a blanket ban on plastics.
- The speaker preempts the scientific lecture format by saying, *"this is not going to be a lesson in chemistry for you."*
## Methodology
- **Circular Economy Design:** Changing the end-of-life requirement from landfill/ocean leakage to composting.
- **Molecular Engineering:** Using lactic acid derived from biomass to create a compostable polymer.
- **Field Demonstration:** Using a live compost pile demonstration to prove the degradation rate of the alternative materials.
## Conclusions & Recommendations
- The goal is to transition all products used outside (at MSU, Spartan Stadium, etc.) to be compostable, achieving a zero-waste status.
- **Learn the word:** Compostable.
## Implications & Consequences
- **Environmental Impact:** Failure to change leads to catastrophic ocean pollution ($\text{200 million tons/year}$ leakage).
- **Sustainability:** Successfully implementing bio-based, compostable plastics mitigates $\text{CO}_2$ emissions and preserves ecosystems.
## Verbatim Moments
- *"If you went to any supermarket store in any aisle and found one item or one space which does not have sticks come see me after the show."*
- *"This is a modern invention a hole in the ground where we bury garbage for posterity."*
- *"the oceans do not recognize country's boundaries what you dumb or what leaks out in the Southeast Asian nation countries ends up in the North American plastic gyre"*
- *"if we continue to do business as usual plastics will be in the oceans much greater than plankton"*
- *"banning plastics is may create even greater problems then the presence of plastics is going to do"*
- *"it has all the attributes and performance of today's products except it has additional attribute that it is compostable"*
- *"it's completely gone within the time frames you're seeing there right completely removed from the environment by the microorganisms present in that compost system"*
- *"let's make all products used outside compostable and make sure all of it is composted so there is zero waste rated"*