Those of us who studied Chemistry in school know that plastics are a by-product of automotive fuel production. Naphtha, a key first step for the production of plastics, is produced when crude oil is refined.
(Naphtha can also be made from other sources such as coal. Plastics can also be made from the polymerisation of gas. But those sources are more expensive than the naphtha that is automatically produced when we refine crude to make petrol and kerosene.)
The price of naphtha literally defines the price of plastics. It consequently also determines the fate of plastic recycling.
Today I learned that the more fossil fuel we consume, the more naphtha gets produced as a cheap by-product, and the more "virgin" plastics hit the shelves. The less we drive or fly, the more the world will depend on recycling plastics. Or better still, the price of plastics will go up to a point where alternatives (for packaging etc) become viable.
(Naphtha can also be made from other sources such as coal. Plastics can also be made from the polymerisation of gas. But those sources are more expensive than the naphtha that is automatically produced when we refine crude to make petrol and kerosene.)
The price of naphtha literally defines the price of plastics. It consequently also determines the fate of plastic recycling.
Today I learned that the more fossil fuel we consume, the more naphtha gets produced as a cheap by-product, and the more "virgin" plastics hit the shelves. The less we drive or fly, the more the world will depend on recycling plastics. Or better still, the price of plastics will go up to a point where alternatives (for packaging etc) become viable.