Polyethylene

The main consideration with polyethylene is that it’s non-biodegradable and can be toxic to marine life. Efforts to look at strategies to decrease overall consumption could influence the environmental impact that polyethylene has on the world around us. Polyethylene (PE) is a synthetic, manufactured plastic that is the most commonly used polymer in the world. It constitutes about one third of all plastics produced worldwide, and its applications are mainly bags, packaging and industrial uses.

Polyethylene is tough, flexible, lightweight (some are featherweight), waterproof and easy to process. There are three main types of polyethylene, including low-density polyethylene (LDPE), linear-low-density polyethylene (LLDPE) and high-density polyethylene (HDPE).

Products in these categories include diverse applications: bags for newspapers, dry-cleaning, frozen foods; sandwich bags; shrink-wrap; squeezable bottles; coatings on milk cartons and hot and cold beverage cups; lids; toys; flexible tubing; plastic grocery bags; retail shopping bags, milk jugs; juice, detergent and household cleaner bottles; safety protective clothing; and apparel/product bags for shipping.

Polyethylene is inexpensive. It costs less than a penny to manufacture 140 grams, and .06 to .13 SEK for a plastic bag.[1]

== Potential impacts == petrochemical

Processing

The manufacturing process for polyethylene requires non-renewable resources and high water use. For the production of 1 kg of high-density polyethylene (HDPE), for example, 1.5 kg of fossils fuels are required, and over 3 kg of water.1 Fuel released by vehicles used to transport oil and waste causes pollution and CO2 emissions.[2]

End of use

Polyethylene’s most substantial environmental impact is at its end of use stage. Despite its durability (plastic bags can hold more than 100 times their weight), polyethylene was not designed for longevity, but for immediate throwaway. Carbon dioxide emissions are released when high-density polyethylene is incinerated. This could happen in countries that do not have access to more sophisticated disposal, recycling and waste-to-energy methods.[3]

Recycled polyethylene

Using recycled polyethylene achieves two main ecological benefits: 1) it slows the depletion of virgin natural resources, and 2) it reduces textile waste building in landfills. Polyethylene can be recycled into new versions of the same product or into entirely different products. Post-consumer waste from used and discarded products and post-industrial waste from material collected during the product manufacturing can be recycled.

Mechanical recycling

Polyethylene can be effectively collected, cleaned, cut, re-melted and remolded. However, the material is “downcycled” in this manner, which means that its physical structure breaks down, and eventually the product must be discarded to landfill.4 infrastructure for collection, sorting and purifying must be in place.

• Encourage the use of bio-derived polyethylene. Bio-derived polyethylene is derived from renewable resources, such as sugar cane. Bio-plastics have a lower carbon footprint, and some are recyclable and compostable. There is no guarantee that they are manufactured with less harmful chemicals or contain less toxic additives.

• Encourage the use of recycled polyethylene.

Recycled polyethylene is readily available globally.

(For fashion and textile industry) Apparel shipping bags, shopping bags.

X% Recycled Content Regulations require stating percent recycled if not 100% recycled content. XX% bio-based If verified and used.

1. Instead of “throwaway living,” develop ways to reuse polyethylene for garment shipping of apparel and products to stores.

2. Investigate alternative fibres to replace polyethylene bags for garment product shipping. Look for innovations beyond replacing polyethylene bags with cotton or polyester bags with messages such as “not a plastic bag.”

3. Create internal store collections of polyethylene bags. Redistribute bags to consumers.

4. Work with partners to develop closed loop recycling of polyethylene and infrastructure to collect and sort.

5. Increase awareness and participation of the public, and find simple, acceptable alternatives to polyethylene bag use.

6. Reward customers for reusing bags. Eye-catching signs raise awareness and encourage people to reuse bags.

7. Develop a 100% compostable shopping bag that biodegrades in less than 2 months.

8. Design polyethylene products with reuse in mind in order to optimize resources embodied in the product.

9. Work with suppliers to advance technology for bio-based plastics from organic feedstock.

10. Stop giving customers shopping bags to encourage them to bring their own.

1. https://www.plasticseurope.org/Documents/Document/20100312112214-FINAL_HDPE_280409-20081215-017-EN-v1.pdf
2. https://www.epa.gov/climatechange/wycd/waste/downloads/plastics-chapter10-28-10.pdf
3. https://www.naturalfibres2009.org/en/iynf/sustainable.html
4. The Textile Dyer, “Concern over Recycled Polyester,” May 13, 2008.