Plastic Vision: The Dual Face of Cognitive Lag and Alternative Products

Indeed, our overall understanding of plastic lags behind the impact it brings, and recognizing this impact itself is also a phased process. As early as 1907, American ecologists pointed out in their research the unusual "transparent debris" in the inner lake water system, which later researchers believed to be the earliest record of plastic pollution in water bodies (Williams and Rangel Buitrago, 2022). In the early 1970s, biologists and marine ecologists began to pay attention to the positive and negative impacts of this "new material" on the environment, and attempted to figure out how this happened; By the 1990s, the scientific community had basically reached a consensus on plastic pollution, with the main research focus shifting towards how to measure the degree and scope of plastic pollution, how to track the sources of plastic pollution, and finding alternative solutions to plastic. The landmark turning point occurred in 2004, when Thompson et al. from Plymouth University in the UK published a paper in the journal Science on plastic debris in marine water bodies and sediments, first introducing the concept of "microplastics" (Thompson, 2004). The attention of academia and the public towards marine microplastics and general plastic pollution is constantly increasing; By 2012, the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development required member states to achieve the goal of "significantly reducing marine litter" by 2025. This is the first time that the issue of plastic pollution has risen to the level of global sustainability and international environmental governance.

In April 2024, outside the fourth meeting of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee for the Plastic Treaty (INC-4) in Ottawa, Canada, the sculpture details of "turning off the faucet" were displayed.

On the other hand, the research and application process of plastic alternatives has not been smooth sailing. So far, there is no perfect plastic substitute that can simultaneously meet the requirements of low cost, multifunctionality, lightweight and durability, or corresponding material strength in different polymer configurations of the same material. The effectiveness of substitutes is closely related to the negotiation and formulation process of plastic treaties (Margrethe Aanesen et al., 2024). The experience we have gained from the Montreal Protocol on the control of ozone depleting substances is that the willingness to strictly regulate pollutants is mainly influenced by the availability of feasible alternatives, rather than the importance of scientific evidence indicating harm to the environment or humans.

A comprehensive understanding of existing plastic alternatives and efficient technology transfer in related fields can greatly contribute to the development and implementation of strategies focused on reducing plastic supply side and mitigating related pollution impacts. The current situation is that bio based plastics have received great attention as a potential alternative to petroleum based plastics for green transformation. Some of these alternatives exhibit biodegradable characteristics, allowing for more effective decomposition and reducing their persistence in the environment; And others have stronger recyclability and can be more effectively integrated into existing waste management systems. Substitutes have two sides and require careful evaluation in order to make informed decisions. On the positive side, many plastic alternatives come from renewable resources such as plant-based materials, reducing reliance on fossil fuels.

However, the negative side of plastic alternatives is also inevitable, which leads to an increase in carbon footprint and loss of biodiversity. Through lifecycle analysis, we found that plastic alternatives may lead to increased greenhouse gas emissions in certain manufacturing processes and transportation requirements compared to traditional plastics. Due to limited availability, high production costs, or the need for specialized equipment and technology, plastic alternatives may also be more expensive than traditional plastics. But with the realization of economies of scale and the simplification of production methods, the price of substitutes may decrease over time, thereby strengthening their economic feasibility.

In terms of recycling, plastic alternatives also have hidden dangers. Taking PLA, the most common bio based plastic, as an example, studies have found that when PLA is mixed with petroleum based plastic PET for recycling, it can form potential carcinogens and have harmful toxic effects on the Earth's ecosystem; And the widely used plastic waste sorting process currently cannot effectively separate the two types of material debris, which undoubtedly reduces the processing efficiency of plastic recycling and increases the economic cost of the recycling process, ultimately affecting the determination of the government, enterprises, and the public to participate in plastic control.

In addition, the widespread use of paper and bamboo substitutes requires a large amount of land and water resources for planting and processing, which may lead to environmental problems such as deforestation or water scarcity. Ironically, at a time when the urgency of the plastic crisis had not yet been addressed, policy formulation generally guided the public to use plastic products to protect forests and land resources from harm.