Towards a Zero Plastic Bio-Economy

Every year we use and discard the equivalent of our body weight in plastic, 90% of which will bereleased and will remain in our environment long after we have disappeared (Thompson et al. 2009).Food and agricultural sectors consume most short usage duration and single use plastics (e.g. afew hours only for fresh foods), almost half of the total plastic production (more than 40% for foodpackaging, the largest sector of plastic application, and agriculture more than 5%) and constitute thebulk of the plastics already dispersed in the environment (Ellen Mc Arthur foundation, 2015). Plasticwas a remarkable petrochemical discovery in the 1960s. They have revolutionised everyday life in allsectors: construction, the automotive industry, electronics and, above all, the food industry, where, whenused as a lightweight, inexpensive packaging material, plastic has led to enormous progress in terms offood safety. Plastic packaging is indeed the essential element in preventing external contamination(chemical or microbial), preserving quality and product traceability as well as reducing losses and wasteby protecting our food.Today, providential plastic has turned into a time bomb, with the revelation of its long-term effects onhealth and the environment. It is accused of contaminating our food and polluting our environment.Petro-chemical plastic is persistent and 90% ends up in our environment where it will degrade intomicro- and nano-particles in a few hundred years. Plastic particles have already been detected inmany foods, including tap water. Once they reach the micro and nanometric size, they have theability to diffuse everywhere, even from landfilling stations where they accumulate, up to the organsof living beings (including humans) where they are expected to accumulate and lead to potentialdysfunctions.Most efforts are currently focused on intensive recycling to kill two birds with one stone: both to solvethe environmental issue and to develop a plastic waste economy. However, recycling aligns with circulareconomy principles if, and only if, it is a closed loop recycling i.e. the recycled material is similar to thevirgin one. Closed loop recycling is applicable to only a few percentage of specific plastic (e.g. PETbottles, Barthelemy et al. 2014). Widespread recycling is a range of open-loop processes, usuallycalled “down cycling” that just postpones, but not eradicates, the emission of plastic waste in theenvironment, as the resulting material is partially degraded and not recyclable anymore to produce thesame product.It is important to know that recycling is only part of a circular economy if the loop can be reproducedinfinitely, which is virtually the case for glass or metal. Biodegradable materials are a natural part ofthe biological cycle of organic matter, which ensures unlimited renewal.The recycling of plastic does not therefore represent a step towards saving our earth's ecosystem fromthe potential harm of waste, even if it can modestly contribute to delaying it.Eco-efficient actions have still to be developed urgently in this sector to stop the indiscriminate use ofpersistent plastic and start changing agricultural and food practicing for alternative eco-friendlyones.There is only one solution: to rethink the entire cycle of plastic materials in the more general context ofa circular bio-economy where the future of waste will be a key element in our consumption choices.And coordinate our efforts internationally, because small particles of waste do not respect borders.The ban on putting plastic waste in landfills, sending it instead to be recycled or incinerated (althoughthis option is not recommended and requires a purification stage) is a first step (EC resolution3016/C482/09) .Further measures are expected and must be immediately and wholeheartedly supported: (1) effectivelyreduce our plastic consumption by consuming plastics differently and consider phasing them out of themarket1 (2) replace plastics wherever possible with biodegradable alternatives (not to be confused withbio-sourced or compostable products) provided this does not have a negative impact on agriculturalproduction for human consumption and does not harm the environment and (3) only retain irreplaceableplastics that are effectively recycled in a closed loop, as is potentially the case for PET bottles