Even the smallest child in the world today is aware of the harm of petrochemical based non-degradable plastics. There is possibly no human alive today that has not been exposed to plastic. Not only humans, there is possibly no living being today that has not been exposed to plastics. Plastic comes in all forms, and its use is all pervasive. From being considered a wonder product at the time of its creation, given its diverse uses and low manufacturing costs, it has become one of the biggest headaches of everybody today. BBC reports that 'the birth of the modern plastics era came only in 1907, but today we produce 300 million tons of plastics every year.' Time Magazine says that 'According to the United Nations Environment Program, nearly a garbage truck and a half’s worth of plastic ends up in rivers, lakes, and oceans every minute. Eventually those plastics break down into micro and nano plastic particles that poison our air, the water we drink, and our bloodstream. Approximately 40% of all plastic produced is designed for single-use purposes, and little of it is easily recycled. Like the PLU sticker, it is used just once and then thrown away. Yet the long-term consequences are enormous: The production of plastic, 98% of which is sourced from fossil fuels, is the cause of some 10% of all global greenhouse-gas emissions.'
Plastics are highly carcinogenic, and remain in the ecosystem for too long. Unfortunately, we seem unable to distance ourselves from plastic. The reasons why should be pondered, and pondered deeply. All non-biodegradable plastics are the products of the petrochemical industry. The petrochemical industry is one of the world's biggest and richest industries. The plastics industry alone runs into hundreds of billions of dollars. The U.S. is the world's biggest manufacturer of plastic.
It is not that such a pervasive industry has been around for hundreds of years. The plastic industry is very recent, as is the petrochemical industry. As BBC reports, the modern plastic era came only in 1907, along with the petrochemical industry. But one of the significant points to note is that soon after the advent of the plastic industry, the cannabis industry was banned. Cannabis was used for a number of applications that plastics took over. Like packaging for example. Packaging is an area that has grown exponentially, fueled greatly by trends like globalization and home delivery of everything that a consumer needs. Today, with the legalization of hemp in the US, through the US Farm Bill of 2018, we are slowly seeing the re-emergence of hemp based biodegradable materials in packaging. Hemp Industry Daily reports that companies like 3M have started exploring the use of hemp in areas as diversive as adhesives and consumer packaging. Hemp based plastics can be used for plastics additives, paper & pulp, particleboards, fiberglass substitutes, bioplastics, automotive components, cellulose, etc., according to New Frontier Data.
Hemp-based plastics are not only bio-degradable, the raw material is itself highly sustainable. The cannabis crop is one of the most environmentally beneficial and sustainable crops in the world. Not only can it grow in diverse conditions, requiring less water, and chemical fertilizers and pesticides, it is also good for soil-regeneration and carbon sequestering. Compare this to the environmental impact of petrochemicals, the raw material for today's non-biodegradable plastics, right from manufacture to disposal.
To make the switch from petrochemical based plastics to hemp based plastics will need policy makers to go against the petrochemical industry. It is this industry that stands firmly in the way of cannabis legalization globally, along with a few other equally power, and equally environmentally damaging, industries. Almost every government in the world today is highly influenced by the petrochemical industry. That is the reason why non-biodegradable plastics continue to increase at alarming rates around us, even though the hue and cry is getting louder. Governments and policy makers pay lip service to positive action and then team up with the petrochemical industry to continue in their merry ways.
Related Articles
The following articles talk about this subject.
https://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2020/02/24/Products-made-from-hemp-based-plastics-enter-consumer-market/8661582241399/
https://time.com/6339914/plastic-alternatives-pollute/
'Eliminating materials like concrete or plastic or replacing them with alternatives is not going to address the fundamental problem with human attitudes and our unparalleled appetite for more. This is exactly where materialism can seamlessly transform into a known unknown risk factor in global catastrophe. The myriad of ways in which it can turn this planet into a mundane world is something our civilisation has never experienced before.
In the absence of a fully secure evolutionary shield, we could depend on our intelligence to survive. Nevertheless, as Abraham Loeb, professor of science at Harvard University and an astronomer who is searching for dead cosmic civilisations puts it, "the mark of intelligence is the ability to promote a better future".'
https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20210520-could-humans-really-destroy-all-life-on-earth
According to the United Nations Environment Program, nearly a garbage truck and a half’s worth of plastic ends up in rivers, lakes, and oceans every minute. Eventually those plastics break down into micro and nano plastic particles that poison our air, the water we drink, and our bloodstream. Approximately 40% of all plastic produced is designed for single-use purposes, and little of it is easily recycled. Like the PLU sticker, it is used just once and then thrown away. Yet the long-term consequences are enormous: The production of plastic, 98% of which is sourced from fossil fuels, is the cause of some 10% of all global greenhouse-gas emissions.
https://time.com/6339914/plastic-alternatives-pollute/
'“This base material has so many applications across the company,” he said.
“We’re looking at, ‘How can we use that hemp fiber for not just a handful of product applications, but an incredible amount of applications, and the positive impact that will have,'” Davidson said.
Davidson called sustainability a “megatrend” that will drive most new products in coming years, not just in high-tech manufacturing but even to replace traditional consumer packaging and packing tape used to ship products.'
https://hempindustrydaily.com/3m-eyes-hemp-for-adhesives-packaging-replacements-even-growing-new-organs/
'Cannabis businesses have long struggled with the excessive packaging their products are required to use, employing extra layers of plastic and paper to ensure that flower or vape products are child-proof and don’t fall into the wrong hands.
But that struggle might be nearing its end: New plant-based paper and plastic packaging options are coming to market at a price point that’s comparable to conventional packaging.
That’s all thanks to the ingenuity of a few innovative minds that are working to use hemp and marijuana waste to make cannabis bio–circular'
https://hempindustrydaily.com/green-packaging-reimagined-how-hemp-is-making-packaging-more-sustainable/
Wave 1 - Animal Bedding, Absorbents, Animal Litter, Mulch & Biochar, Wood Substitutes, Plastics Additives
Wave 2 - Paper & Pulp, Hempcrete, Particleboard, Nonwoven Geotextiles/Matting, Nonwoven Insulation, Fiberglass substitutes
Wave 3 - Industrial and Consumer Textiles, Bioplastics, Automotive Components, Cellulose, Supercapacitors
https://newfrontierdata.com/cannabis-insights/the-three-waves-of-hemp-fiber-production/
'They are the latest generation of bioplastics, which are plastic materials produced from renewable sources such as agricultural by-products, straw, wood chips, sawdust and recycled food waste -- and now hemp.
Hemp seems to satisfy some plant-based plastics researchers looking for alternatives to plastic waste that has filled landfills and oceans.'
https://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2020/02/24/Products-made-from-hemp-based-plastics-enter-consumer-market/8661582241399/
'Hemp fans often tout the crop as a miracle plant. At the NoCo Hemp Expo in Loveland, Colorado, in April, speakers pumped up the crowd with talk of hemp-based plastic, clothing, concrete, houses and animal feed, among another 25,000 possible uses. But it could be years before any of these products are commercially viable in the U.S. There are still significant legal barriers, for one. At the federal level, hemp remains classified as a Schedule 1 controlled substance, alongside drugs like heroin. That means that banks can’t loan money to hemp-based businesses or hold money earned from growing or selling hemp products. Farmers also can’t get crop insurance from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to cover potential losses to drought or disease.'
https://www.hcn.org/issues/50.16/politics-agriculture-republicans-tout-hemps-potential
- 'What exactly is hemp used for? The better question is what can't it be used for. Hemp is a durable material that can be fashioned into everything from food and beer to clothing to beauty products. Hemp can also be used to make plastic, an alternative biofuel, cars, and an estimated 25,000 other products.
- Is it difficult to grow? Nope, hemp is a farmer's best friend. It's good for the soil, helping to remove toxins. It grows well with little fertilizer, no pesticides, and less water than many other crops. It's also extremely dense, which means it takes less valuable farmland. It's relatively profitable (Canadian farmers are reporting $300 per/acre profits). And it grows fast—that's where the name weed came from.
- So I've heard it's good for combating climate change. Why's that? While not a silver bullet for climate, hemp is one of many possible agricultural solutions for a variety of reasons. Hemp actually absorbs more CO2 than trees, needs less water than plants like cotton, and can also be used to make a sustainable biofuel.'
https://www.sierraclub.org/articles/2019/01/whats-fuss-about-hemp
- 'Hemp could challenge fossil-fuel-based products in a range of areas: Innovations in hemp-based bioplastics and biofuels (spurred by falling production costs) will lead to hemp-based products’ challenging petroleum-based products, including (as is already being done) BMW vehicle interiors. Ever since TV host and comedian Jay Leno posted an online video of himself test-driving a 2017 Renew sports car (with a chassis fashioned from 100 pounds of woven hemp), fewer potential participants have been willing to get left behind;
- Hemp cultivation in less-developed countries across Africa, Asia, and Latin America will provide a high-volume, low-cost source for CBD, posing a considerable challenge to higher-cost producers in North America and Europe. Nevertheless, given the nascent hemp production in the developing markets, need will persist for the transfer of significant knowledge, technology, and capital for such emerging nations to develop the requisite processes and quality standards to sufficiently serve international markets.'
https://newfrontierdata.com/marijuana-insights/global-hemp-poised-to-make-its-impact-with-a-post-industrial-heyday/
'One of the biggest misconceptions is that all cannabis gets you high. This couldn't be further from the truth. Agricultural hemp is produced for textiles, CBD oil extracts, paper and a number of other uses. The plant most commonly used in the hemp industry is Cannabis Sativa, growing between 10 and 15 feet tall before harvesting. Industrial hemp plants also have little to no THC, meaning that they have no psychoactive properties. '
https://www.csindy.com/coloradosprings/agricultural-hemp-vs-marijuana-cultivation-techniques/Content?oid=13009424
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