US plastics' emissions could overtake coal’s by 2030
By Eithne Dodd | October 27, 2021 | Buzz
US plastics are on course to take over from coal in terms of greenhouse gas emissions by 2030. According to a report from Bennington College’s Beyond Plastics project, the plastics industry in the US will be more polluting than the country’s coal industry by the end of the decade.
Plastic pollution
The report found that the American plastics industry is releasing at least 232 million tonnes of greenhouse gases annually, the equivalent to 116 average-sized coal-fired power plants.
Nationwide, the US plastics industry reported it released 114 million tonnes of greenhouse gases in 2020, however the spread is very disproportionate. Of its reported climate change pollution, 90 per cent occurs in just 18 communities where residents earn 28 per cent less than the US average, with 67 per cent more likely to be minority communities.
Plastic pollution and climate change are twin issues. The report identified 10 different stages in which the manufacture of plastics emits the most significant greenhouse gases.
For example, hydro-fracking is expected to release 45 million tonnes of methane annually in the US by 2025. Transporting and processing fracked gases emits roughly 4.8 million tonnes of methane each year.
The exporting and importing of plastic's raw materials and products emits at least 51 million tonnes of greenhouse gases annually.
Since 2019, at least 42 US plastics facilities have opened, are under construction or are in the permitting process. If the facilities become fully operational, they could release an additional 55 million tonnes of greenhouse gases, the equivalent of a further 27 500-megawatt coal-fired power plants by 2025.
Global plastic production is expected to treble by 2050, according to the World Economic Forum.
Plastics and global warming
“The scale of the plastics industry’s greenhouse gas emissions is staggering, but it’s equally concerning that few people in government or in the business community are even talking about it," Judith Enck, president of Beyond Plastics, told Reuters.
However, 232 million tonnes of greenhouse gases a year emitted by the plastics industry is likely an underestimate. The report said that they have likely undercounted emissions and air pollution related to different stages of the production of plastics and export of plastic waste.
US regulations do not require the plastic industry to report their emissions and no federal agency tracks them.