Plastic pandemic: a step backwards

The timid wave of "deplastication" that began a few years ago has been overwhelmed by another wave: that of the Covid-19 epidemic. Plastic is making a comeback in the midst of a health crisis, causing a worrying rebound in our waste stream of synthetic polymers of all kinds.

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It's one of the unfortunate side-effects of the Covid-19 pandemic: the return of plastic. Everywhere. In fast-food restaurants and canteens, where reusable cups and glasses have given way to disposables. In stores, where plastic bags are back in force at the checkout. In shops, where protective screens are flourishing. In "drives" and their over-packaged groceries. In the thousands of bottles of hydro-alcoholic gel that are all the rage. And above all, on our faces, covered with those famous disposable masks made of polypropylene microfiber, the plastic resin par excellence.

Detoxification

Why has the health crisis put a stop to the timid detoxification from plastic that began earlier? " Fear is the main driving force behind this sudden craze for all-plastic," explains Nathalie Gontard, a researcher at the Agropolymer Engineering and Emerging Technologies Laboratory*. The fear? The fear of being contaminated by the coronavirus. "Because it's disposable, plastic appears safer in people's eyes, establishing itself as the hygienic material that saves lives by avoiding contamination through reuse.

But this reputation is misplaced. The virus persists for several hours to several days on all surfaces," explains Valérie Guillard*. A coronavirus would even persist much longer on plastic than on glass or metal. It would also remain longer on a disposable polypropylene microfiber gown than on a cotton gown or paper surface", adds the polymer specialist.

Even disposable masks may not be as indispensable as you might think: "masks made from natural fibers such as cotton, flannel, silk or hemp are just as effective as surgical masks made from synthetic fibers, trapping at least 80% of particles with an average size of 60 nanometers thanks to a combined physical filtration and electrostatic effect", explains Nathalie Gontard. According to the specialists, the performance of a mask - whatever the nature of its fibers, provided they are sufficiently dense - depends above all on its fit to the contours of the face.

Economic stakes

Plastic, not so fantastic. And yet this illusion of health safety represents an incredible opportunity for manufacturers in the sector, who have jumped into the breach without delay. " The economic stakes are such that some manufacturers are not hesitating to ride the wave of anxiety linked to the health crisis in order to defy the bans and boost their business", laments Nathalie Gontard. As early as April 8,EuPC, the lobby for European plastics processors, asked the European Commission to postpone the European directive adopted in 2019, which bans the marketing of several single-use plastic products. "This request was fortunately rejected.

And yet the plastic boom is already clearly visible. The increase in the amount of waste to be treated, for example, has been noted in Spain since the beginning of the epidemic. A real risk not only for the environment, but also for our health, as the researchers explain: "Plastic persists for up to several centuries in our environment in the form of micro- and then nano-particles: plastic microfibers break down, fragment, multiply, diffuse in our environment, load up with pollutants and end up contaminating our food chain and threatening the proper functioning of the organs of all living beings".

The cure worse than the disease

The microfibers in our masks are therefore likely to end up on our plates or those of our grandchildren. " These disposable masks made from synthetic polymers should be labelled 'seriously harms the health of our grandchildren'," storms Nathalie Gontard. Washing a mask made from natural fibers remains the most effective form of recycling for eliminating the virus, the most economical and the least damaging to the environment," adds Valérie Guillard.

And as far as Covid-19 is concerned, the unbridled use of plastic masks could well indirectly be fuelling the epidemic... How? " Numerous studies point to the fact that thetransmission of the virus could be linked to fine particle pollution in the air, the very particles that come in part from the degradation of plastic films and fibers, and therefore polypropylene masks", explains the specialist, who denounces a remedy that could well become worse than the evil.

For the two researchers, it is urgent to "deplasticize" our lifestyles. "We need to reserve the use of plastic for those sectors where it is unavoidable. Wherever plastic-free alternatives exist, we should adopt them. This would limit our use of plastic to the strict minimum," advises Valérie Guillard. Adopting alternatives, but also simply limiting our consumption. There are many objects - often made of plastic - that we could do without," adds Nathalie Gontard. For many of us, this confinement has been an opportunity to reflect on our lifestyles and values, and we can only hope that traces of this questioning will persist in each of us...". We hope that these traces will help to calm our infatuation with plastic objects and avoid their indelible traces in the environment.

* IATE (UM, INRAE, CIRAD, Institut Agro-Montpellier SupAgro)