Since Blue Planet II aired last November exposing the destructive effect plastic pollution is having on our oceans, we’ve all become very concerned about plastic and its effect on our environment.
Supermarkets and suppliers are falling over themselves to cut back on single-use plastic. But are we going over the top?
Jim Hardisty, MD of Goplasticpallets.com, the returnable transit packaging and plastic pallet supplier, argues that things have got out of hand, and more needs to be done to regain public confidence in this material:
“The anti-plastic rhetoric running through the media and abundance of ‘ditch the plastic’ and ‘plastic free’ campaigns has completely crowded out awareness of the important role plastic plays in our everyday life, and many of these campaigns do little to distinguish between bad ‘single-use’ plastic and good ‘reusable’ plastic as used in plastic tablets, mobiles, plastic credit cards and plastic card machines, and of course returnable transit packaging”
Jim argues that plastic has powerful sustainability credentials thanks to its low-carbon impact in manufacturing, plus its lightweight and recyclable properties, and companies like his can show the way over handling plastic responsibly:
“At Goplasticpallets.com we recycle every piece of plastic, paper, card, glass and tin we use, and at our own expense. For our clients we are an approved exporter of plastic waste, so when they no longer have a need for their plastic pallets or boxes, we can return them to our factory in Belgium, where they are reground, and made into more sustainable plastic pallets.”
“These products have a long lifecycle and last many more times over than wood or cardboard, saving trees along the way. We’re also proud that we’re helping the environment by collecting products back at the end of their long use, then sending them to be professionally recycled, so they don’t end up in landfill.
“I’m all for campaigns that encourage businesses and consumers to cut down on single-use plastic, and for the collaborative efforts that organisations, schools and the general public are making to help clear our beaches and streets of plastic waste. But plastic packaging does not find its way into our oceans on its own.”
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