Recently I've read a lot of news about plastic straws and a general push against single-use plastics. I get it, people want to do something good for the environment. However, these articles make claims without facts. It's shockingly bad journalism and irresponsible because decisions are being made based on faulty information. Some of those decisions actually hurt the environment instead of protecting it. Is that what you want? Read on to learn more...

Today I even read a piece in The Washington Post entitled "Plastic straws aren’t just bad for the environment — they can be bad for your body". It says that straws cause wrinkles, gas, cavities and can leach toxic chemicals. Those are bold claims. The problem is that no evidence is given. Not a single piece of evidence. Are you so gullible as to believe anything you're told without facts? I didn't think so. Another article was at Vox.com. It is entitled "Why everyone is shunning plastic straws" and it states that plastic doesn't degrade. That's simply not true.

As a leading plastics expert it's my job to know the facts. Companies like P&G, HP, Exxon, Disney, Apple and more rely on me to know what's what. I looked for studies on plastic straws and health and could not find any. Here is what I do know and I have cited the articles to support what I'm stating here because that's what professional scientists and journalists do.

Plastics are polymers. Polymers include cellulose (which is what trees are made of), silk, cotton, collagen (in your skin) and even DNA that makes life possible. We cannot live without polymers. They exist in nature and are some of the safest materials around.
Plastics do degrade. Most straws are made of polypropylene. Laypeople think that's a stable plastic but it is actually very unstable. It appears stable only because stabilizers are added to protect it. Polypropylene degrades readily with time, or when heated, or when exposed to UV light (including sunlight). It even degrades in a land-fill as proven in an article cited below. Other plastics degrade too and there are thousands of articles about it.
Single-use plastic bags have been proven to be better for the environment than any other kind of bag such as paper or cotton. Life cycle analysis is a laborious but proven way to see what's green and what isn't. Single-use polyethylene bags win every time. I have cited several studies to prove it (from the USA, Canada, Australia and more). That means that banning such bags actually hurts the environment. When I am at the checkout at Kroger they ask me "paper or plastic?" and I reply "plastic please, it's better for the environment". See multiple LCA references below.
It has been claimed that "Microwaving Plastic Releases Cancer-Causing Agents". I get asked about that quite often but it has been proven to be a made up story. Put that title into the search box at Snopes.com to read more. The same for the story that it's unsafe to reuse PET bottles. It's a made up story.

A few months ago, I sat next to a young person on a plane. She took a nap and I glanced at her laptop computer which had a sticker on it which said "Rise above plastics". I had to smile because of her naivety. The sticker was made of plastic and so was the adhesive that held it on her plastic laptop. Her backpack was made of nylon plastic and so were her shoes. She had a PET plastic water bottle in her hand and was cosied up in a polyester blanket. The only thing I could see that wasn't synthetic plastic was her cotton jacket but cotton is just a natural polymer. Later, she woke up and started editing video made on her plastic Go-Pro camera while swimming in the ocean in a rubber suite with plastic flippers on. She had no idea that her life would not be possible without the very plastics she demonized.

A common mistake is to assume that natural materials must be greener and safer. I recently saw an article suggesting bamboo straws instead of plastic so I went and checked to see if bamboo is safe. Plastic straws are subjected to very strict tests to ensure they don't give out any toxic substances but how does bamboo compare? I looked to see if any chemicals come out of bamboo when you put it in water. The answer was shocking. Large amounts of biologically active chemicals leach from bamboo into water, like you would find in a soft drink. The substances were said to be cytotoxic (article cited below). We cannot assume that natural products are safe.

Plastics make our lives better. They are essential to medical care and so much more. Most people don't realize it but using plastics actually saves oil, saves energy and saves a huge amount of food from spoiling.
Conclusion

My intention is to warn you not to fall for sensationalist journalism. If you care about the planet and the future of our children then make sure to check the facts. If an article doesn't cite any evidence, then ignore it.

I agree that plastic litter is a problem but that's not the fault of the plastic. When I see clothes on the floor of my kids room my response is not to ban clothing in the house! But that's what we're doing with plastic. Plastic bottles do not leap into the ocean by themselves. It's a people problem, not a plastic problem. Plastic pollution in the ocean has been analyzed so now we know what it is and where it comes from. It's mainly discarded fishing nets and the rest comes from a few rivers in a handful of countries but not from the USA or Europe. So, those countries are not the issue and bans will cause more harm than good.

Originally posted on LinkedIn. I wanted to share it here because people responded so positively to it.

LCA of plastic bags: http://wiki.ubc.ca/Life_Cycle_Analysis_of_Plastic_...

Life Cycle Assessment of Grocery Bags in Common Use in the United States

Life cycle assessment of supermarket carrier bags: a review of the bags available in 2006

“FINAL REPORT” Life Cycle Assessment for Three Types of Grocery Bags - Recyclable Plastic Compostable, Biodegradable Plastic; and Recycled, Recyclable Paper

Revealed – the truth about plastic, The Spectator

Degradation Study of Polypropylene (PP) and Bioriented Polypropylene (BOPP) in the Environment C. Longo, M. Savaris, M. Zeni, R. N. Brandalise, A. M. Coulon Grisa, Materials Research. 2011; 14(4): 442-448.

Biological Activities and Phytochemical Profiles of Extracts from Different Parts of Bamboo (Phyllostachys pubescens), Molecules 2014, 19, 8238-8260; doi:10.3390/molecules19068238

The Great Pacific Garbage Patch Isn’t What You Think it Is https://news.nationalgeographic.com/2018/03/great-...

http://www.bpf.co.uk/Press/Oil_Consumption.aspx

Chris DeArmitt PhD FRSC
President

Plastic materials consultant to the Fortune 100
Creating New Materials - Problem Solving - Innovation Keynotes - Expert Witness
www.phantomplastics.com