FAQ

In material science, a “plastic” is simply something made of repeated molecules that can be heated to form a new shape and then cooled to retain that shape.

This comes as a surprise to a lot of folks, but there’s nothing in the basic definition of “plastic” that’s concerning in any way. It includes no mention of specific (potentially toxic) ingredients or how long it lasts. A “plastic” is just a type of material with a really useful shape-changing feature.

But when most people say the word “plastic”, they mean traditional plastic, which is the common type of plastic used essentially everywhere. And traditional plastic does have some concerning features.

Traditional plastic is a plastic material made from petroleum-derived components.

It’s the most common type of plastic, used essentially everywhere. And it’s what most people mean when they say the word “plastic” (though there are alternative plastic materials with important differences from traditional plastics).

PET (water bottles), PETG (clear “clamshell” food containers), TPU (phone cases), polyethylene (grocery bags), polypropylene (takeout food containers), and polystyrene (Styrofoam) are all examples of traditional plastics.

Traditional plastics are derived primarily from fossil fuels such as crude oil or natural gas. The abundance of these raw materials makes traditional plastics inexpensive. And the chemistry of these materials (namely, the incredibly consistent molecules you can derive from them) makes traditional plastics predictable (in performance), durable, and long-lasting.

But some of these blessings can also be a curse. Here are the troubles with traditional plastics.

There’s nothing concerning in the basic definition of “plastic”. But the specific chemistry used to make traditional plastic has created two growing areas of concern:

1. Potential Toxicity
2. Long-Lasting Microplastics

Traditional plastic is a petroleum-derived material. Petroleum itself contains a number of nasty chemicals. And some of the helper chemicals (called “plasticizers”) used to make traditional plastic can also be problematic (that BPA you’re hoping is not in your water bottle is one such plasticizer).

Traditional plastic lasts a really long time. Durability is actually one of the core benefits of traditional plastic. But as plastic use has exploded, this blessing has become an environmental curse. Moreover, it means that when traditional plastic breaks down into small pieces (microplastics), those pieces can linger wherever they may end up – including in tissues throughout the body.

Microplastics are small pieces of plastic. They’re commonly defined as any piece of plastic smaller than 5mm (about 0.2 inches) in size, but they’re often much smaller, even invisible to the naked eye.

Microplastics are formed either directly/intentionally (e.g. microbeads used in cosmetics) or, more commonly, through the gradual breakdown of larger pieces of plastic.

They’re not an ingredient in plastic; they’re just small pieces of plastic.

The concerning feature of microplastics – at least, the ones formed from traditional plastics – is that they never really go away. They just get smaller.

For a microplastic to fully disappear, it needs to biodegrade. And traditional plastics (the ones made from petroleum-derived components) do not biodegrade. Instead – through a combination of UV radiation (which weakens and breaks the chemical bonds holding traditional plastics together), heat, and physical wear – traditional plastics just break down into smaller and smaller pieces over time.

There are a lot of good strategies for reducing exposure to traditional plastics in your life, including:

• Switching to glass, stainless steel, or ceramic instead of plastic containers
• Drinking filtered tap water instead of bottled water
• Avoiding personal care products that contain plastic microbeads
• Choosing clothing made from natural fiber instead of synthetic materials
• Buying products that use minimal packaging.

Traditional plastic is so pervasive that it’s likely unreasonable (if not impossible) to try to eliminate it from your life. But any steps you might take to reduce exposure to it – especially in high-impact areas like food, water, and clothing – are likely worthwhile.

Another emerging option for reducing exposure to traditional plastics is to use plant-based or bio-based plastic alternatives instead.

There are some real and helpful advancements in this area that can help you avoid the problems associated with traditional plastic. But fair warning: the terms “plant-based” and “bio-based” have already started to go the way of “organic”; they’re becoming marketing terms that can be meaningless unless you know what more to ask.

In answering this question, it’s important first to note some things that might come as a surprise:

• “Plastic” is not inherently evil – it’s a material-science term that refers simply to something that can change shape when heated and then retain that shape when cooled. The term “plastic” includes no commentary on the material’s ingredients or how long it lasts: the two areas where the actual problems arise.
• Petroleum is the problem – when most people say “plastic” they mean traditional plastic, which is made from petroleum-derived components, and which includes most of the plastics you encounter each day. The petroleum-derived components and helper chemicals used with them are the source of concerns about toxicity and long-lasting microplastics.

A plant-based (or bio-based) plastic alternative is a “plastic” in the material-science sense (meaning simply that it’s a material with useful shape-changing capabilities), but one that is made from source materials other than petroleum (which is the source of the real problems).

Starting with plant-based, bio-based, or other natural source materials instead of petroleum is a promising first step toward avoiding the problems with traditional plastic. But you have to be careful here: simply being “plant-based” or “bio-based” is not enough…

When it comes to alternatives to traditional plastics, “plant-based” or “bio-based” usually means just less petroleum, not zero petroleum. 

Many “plant-based” and “bio-based” plastic alternatives contain a portion – and sometimes a majority – of petroleum-based (i.e. traditional plastic) components to make them work.

If you’re looking for petroleum-free (traditional-plastic-free), you need to find a “plant-based” or “bio-based” plastic alternative that specifies “100% traditional-plastic-free” or “100% free from petroleum-based components” or the like.

“Plant-based” and “bio-based” plastic alternatives that contain less traditional (petroleum-based) plastic – but not 0% – are potentially worse, not better. Here’s why…

The environmental and health concerns from traditional (petroleum-based) plastics fall into two categories:

1. Potential toxicity – specifically, the leaching of toxic petroleum-based starting ingredients (and related plasticizers like BPA or phthalates) into the environment or into your body, and
2. Long-lasting microplastics – smaller and smaller pieces of plastic that never completely go away and which are being discovered everywhere in the environment and in tissues throughout the body.

Despite their toxic starting ingredients, traditional plastics have been usable – even for medical devices – because they are so stable and long-lasting. Leaching is a concern, but if it happens, it’s more limited or slow because the material itself resists degradation so strongly.

Unfortunately, this resistance to degradation is exactly what creates the problem of long-lasting microplastics.

So there’s an inevitable catch-22 that makes any amount of petroleum a problem:

1. The only way to address the concern of long-lasting microplastics is to make the material biodegradable, but
2. If you make it biodegradable and it contains any amount of toxic petroleum-based ingredients, you’ve just made those ingredients significantly more likely to leach into the environment – or you.

The only solution that can solve both concerns together – toxicity and microplastics – is a material that is 100% free from traditional, petroleum-based plastic.

Bonus environmental catch-22: if you have a 100% petroleum-based plastic that is recyclable and you mix it into a plant-based plastic alternative – no matter how small the amount – you can end up with a final material that is completely non-recyclable.

The recycling paths for the two different types of materials are just too different. If you keep them separate, there’s a chance to follow those paths. If you mix them together, you can’t follow either recycling path anymore.

So here again, a “plant-based” or “bio-based” plastic alternative with any amount of traditional-plastic input can be worse, not better.