Plastic Waste: A process-based approach to solutions by Adwoa Coleman, Dow Packaging and Specialty Plastics

Speaker:

Adwoa Coleman Africa Sustainability & Advocacy Manager, Dow Packaging and Specialty - Plastics Country Manager, Ghana

Presentation Abstract:

Plastic waste in the environment is a key sustainability issue of our time. This beneficial material permeates almost every aspect of our lives from our food packaging, to our electronics, our cars and our personal care products, plastics can be widely found for its versatility, performance, relative cost and its carbon footprint compared to other materials. However, large amounts of the material are ending up in the environment and landfills post-use with varied estimates of the exact quantities of this leakage. “Industrial-scale production began in the 1950s and has been gathering pace ever since. Two years ago, the total amount of plastic produced was 8.3 billion tons. Of that, 6.3 billion had turned into plastic waste. Only 9 percent of that waste was recycled and 12 percent was incinerated. A whopping 79 percent ended up in landfills or the environment.” (www.dw.com), 2017) [1] One thing is clear, one piece of plastic in the environment is one too many and to continue to harness the value of this material throughout its lifecycle, systemic change need to occur across its lifecycle. In this webinar, we will explore a process approach to viewing the issue of plastic waste, breaking down the barriers to keeping the material in the loop along each aspect of its lifecycle as it flows from feedstock to product and post-use. We will aim to inspire you to view this issue through a systems lens as a chemical engineer/ chemical engineering enthusiast to help you identify opportunities to reduce plastic in the environment or join the millions of professionals working along the value chain to deliver solutions to this challenge.