Peak Plastic: The Rise or Fall of Our Synthetic World

Description

Shows why plastics, in aggregate, have become a toxin to humans, wildlife, and the planet, and proposes novel solutions that involve neither traditional recycling nor giving up plastic. "Plastics!" In the 50 years since Dustin Hoffman's character in The Graduate was instructed that this was the career field of the future, we have not been able to escape this ubiquitous but poorly understood material. Author Jack Buffington argues that the plastics crisis is careening toward a tipping point from which there will be no return. There is still time, however, to do something about this crisis if we have the imagination and the will to move away from the failed policies of the past. This book is the first to propose a new model for linking our synthetic world to the natural one, rather than seeking to treat them as separate entities. The key is supply chain innovation. Buffington presents five market-based solutions based on this principle that will allow consumers to continue to use plastic, which has in many ways enabled our way of life. Alongside these proposed solutions, he also addresses the proliferation of plastic as we know it―growth that, if left unchecked, will lead to a "planetary crisis," according to the United Nations―and considers how the material itself might be adapted for a sustainable future. Provides a realistic solution for our use of plastic: not to eliminate it, but to innovate it Views plastic not only as a known environmental and health hazard but as a material critical to our future and therefore worth revising for future use Explains what we must do―and by when―in order to be able to keep using plastic without harming the planet or our health Shows the links between the environmental, toxicological, and socioeconomic challenges in our use of plastic, and how these dangers can be remedied by supply chain innovation Introduces two significant disruptive innovations that if implemented, will save us from the growing problem posed by synthetics Cover Title Copyright Contents Chapter 1: What Is Peak Plastic? Truth or Consequences? What Is Peak Plastic? What This Book Is About References Chapter 2: The Good, Bad, and Unknown of Plastic In the Beginning Plastic Alchemy 2.0 Sorting Out the Acronyms What Lurks Beneath the Polymer Frankenstein 2.0 Too Small or Big to See? References Chapter 3: The Waste-Driven Supply Chain Fake Plastic Trees Of the Slum and the Sea The Black Box of Trash The “Nano” Catastrophe A “Glocal” (Global and Local) Problem References Chapter 4: 2030: A Plastic Tipping Point (Peak Plastic) Patterns to Explain the Unexplainable The Possibility of “Doing Nothing” The Message…to Who? Calling All Supply Chain Innovators (2020–2030) 2030: One Supply Chain/Ecosystem References Chapter 5: The Alternative to Peak Plastic: Exponential Thinking The Recycling Myth David and the Two Goliaths Closed Loop = Exponential Supply Chain Innovation for Plastic References Chapter 6: Solution 1: Stop the Bleeding Bandage on a Gunshot Wound Better Band-Aids Band-Aid #1: Build Transparency and Trust between Consumers and the Plastics Industry Band-Aid #2: A Ban on Microbeads (and Glitter) across the World Band-Aid #3: Informal Supply Chains to Reduce Waste References Chapter 7: Solution 2: Open-Source/Access Plastic (Open-Source Capitalism) Commons Sense? Design Revolution Design Growth for Good 21st-Century Materials: Blurring the Line between Natural and Synthetic Deformulate Existing Design Knowledge, Now Label References Chapter 8: Solution 3: Sustainable Polymerization The Polymer Problem The Recycling Distraction The Short-Term Answer: Polymerize and De-polymerize (Re-polymerize later) The Ultimate Solution: Polymers Better Than Nature References Chapter 9: Solution 4: A Closed-Loop System for Plastic Now It’s Possible! The Partial Closed Loop: A Community-Based Supply Chain System Community-Based Supply Chain for the World’s Slums Solutions for U.S. Inner Cities Fully Closing the Loop References Chapter 10: Solution 5: Fixing the Invisibility Problem Solving the Visible, and the Invisible? Solving Peak Plastic and Still a Problem? Technology to the Rescue References Chapter 11: Summary: Make It Happen! Who Should Do What? If We Stand Still, and Never Take the First Step The Impossible Dream? Reference Index About the Author