“In discussions about plastic use it is common to blame mass consumerism and a throwaway culture for the environmental problem of plastic. However, rather than being demand led, the throwaway culture was created and driven by the corporations who profit from it.

The amazing materials created from the waste products of the oil and gas industry had to first be turned into new products and then a demand created for that new use. But the industry faced a big problem. Plastic is characterized by its strength and durability. A plastic product can last a long time, negating the need to buy another. So the industry had to come up with new ways to make us want and need more plastic.

It was this drive for profit that led to single use plastic and thus created the era of disposability. As a speaker at a 1956 conference told an audience of plastics manufacturers, “Your future is in the garbage wagon.”

Disposable products were initially a hard sell to a generation that had come through the Depression and war-time, when a “make do and mend” mantra meant nothing was wasted. People initially kept the new plastic goods rather than throwing them away after one use.

Massive media campaigns were launched to change attitudes, epitomized by an article in Life magazine that celebrated what it dubbed “Throwaway Living.” It was illustrated with a photo of a young couple and child with their arms raised in exultation amid a downpour of disposable items — plates, cutlery, bags, ashtrays, dog dishes, pails, BBQ grills and more. It calculated that cleaning all the items would take 40 hours but now “no housewife need bother.”

Similarly, plastic bags, the epitome of single use plastic, were unpopular when they were first introduced in the mid-1970s — shoppers did not like the fact that the cashier had to lick their fingers to get them free. But in the end the big stores were won over by economics. Paper bags cost three to four times as much, and once one or two big chains introduced them, all switched to plastic.

Products were redesigned to be used only once, from lighters to pens, razors to straws. Today half of all plastics produced go into single use applications, and at the heart of this is packaging, which accounts for 26 percent of all production.

Perhaps nothing sums up the irrationality of capitalism more than this — materials that can last practically forever are used to make products designed to be thrown away.”

Above is an excerpt from an article by Amy Leather at Climate&Capitalism titled: “Fouling the Earth: It’s time to break up capitalism’s love affair with plastic.” It’s a well written article that gives a wonderful historical perspective with regard to the invention and use of plastics. As Leather writes, “In many ways the story of plastics gets to the heart of what’s wrong with capitalism.” The essay is well worth a look!

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Above photo: art installation by artist Zi Xi

Tags:capitalismclimate changeecologyenvironmentplasticspollutionprofit