WE L C OME
Putting the case
for plastics
It wasn’t that long ago that the plastics industry was a pretty
beleaguered place to be. It was difficult to pick up a newspaper
or turn on the television without seeing something that took
it as read that plastics were, not to put too fine a point on it, a
bad thing.
It’s fair to say that a lot has changed between then and
now. And, as with so many things, the thing that has made the difference
has been the COVID-19 pandemic. Here, the requirement for Personal
Protective Equipment (PPE) among medical staff and the population in
general has made attitudes to the heavily-demonised ‘single-use plastics’
somewhat more nuanced than they were even six months ago. This has
been in spite of the fact, that amid the calls for larger and larger quantities
of PPE, the inconvenient fact that it is made of single-use plastics has
been largely ignored.
The interesting thing, of course, is that nothing about the materials
themselves has changed. They are exactly as useful and life-saving
now as they were a few months ago – and just as problematic from an
environmental point of view.All that has changed is the way that they and
the role they play in our lives are now perceived.
Until now, this sense of balance and perspective about plastics has been
sadly missing from the debate aboout their use and their future. What
the last few months should teach us, though, is that
any such critique must also be tempered by a
real and realistic understanding of just how
intrinsic and critical plastics are to our
lives and welfare.
Paul Fanning
Editor
editor@madein.ie
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