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Less plastic = less dependence on fossil fuels
21 July 2022
The war in Ukraine is having a major impact on our energy supply. We are suddenly realising how dependent we still are on fossil fuels. The Netherlands had announced that it would stop importing natural gas from Russia, but the reality is that it is still dependent on it. American President Biden recently painfully kowtowed to Saudi Arabia, that has been buying huge quantities of Russian oil and gas since June. In the meantime, we are taking measures to reduce that dependence.
Oddly enough, few people realise how much oil and gas are needed to still our hunger for plastic. Ninety-nine percent of plastic is made of fossil fuels. If we reduce our plastic consumption, we will make ourselves far less dependent on fossil fuels. But this logic is nowhere to be found in the Dutch Cabinet’s latest crisis plan.
GAS CRISIS
The Cabinet issued level one of the gas crisis at the end of June. The Bescherm- en Herstelplan Gas (gas protection and recovery plan, in Dutch) then took effect. This alarm level includes the option for market-based measures to reduce the consumption of gas. The ‘measures ladder’ in the plan shows the order in which measures can be taken. These range from a call to reduce the consumption of natural gas to imposing levies and closing the grid for specific users. But to reduce the use of plastic is not mentioned at all.
PLASTIC IS A FOSSIL FUEL
Raw oil and ethylene (made from a residual product of shale gas) are raw materials used in producing plastic. It involves large quantities: one plastic litre bottle takes a quarter of a litre of oil.
To be less dependent on fossil fuels – and the continuously rising energy prices – reducing our everyday consumption of plastic is one action that can be taken immediately. Until it is part of the crisis plans, consumers can help by reducing their plastic consumption. There are three ways to do this.
- Reduce the use of plastic (for example, not buying packaged fruit and vegetables in supermarkets).
- Use an item more often and for longer (for example, using lunch boxes instead of plastic sandwich bags).
- Encourage the recycling of plastic (for example through deposit systems so that the same product can be made again).
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