Dr Sally Beken of the Knowledge Transfer Network and InnovateUK has said that plastic is suffering an identity crisis and needs to be revalued.
“We’re demonising plastic. We should value what plastic can do. Plastic saves lives.”
The plea is echoed by Dr Mark Miodownik a material scientist at University College London. “We need to get to the point where we’re not throwing away this plastic. We need to find a way to recycle all that plastic back into the system.”
According to a UK Environment Agency study, the production of paper bags contributes up to three times more to global warming, and consumption of water in the production process is fourfold that of plastic bags.
