9 Comments

Really interesting article thank you... would really find it useful to read the sources you mention? Thanks so much

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I'm so thrilled you've found it useful—I've just updated it with links to sources.

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Thanks for reading, and thank you for your article. I feel compelled to point out, of course, that peer-reviewed life cycle analyses are not propaganda.

There are some misleading statistics in the article:

1) I see a main point for natural fibres being their "biodegradability", but no mention of the copious amounts of methane produced.

2)I also see the high percentage of paper recycling promoted, but no mention of the huge amount of water involved in the process.

Some corrections:

3) The EU forests actually decreased in size last year due to logging

4) The paper and pulp industry is the fifth largest energy user in the world, and one of the worst water polluters, including in the EU.

5) Finally, the article states paper has "low to no impact on human health during use" but fails to mention that devastating wild places such as forests directly impacts human health, often in the form of pandemics.

I wrote more about this in this article: https://www.platformenterprise.com/p/trees-may-be-greenbut-paper-isnt

Also, I write at the end of this piece that consumption is the problem. The article you've referenced was written by a retail outlet.

Thanks for joining in the conversation!

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1. Counter acted by the drastically polluting exercise of extracting fossil fuel - fracking for example

2. We do address water 85% is cleaned and put back into water source

3. I'd need to see further details on this - Baseline years will tell different stories.

4. Energy - Run on 60% renewable energy. Even if plastic were run on 100%, 50% of emissions come from the cracking process - that set aside, plastic is the fossil fuel industry - it's not a good basis to talk about climate change is it really.

5. Valid point - but we were referring to the direct impact. Petrol chemical / plastic are driving climate change..... I don't have time to list out all the affects on wild places we are experiencing.

Essentially, we know plastic recycling is a myth (4% is effectively recycled - just prolonging the material from disposal) so recycling feedstock can't adequately meet demand, and for us to survive within the planetary boundaries - Fossil fuels must stay in the ground. Simple.

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The extraction of fossil fuels to create plastics is accounted for in life cycle analysis studies, so there's no extra polluting going on. Additionally, plastic only makes up about 3% of fossil fuel use.

Plastic recycling is an absolute disaster, I completely agree, and must be improved. The thing is, if plastic were recycled at the same rate as paper the environment would be in a much better state. This also means discontinuing uses of plastics that are difficult to recycle.

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Great piece, I am shocked at Morrison's decision which flies in the face of all recent evidence which as a layman I heard on general release on BBC and Sky News denouncing the usage of paper bags in Supermarkets for the very reason it is unsustainable for our planet !

So come on Morrisons U turn on that one please ???????

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Absolutely! Gov, too, please!

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Agree ALL governments should be pulling this together praying this year's COP26 gets some teeth, legal rules with real penalties given to countries not conforming!

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