Plastic Film: Essential yet Environmentally Harmful Materials
Construction involves the deployment of vapor barrier films, roofing underlayment, and plastic sheeting for various waterproofing and insulation purposes. Films act as barriers against moisture seepage in building foundations and roofs. Decorative architectural Plastic sheets are gaining popularity for glazing applications due to their light transmission properties and ease of application over glass panels.
Personal care products like baby diapers, feminine hygiene items, and adult incontinence products use nonwoven Plastic sheets for absorbency and breathability. Films provide the crucial liquid barrier in these disposable products. Medical devices also employ Plastic sheets where protective, liquid-repellent layers are required.
Environmental Issues with Plastic Film
While Plastic sheets serve indispensable purposes, their immense production and consumption have significantly harmed the environment. Some major ecological impacts arising due to Plastic sheets include:
Waste Generation: Being lightweight and widely spread out in usage, Plastic sheets contribute extensively to plastic waste - one of the most problematic types of municipal solid waste globally. Large volumes of plastic packaging and agricultural films regularly end up in landfills or as litter.
Greenhouse Emissions: Fossil fuels provide the raw materials as well as energy required to manufacture Plastic Films resins and convert them into films through processing methods like extrusion and thermoforming. This energy-intensive production process releases copious amounts of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.
Pollution: Since most Plastic sheets are non-biodegradable or take centuries to break down completely, they persist indefinitely as debris in the natural environment. Animals often ingest Plastic sheets or get entangled in them. Floating films also smother aquatic ecosystems and end up in the food chain.
Toxic Emissions: The incineration of plastic waste releases various toxic byproducts like dioxins, furans and heavy metals into the air, posing risks to human and ecological health. Landfill-bound Plastic sheets may also leach harmful additives into soil and groundwater over long periods.
Unsustainable Resource Use: With fossil fuels powering their life cycle, Plastic sheets contribute to the depletion of non-renewable resources at high rates. Their production has also encouraged excessive petroleum extraction activities like fracking with damaging consequences.
Sustainable Alternatives to Plastic Film
To transition towards environmental sustainability, ongoing research centers on developing viable alternatives to conventional Plastic sheets. Some prominent options include:
Biodegradable Films: Renewably sourced biomaterials like polylactic acid (PLA), cellulose, and seaweed polysaccharides can replace petroleum-based plastics in producing compostable films. Bioplastics provide comparable functionality while safely breaking down in the natural environment.
Edible Films: Films cast from food-grade ingredients like proteins, starches, and lipids have potential applications as coatings for fresh produce to inhibit moisture loss, gas exchange, and pathogen growth. Being edible, these films uplift food security.
Nanocellulose Films: Films engineered using cellulosic nanomaterials extracted from renewable biomass have exhibited high strength, transparency, and barrier properties approaching petroleum plastics. Their production also involves lower energy usage.
Thin Multilayer Pouches: Rather than thick plastic packaging, depositing ultra-thin coating of materials like aluminum and plastic in multilayered structures provides adequate shelf-life extension at minimal material usage. Many such structures can be recycled.
Development of recycling infrastructure and promoting reusable alternatives also hold promise in transitioning away from widespread Plastic Film usage. Overall, combined efforts are needed across research, manufacturing, and policy domains to channel the film industry towards environmentally sustainable pathways.
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