LETTERS: SIR David Attenborough was quoted as saying in his interview with the Belfast Telegraph in 2018: "We use plastic with total abandon, without any care or concern about where it's going to go and what it might do."
This is a persistent concern since community understanding of plastic management is insufficient. It should also be remembered that the comment was made before the Covid-19 pandemic started.
If we look at the Paris Agreement, which was ratified in 2015, and until the Conference of the Parties (COP26) in Glasgow a few months ago, one must be aware by now how vital it is to be sustainable. The question is, how do we achieve it?
We are nearing the end of 2021. The Covid-19 pandemic has taken its toll on the world after nearly three years. The term "sustainable" is becoming increasingly common. What does the word have to do with the Covid-19 pandemic?
As you can see, the increasing rate of Covid-19 cases affects the pace of increasing clinical waste by the healthcare sector. The requirement to wear a face mask also contributes to an increase in the build-up of plastic waste, thereby posing health risks to personnel in charge of waste collection and the general population.
Considering all of the clinical waste that has accumulated in the landfill and the procedure of eliminating it by incinerating it had been a significant source of concern since the process emits toxic smoke, which will endanger public health.
As a result, researchers must address all of these challenges by manufacturing greener and sustainable products that will help alleviate the situation.
For instance, the current commercial face masks and personal protective equipment (PPE) used in the healthcare sector are made of melt-blown, non-woven polypropylene (PP).
It has been determined that PP is not biodegradable. Given that the usage is to be in a single use, one can only imagine how dire the situation in the landfill is if the pandemic is still occurring, let alone with the newly discovered variant, Omicron.
This non-biodegradable product will develop microplastics, which will eventually end up in the sea, disrupting and affecting the environment and biodiversity of ocean life.
Plastic waste incineration has been identified as a major source of air pollution. The release of hazardous chemicals into the atmosphere such as dioxins, furans, mercury and polychlorinated biphenyls will affect climate change.
In a positive way, in recent years, biological methods have emerged in plastic manufacturing to replace traditional, fuel-based polymers, especially in PPE production. This is referred to as a biopolymer by the researchers. such as cellulose, starch, and chitosan, and they are widely prevalent in Malaysia.
There is no denying that biopolymer degrades quickly and can be composted alongside the rest of the organic material in municipal solid waste.
Many studies suggest that biopolymers save fossil energy resources and reduce greenhouse gas emissions compared with conventional ones. It has also been proven to maintain carbon dioxide neutrality on the planet.
The only downside is that natural polymers do not have the same physical strength as manufactured polymers. Thus, researchers have created novel applications such as composite materials incorporated with biopolymers to have the advantages of being biodegradable.
In this regard, most studies are being conducted to reduce the amount of synthetic plastic used in manufacturing. Apart from biomedical health sectors, biopolymers can even replace synthetic polymers in other applications such as agricultural, biomedical engineering and food packaging industries.
As quoted by Professor Dr Johan Rockstrom: "The future is not determined, the future is in our hands, what happens over the next centuries will be determined by how we play our cards this decade."
Eventually, it is up to us to save our planet. Although it appears that we do not have much time, there is yet hope for a better world.
NUR SYIFAA RAZAK
PhD candidate in Polymer Science, Universiti Teknologi Mara
The views expressed in this article are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect those of the New Straits Times