THINK ABOUT THE CONTENTS of your fridge or pantry : the yogurt cups , food containers , and plastic bags . Much of the single-use plastic found in these everyday items was essentially designed for landfills , adding to the 7 billion metric tons of plastic waste produced globally to date — only about 10 % of which has been recycled . Thanks to recent scientific advancements , however , our plastics future could look quite different from our plastics present . Newer , more sustainable plastics created from sources such as food waste , fishing nets , and even invasive algae could eventually replace today ’ s disposable plastics , delivering the same high standard of performance without generating harmful pollution for generations to come . Although consumers are increasingly factoring sustainability into their purchasing decisions and 84 % say they are specifically concerned about plastic waste , production continues to rise . According to a report from the World Economic Forum and the Ellen MacArthur Foundation , plastic use “ has increased 20-fold in the past half century , and it is expected to double in the next 20 years .” Timothy Long , director of the Biodesign Center for Sustainable Macromolecular Materials and Manufacturing at Arizona State University , believes we are at an inflection point that requires rethinking every aspect of our relationship with plastic . That includes not only how we dispose of it , but how we produce it — around 98 % of single-use plastic products are derived from fossil fuel . “ In many respects , we ’ ve been using the same plastics that we invented in 1950 ,” he says . “ Why are we not developing next-generation materials that are designed for end of life , so we can tackle the challenges of 2023 and beyond ?” Fortunately , innovators around the world are working to do just that , removing waste and harmful materials from the environment and using them to produce new plastic that won ’ t become a pollutant itself .
PROP STYLING BY SHARON RYAN
HP / INNOVATION / SUMMER 2023 30