A Coastal Technologist with the Lake Huron Centre for Coastal Conservation says a new study suggests plastics may be contributing to greenhouse gas emissions.
Tineasha Brenot says the study found that when some plastics are discarded they release methane and ethylene as they are exposed to UV radiation from the sun. She says this most commonly occurs with disposable grocery bags because they're made of polyethylene. Brenot points out what was considered the strength of plastic in that it lasts forever, now appears to be a bit of a problem and particularly with plastics that are being used for single-use products.
Brenot also says it's likely going to get worse because she says globally we're now producing 200 million tons of plastic a year and that's expected to increase significantly over the next twenty years. Brenot says the study is still relatively new so it will continue to be updated and she recommends using re-usable grocery bags instead of the single-use plastic bags to help reduce the creation of greenhouse gases.
“Methane and ethylene are both released from the plastic as it starts to degrade from the UV radiation. This is mostly the result of a commonly-used plastic called polyethylene, which is a plastic that's used in disposable grocery bags.”
“We expect to see an increase in this issue as the global plastic problem also increases. Right now we're at a global 200 million pounds of plastic being produced each year and that is expected to increase over the next twenty years significantly.”
