Our Plastic Future

It’s estimated on the low end that 8 million tons of plastic goes into the oceans every year. That's a whole garbage truck of plastic every minute of every night and day.

At the current growth rate, by 2030 the amount of plastic in the ocean will double what it is right now. By 2050, there will be more plastic in the ocean in weight than fish.

I talked to Plastic Bank about the nightmare that is microplastics, and the ongoing pollution crisis the that Plastic Bank is addressing with a uniquely structured program. As a designer in the legal cannabis industry, I was interested in understanding the role that this industry plays as a CPG waste contributor, and how we can be more responsible.

Since packaging for cannabis products is very tightly regulated, it takes true innovation to design solutions that help reduce waste. During the first year of legalization, the Canadian cannabis sector produced about 6 million kg of plastic waste. But that’s only a small fraction of single-use packaging that impacts the environment. In fact, just 20 companies are the source of more than half of single-use plastic items thrown away globally, according to the 2021 Plastic Waste Makers Index.

Single-use plastic waste is outrageous. Of all the plastics, they are the most likely to end up in our ocean. This is where they account for almost all visible pollution, ranging between 5-13 million metric tons each year. We are creating and using plastic at a much faster rate than we can sustainably manage plastic waste.

Stop the sink.

“Anyone drinking normal tap water over the course of one year is drinking the same amount of plastic as it would take to make a credit card.

There are amazing companies with dredging boats that go out into the ocean and they pull the plastic out. But even all those organizations put together are nowhere near rescuing a million tonnes each year. And we're putting 8 million tons into the ocean. So we have to approach it differently.

The way that our founder talks about this, he refers to walking into a kitchen where the sink is overflowing. There's water flowing over the counter, pouring into the dog's bed, leaking across the floor. What's the first thing you do? It shouldn't be grabbing mop and bucket. The first thing is to turn off the tap.“

- Phil S., Plastic Bank

Blockchain Plastic Mining

Plastic Bank is an environmental, social and economic impact organization. They have solar powered recycling ecosystems in the developing world, all of which are vulnerable coastal communities and are all within a short distance of the ocean or an ocean-bound river. Plastic Bank works with micro-entrepreneurs int he area so that collectors can go into the environment, find plastic to pick up, and then get paid for the value of the plastic they’ve brought in as a raw material.

This plastic mining provides a premium to collectors, which helps convert picking up plastic waste into a reasonable income. The global poverty line is $1.70 a day, which for spending $4 on a coffee, is a scary, scary worldview.

The premium is designed as more than just living wage for collectors and for their environment. Plastic Bank has an alchemy blockchain platform, which tracks the whole system. Since blockchains are uninterruptible (you can't edit something after the fact) Plastic Bank gives you that transparency and traceability.

This brings me back to my original question: How can the cannabis industry be more eco-conscious as a CPG waste contributor?

As the industry matures, actions and initiatives on environmental impact, such as waste and climate, will be an integral part of its contribution to the social well-being of the country.

Most provinces, Ontario included, already have EPR (extended producer responsibility) programs in place, which hold package producers accountable for the cost of recycling or disposing of their products. Other existing programs offer packaging collection and recycling servies, liek (Re)Waste, Terracycle, and HyRyse.

Due to Health Canada’s restrictive compliance, many existing legal cannabis packages are made of hard-to-process plastics that must go through a special reclamation program in order to be properly recycled and reused. But some brands have shown their commitment to sustainability by investing in new solutions.

Kolab Project packages all of their vapes and pre-rolls in 100% biodegradable paper cartons.

Freedom Cannabis introduced a fully recyclable tin for dried flower.

Packaging for pre-rolled joints from 48North Cannabis is made of recycled materials, and can be recycled with regular household items.

The Green Organic Dutchman uses recyclable glass and recycled paper product packaging where possible to encourage repurposing. As an example, their quality glass jars can be upcycled into a lifetime of household items.

WINK products are packaged in 30% post-consumer recycled plastic.

One of the biggest problems in the sustainability world is greenwashing.

It's organizations saying, “this is PCR” but they have no way of proving it. Plastic Bank can literally take a set of plastic and tell you which collectors picked it up, in which of their collection points, in which ecosystem, which processes touched it, how long it was traveling, how long from between transfer points. It is traceable, and provable, which is a really important difference of how they work.

Plastic Impact

The scale of plastic pollution is so bad that efforts should be made not only to adhere to, but to strengthen existing international legislative frameworks that address marine plastic pollution. Without doing so, we risk continually threatening ocean health, which subsequently affects the following areas:

The most visible impacts of plastic debris are seen with hundreds of marine species that ingest, suffocate and become entangled. Seabirds, whales, fish and turtles mistake plastic waste for prey, and most starve to death while their stomachs become filled with plastic. They also suffer from lacerations, infections, reduced ability to swim, and internal injuries. Floating plastics threaten biodiversity and the entire food web by harmfully transporting invasive marine species.
Microplastics have been found in tap water, beer, salt and are present in all samples collected in the world’s oceans, including the Arctic. Several chemicals used in the production of plastic materials are known to be carcinogenic and to interfere with the body’s endocrine system, causing developmental, reproductive, neurological, and immune disorders in both humans and wildlife. Recently, microplastics were found in human placentas but more research is needed to determine if this is a widespread problem.
Toxic contaminants also accumulate on the surface of plastic as a result of prolonged exposure to seawater. When marine organisms ingest plastic debris, these contaminants enter their digestive systems, and over time accumulate in the food web. The transfer of contaminants between marine species and humans through consumption of seafood has been identified as a health hazard, and research is ongoing.
Plastic waste damages the aesthetic value of tourist destinations, leading to decreased income from tourism. It also generates major economic costs related to the cleaning and maintenance of the sites. The build-up of plastic litter on beaches can have a negative impact on a country’s economy, wildlife, and the physical and psychological wellbeing of people.
Plastic production contributes to climate change. If plastic waste is incinerated, it releases carbon dioxide and methane (from landfills) into the atmosphere, thereby increasing emissions.

How do we keep plastic out of the oceans?

On an individual level, recycling helps keep plastics out of the ocean and reduces the amount of “new” plastic in circulation. Single-use plastic can also be replaced with a fast-decomposing, biodegradable materials altogether. But simply recycling or reducing our way out of the plastic pollution crisis will not work at the rate or scale that is needed. We need to change how we design, use, and reuse plastics.

Collectively, we can support legislation that curbs plastic production and waste, so that the top polymer producers corporates are held accountable as they hold the fate of the world’s plastic crisis in their hands.

Footnotes
¹ 2021 Cannabis Annual Report, (Published February 2022).
² Plastic Waste Makers Index, (Published November 2021).
³ IUCN Marine Plastic Pollution Issues Brief, (Published November 2021).