BFF-35 Degrading plastics emit greenhouse gases: study

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ENVIRONMENT-US-SYNTHETICS-RESEARCH

Degrading plastics emit greenhouse gases: study

TAMPA, Aug 2, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – Need another reason to hate plastics
piling up in the environment? A study in the journal PLOS ONE on Wednesday
found that degrading plastics emit powerful greenhouse gases like methane and
ethylene, and are a previously unaccounted-for source of these heat-trapping
pollutants.

Plastic water bottles, shopping bags, industrial plastics and food
containers were all tested as part of the study.

The “most prolific emitter” was polyethylene, which is used in shopping
bags and is the most produced and discarded synthetic polymer in the world,
said the report.

Researchers have not yet calculated the level of harmful greenhouse gases
emitted by plastics in the environment.

But with more than eight billion tons of plastic littering the planet —
the lion’s share of which is recyclable — and plastic production expected to
double in the next two decades, they need to find out, said David Karl, the
study’s senior author.

“Plastic represents a source of climate-relevant trace gases that is
expected to increase as more plastic is produced and accumulated in the
environment,” said Karl, a professor at the University of Hawaii at Manoa
School of Ocean and Earth Scienceand Technology.

“This source is not yet budgeted for when assessing global methane and
ethylene cycles, and may be significant.”

Plastic is already known to release harmful chemicals into the water and
soil.

And greenhouse gases have risen to all-time highs, causing the Earth to
heat up and oceans to mount, threatening coastal communities worldwide.

“Considering the amounts of plastic washing ashore on our coastlines and
the amount of plastic exposed to ambient conditions, our finding provides
further evidence that we need to stop plastic production at the source,
especially single use plastic,” said lead author Sarah-Jeanne Royer, a
postdoctoral research fellow at UH’s International Pacific Research Center.

BSS/AFP/BZC/1145HRS