The advantages of plastic - What speaks for the plastic

What are the major advantages of plastic? I'm always a bit reluctant to demonize plastic completely. Because without plastic, many things would also be much less sustainable. So it's worth taking a look at the benefits of plastic, too, in order to learn how to use the material properly. And whoever has the problem with the Plastic waste in the environment knows that we can't do that at the moment.

In this article, in addition to the many criticisms, I would like to simply show what advantages plastic brings.

Note: I wrote this article about the benefits of plastic in order to have an honest and factual discussion about the material.

6 valuable advantages of plastic

Plastic is eternal - and the more of it that ends up in nature, the greater the damage to the environment, humans and animals. But plastic has incredibly flexible advantages that no other material has yet been able to achieve, at least on a larger scale.

If you will, plastic is a Lego for adults. 
You take small building blocks and put them together to make things that afterwards have functions, properties, that they didn't have before.

Peter Lieberzeit (Chemist)

This quote describes the basic idea behind the invention of plastic. In the following, I will now describe some of the advantages that plastic brings with it and that we should use sensibly.

1TP3Advantage 1: Plastic is light

The plastic weighs very little, which means that we can, for example, packaged goods more easily... transport can. Nevertheless, each of us should try as far as possible to plastic-free shopping. But not only the goods are lighter due to plastic, but also the transport trolleys. This can save valuable energy.

In addition, without the lightweight plastic, we would also not be able to use the Airplane flying. Even if flying is anything but sustainable, it allows us to be on the other side of the world in just a few hours, consuming much less CO2 than a heavier material. By the way, you can find out how not to produce plastic waste on the plane in the article about the plastic free flies.

Because the plastic is so super light, we can also use it, for example, to make Wind energy and generate electricity based on renewable energies. This only works because the blades of the wind turbines are so light that the wind can turn them.

1TP3Advantage 2: Plastic is heat insulating

To heat an apartment requires an extremely high energy input and the use of natural resources. Plastic has the advantage that we can insulate the walls of our houses and apartment with it and reduce the loss of heat but also cold in a room by up to 70%.

Thus a significantly lower energy consumption necessary to adjust the temperatures in a room as desired. This advantage of plastic, the better the insulation of houses and apartments, saves us a lot of energy in the long run.

1TP3Advantage 3: Plastic is heat resistant

While thermoplastics soften when exposed to heat, thermosets and elastoplastics are heat-resistant. So there are plastics that can be softened again by the action of heat and those that defy heat. This great advantage of plastic is used in the solar industry. Without plastic, we would not be able to capture solar energy and ultimately generate electricity from the power of the sun.

To start with the Solar energy to be able to use one of the most efficient, sustainable sources of energy, plastic is therefore extremely important.

1TP3Advantage 4: Plastic is cheap

Plastic is in the Procurement incredibly cheap and therefore still the first choice for most manufacturers of products. The material is inexpensive and also makes it possible to manufacture a wide variety of products from it.

That is why it is so popularly used to To make food last longer. And this is where the real big advantage of the material. A banana that has been wrapped in plastic, through the film is Longer shelf lifethan without. However, as long as the transport routes for food are short, plastic packaging is not necessary.

1TP3Advantage 5: Plastic is pure

In the Medicine plastic is used particularly frequently. The plastic is used, for example, for disposable syringes, infusion bottles, blood bags or simply packaging that creates sterility. In this way, plastic can save lives in medicine and prevent the spread of disease. Even if disposable products are to be rejected in principle, the plastic here offers a valuable advantage for our health.

To protect medical products from germs, plastic is therefore currently indispensable.

1TP3Advantage 6: Plastic is flexible

Plastic is hard, but not heavy. It can be green, but also blue. Plastic can also be elastic like a sponge, hard like a salad bowl, flexible like a disposable fork. The plastic has the great advantage of Flexibility. We can make anything from it.

Of course, this is both a curse and a blessing. Because when plastic was invented, we only saw the many advantages it brought. But today we, the animals and nature in general suffer from this naivety. Nevertheless, the material is so incredibly flexible - we just have to learn to handle it properly.

For example, smartphones, computers, and other technical devices next to rare earths also produced from plastic. So plastic enables us, through digitization, for example, to make a great deal of Save paper.

Thus, the degree of hardness, elasticity, temperature resistance, odorlessness breaking strength and many other aspects of flexibility speak in favor of the plastic.

Take advantage of the plastic

Plastic is not to be demonized, nor is it to be exalted. We need to learn how to harness the benefits of plastic in such a way that the material does no harm to the environment, poses no danger to our health, and is used in an energy-efficient manner at the same time.

Would you like an example? In my opinion, one of the greatest problems of our time and of future generations will be the Microplastics in the sea be. Plastic car tires cause 1,228.5 g per capita per year to get into the sea in Germany alone.₁ While durable plastic made from petroleum makes sense on the steering wheel or in the doors, we need to find an alternative for car tires as quickly as possible. Because we already have the small plastic parts back on our lunch table with the next trout. The company Continental, for example, is currently working on a biodegradable tire made of dandelion rubber that could solve this problem in the long term.

Even though I've written here about the many benefits of plastic, however, we've come to terms, for example, with the Bioplastics already well on the way to creating the ONE alternative for plastics made from petroleum or raw gasoline.

Until then, let us use the plastic wisely but also plastic free livingwhere it is possible.

Stay clean,

PS.: In the article Zero Waste Lifestyle you will learn all the basic rules for a waste-free everyday life. In order to save as much unnecessary plastic in everyday life as possible, my new Book plastic free for beginners interesting.

References:
₁ https://www.forschung-und-lehre.de/forschung/fraunhofer-identifiziert-quellen-von-mikroplastik-983