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Plastic sequestration

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585g of plastic sequestered into an ecobrick. - Ecobrick and photo by Aang Hudaya, Bogor, Indonesia.
585g of plastic sequestered into an ecobrick. - Ecobrick and photo by Aang Hudaya, Bogor, Indonesia.

Plastic sequestration is a means of plastic waste management that secures used plastic out of industry and out of the environment into reusable building blocks made by manual compaction. Plastic sequestration is motivated by environmental protection and modeled on the Earth's process of carbon sequestration.[1] Emerging out of the struggle of towns and communities in the Global South[2] to deal with plastic pollution, plastic sequestration compaction methods are characterized by being locally based, non-capital, non-industrial and low-tech.[3] Plastic sequestration is defined by the goals of securing plastic out of the environment and out of high energy/carbon industrial systems.[4] Based on eliminating the chemical and physical and abiotic and biotic degradation pathways,[5] plastic sequestration aims to achieve these goals, by terminally reducing the net surface area of thin film plastics. The building blocks that emerge from plastic sequestration are used in applications that further protect from degradation and permanently keep plastic out of industrial processes, thereby preventing their carbon emissions.[6]

Methodology

A man holding a board made from plastic in front of bags of PET bottles.
To deal with overhelming plastic pollution in Tanzania, simple machines enable the local production of dense boards and bricks.

Preparation

In general, plastic sequestration begins by segregating plastic from organics and other materials.[7] The plastic is then cleaned and dried before it is manually compacted into dense blocks—typically using a stick or a press.[8]

Examples

Examples of plastic sequestration include ecobricks, cigbricks, ocean ecobricks,ubuntu blox, specifically made dense plastic boards and blocks, and some products of the precious plastic movement. The methods of plastic sequestration is fundamentally distinct from landfilling and plastic burial. The Global Ecobrick Alliance, defines plastic sequestration as a non-industrial, manual, carbon-neutral compaction of used, clean and dry plastic that achieves a density over 0.33g/ml and a specific surface degradation rate (SSDR[5]) below 0.1 μm year−1.[3]


Building Sequestration

The 'Y Hwb' earthen round house, built using cob and ecobricks by Incredible Edible Porthmadog, North Wales, UK.

Building with the blocks that result from compaction is a part of the process of plastic sequestration. Typically, Cob_(material) / adobe / earth building are used to completely encase the blocks. Earth building applications must protect from all forms of plastic degradation (i.e. heat, light, friction, fire, etc.).[9] Earth building methods ensure that the blocks can be extricated undamaged from the construction when it comes to its end. Earth building methods also ensure that the construction process remains carbon-neutral.[10][11]

Theory

The concept of plastic sequestration as an ecological service that follows the Earth's example of carbon sequestration was laid out at the Le Havre University, 50th Annual Bandung Spirit Conference, in a paper presented by Ani Himawati and Russell Maier.[12][13] Building on this concept, the Global Ecobrick Alliance[14] developed a theoretical framework and criteria for plastic sequestration in order to exclude applications that are not ecological services, and to encourage sequestration methodologies and applications that are. Their criteria are based on the principles of Earthen Ethics,[15] that delineate the parameters of ecological contribution, research by Center for International Environmental Law on the carbon impact of the plastic industry, and the science of preventing polymer degradation.

  1. The process secures plastic from all forms of chemical and physical degradation and from industrial processing.[16]
  2. Outputs are indefinitely reusable, while tending towards applications that are of long-term earthen immersion.[17]
  3. The process must be conducted as a not-for-profit, for-Earth enterprise.[18]
  4. The process results in the sequestration of more carbon and more plastic than is added through emissions and replacement plastic.[19]
  5. The process and its outputs support the diversification of life.[20]
  6. The enterprise tracks and publicly discloses all the plastic, carbon and biodiversity impacts of its process.[21]

Science

Air corrosion of a recent plastic sheath (PVC) exposed to air, wind, ultraviolet solar radiation and bad weather (Pyrenees)

The goal of plastic sequestration is to create the conditions to prevent the physical and chemical degradation of plastic (i.e. depolymerization, chemical modification, mass loss or mineralization to CO2 and H2O) and the emissions of industrial processing. Plastic polymer degradation occurs in two ways: (i) physical, such as cracking, embrittlement, and flaking, or (ii) chemical, referring to changes at the molecular level.[5] Chemical and physical degradation happens through biotic and abiotic pathways. Plastic sequestration methods must prevent chemical and physical degradation, by blocking biotic (microbial action) and abiotic (light, heat, acids, etc.) degradation pathways and by preventing industrial reprocessing.[3] Emissions occur when plastic is processed industrially (i.e. recycling, landfilling, incineration)[22]

Preventing Chemical and Physical Degradation

Research into the polymer degradation shows that in the environment, degradation occurs on the exposed surface of plastic and that net degradation is directly proportional to the amount of surface area exposed.[5] Mathematical extrapolation indicates that a thin film of HDPE plastic (high surface area) can degrade 1100 times faster than a bead of plastic of the same weight (low surface area). Whereas a thin film of plastic will degrade in 1.8 ± 0.4 years a bead of plastic will endure for 2000 ± 400 years.[5] Furthermore, by reducing the specific surface degradation rate (SSDR) of the low-surface-area plastic, it can endure indefinitely.[5] Thus, plastic sequestration methodologies prioritize the terminal reduction of net surface area of the thin film plastics through compaction[23] and building methods that prevent abiotic and biotic degradation, reducing the SSDR of the plastic to below 0.1 μm year–1.[3]

Preventing Industrial Emissions & Dispersal

On average globally, each metric ton of plastic processed by recycling, land-filing and incineration generates 689kg, 65Kg and 2967kg of CO2e respectively.[24] Research also shows that of all the plastic generated over all-time, the industrial processing of plastic has dispersed 91% of into the biosphere.[25] There it is subject to the chemical and physical degradation pathways mentioned above. Plastic sequestration aims to avoid these emissions and this dispersal by preventing plastic's industrial processing.

Earthen immersion

Women in the Philippines use cob and ecobricks to create a wall. Inside the cob, the plastic is indefinitely secured from degradation for the long term. Eventually, when the wall comes to its end, the ecobricks can be extricated and reused for another construction
Women in the Philippines use cob and ecobricks to create a wall. Inside the cob, the plastic is indefinitely secured from degradation for the long term. Eventually, when the wall comes to its end, the ecobricks can be extricated and reused for another construction

Research has shown that covering plastic in earth is an effective method of preventing abiotic plastic degradation (i.e. preventing exposure to sunlight, friction, heat, etc.).[26] Even plastic that is designed to degrade, when it is buried in low-oxygen soil, abiotic and biotic are prevented.[27] Research also shows that submerging plastic in inert soil (minimal bacteria, micro-organisms) can further slow plastic degradation.[28]

Earth emulation

Plastic sequestration is modeled on Earth's planetary process of carbon sequestration. Earthen carbon sequestration occurs through the carbon cycle's short and long-term processes: (i) the Earth's process of cycling carbon as life's building blocks (ii) the long-term process of removing carbon out of the atmosphere and sequestering it into geological storage. In the same way, plastic sequestrated blocks have a short and long-term plan: (i) blocks are made to be indefinitely reusable.[29] (ii) blocks are put to use into longer and longer term buildings.[30] Just as the Earth sequestered carbon under ground indefinitely, long-term plastic sequestration applications immerse its blocks in earthen constructions, blocking biotic and abiotic forms of plastic degradation (i.e. photo-degradation, heat, fire and friction).

History

Scattered and degrading plastic covers the sand of a beautiful beach.
Plastic washes up on Kuta beach in Bali, Indonesia.

Context

Since 1950 an estimated 8,300 million metric tons (Mt) of virgin plastics have been produced worldwide; 9% of which has been recycled, 12% were incinerated and 79% have accumulated in landfills or the natural environment.[31] In the early 2000s, the increase in plastic products and packaging became an overwhelming problem for rural towns and communities.[32] Without recourse to industrial [plastic recycling], incineration or waste exportation, plastic waste began to become a serious aesthetic and environmental issue for towns and villages in the global south.[33]

Global South emergence

Driven by local aesthetic and environmental concerns, plastic solution innovation has been led by communities in the global south.[34] In particular, grass roots methods practically and physically dealing with plastic pollution first emerged in the global south.[35] Examples include Ecobrick movement, Ubuntu Blox,[36] and the Precious Plastic brick creation.

These methods of plastic compaction were characterized by being locally based, non-capital, and non-industrial. The original focus of these methods was to turn large amounts of waste plastic into valuable, saleable products (i.e. bricks, boards, blocks, etc.) that could be "sustainable substitute for equivalents"[37] to traditional construction materials.[38]

Shift to sequestration

Over the last decade, research on plastic loose in the environment has demonstrated clearly the deleterious effects on human health[39] and ecological effects.[40] leading to a steady increase in the awareness of the effects of dumped, recycled and burned plastic.[41] As awareness increased, the focus of grassroots upcycling shifted from creating products of value to a focus on securing plastic from contaminating the biosphere and being industrially processed, leading to the concept of 'plastic sequestration' being coined.[42] Plastic sequestration emerged to focus on the value of 'the absence of plastic from the biosphere'[43] and the value of avoiding the carbon impact of industrial processing.

Global North emergence

Albatross at Midway Atoll Refuge: The story of plastic washing up on Midway Island to the detriment of Albatross population sparked widespread plastic pollution concern.

On January 1, 2018, China banned plastic imports in its National Sword program.[44] Displaced plastic exports from Europe and America were diverted to Indonesia, Turkey, India, Malaysia, and Vietnam[45] where lacking environmental regulations have resulted in wholesale air, water and earth pollution around processing plants.[46] Through popular documentaries [47] and investigative journalism,[48][45] public skepticism of industrial and government recycling programs began to increase.[49][50][51] 2018[52] Consequently, a movement in western countries turned to methods such as ecobricking and home-made plastic recycling machines, to manage plastic instead.

References

  1. ^ Gallegos, Jenna E.; Rollin, Joseph (29 November 2018). "The surprising way plastics could actually help fight climate change". The Conversation. Archived from the original on 1 August 2021. Retrieved 24 January 2022.
  2. ^ A.Himawati et al, 2020, The Rise of the Regenerative Ecobrick Movement, Bandung Spirit Conference, Le Havre University
  3. ^ a b c d "Plastic Sequestration". Ecobricks.org. Archived from the original on 2021-10-09. Retrieved 2022-01-24.
  4. ^ "To date, still less than 10% of all plastic is recycled... we empower tens of thousands of people around the world with everything they need to start recycle plastic locally." Precious Plastic Project https://www.onearmy.earth//project/precious-plastic Archived 2021-10-21 at the Wayback Machine
  5. ^ a b c d e f Chamas, Ali; Moon, Hyunjin; Zheng, Jiajia; Qiu, Yang; Tabassum, Tarnuma; Jang, Jun Hee; Abu-Omar, Mahdi; Scott, Susannah L.; Suh, Sangwon (9 March 2020). "Degradation Rates of Plastics in the Environment". ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering. 8 (9): 3494–3511. doi:10.1021/acssuschemeng.9b06635. S2CID 212404939.
  6. ^ Plastic Sequestration through Ecobrick & Earth Building, The Global Ecobrick Alliance, https://www.ecobricks.org/earth Archived 2021-10-24 at the Wayback Machine
  7. ^ Guides on how to use Precious Plastic Presses to make projects, How to, https://community.preciousplastic.com/how-to Archived 2021-10-21 at the Wayback Machine
  8. ^ How to make an Ecobrick, Global Ecobrick Alliance www.ecobricks.org/how
  9. ^ Webb, Hayden; Arnott, Jaimys; Crawford, Russell; Ivanova, Elena (28 December 2012). "Plastic Degradation and Its Environmental Implications with Special Reference to Poly(ethylene terephthalate)". Polymers. 5 (1): 1–18. doi:10.3390/polym5010001.
  10. ^ Earth & Ecobrick Building Principles www.ecobricks.org/earth
  11. ^ Rumoer Magazine, About Building Technology, Issue 78, Jan. 11, 2022, Earth & Waste, Lizzie Wyn, Welsh School of Architecture, Cardiff University, page 96 https://issuu.com/rumoer/docs/issue78-2/96
  12. ^ A.Himawati et al., 2020, The Rise of the Regenerative Ecobrick Movement, Bandung Spirit Conference, Le Havre University. p.27 See: https://earthen.io/assets/pdfs/The-Rise-of-the-Regenerative-Ecobrick-Movement--Bandung-Spirit-Paper-2020.pdf Archived 2021-10-21 at the Wayback Machine
  13. ^ Darwis Khudori. THE RISE OF ASIA IN GLOBAL HISTORY AND PERSPECTIVE: 65 years after Bandung, what rupture and what continuity in Global Order?, Université Le Havre Normandie,France. page 17, https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-02994245/document
  14. ^ About the Global Ecobrick Alliance https://www.ecobricks.org/about
  15. ^ Irene Angway, Russell Maier (2021), The Ways of the Earth: The Six Principles of Ecological Contribution https://medium.com/earthen/the-six-earthen-ways-1b2db3d2b27
  16. ^ Global Ecobrick Alliance Criteria & Standards of Sequestration https://ecobricks.org/sequest#concen
  17. ^ Global Ecobrick Alliance Criteria & Standards of Sequestration https://ecobricks.org/sequest#spiral
  18. ^ Global Ecobrick Alliance Criteria & Standards of Sequestration https://ecobricks.org/sequest#for-earth
  19. ^ Global Ecobrick Alliance Criteria & Standards of Sequestration https://ecobricks.org/sequest#net-sub
  20. ^ Global Ecobrick Alliance Criteria & Standards of Sequestration https://ecobricks.org/sequest#biodiversity
  21. ^ Global Ecobrick Alliance Criteria & Standards of Sequestration https://ecobricks.org/sequest#awaring
  22. ^ Plastic & Climate: The Hidden Costs of a Plastic Planet, Center for International Environmental Law https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Plastic-and-Climate-FINAL-2019.pdf
  23. ^ Ecobrick Standards, Global Ecobrick Alliance https://www.ecobricks.org/what/ Archived 2022-01-10 at the Wayback Machine
  24. ^ Plastic & Climate: The Hidden Costs of a Plastic Planet, Center for International Environmental Law, Chapter 6: Plastic Waste Management | p58 | https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Plastic-and-Climate-FINAL-2019.pdf
  25. ^ Geyer, Roland; Jambeck, Jenna R.; Law, Kara Lavender (19 July 2017). "Production, use, and fate of all plastics ever made". Science Advances. 3 (7): e1700782. Bibcode:2017SciA....3E0782G. doi:10.1126/sciadv.1700782. PMC 5517107. PMID 28776036
  26. ^ Gómez, Eddie F.; Michel, Frederick C. (December 2013). "Biodegradability of conventional and bio-based plastics and natural fiber composites during composting, anaerobic digestion and long-term soil incubation". Polymer Degradation and Stability. 98 (12): 2583–2591. doi:10.1016/j.polymdegradstab.2013.09.018.
  27. ^ Napper, Imogen E.; Thompson, Richard C. (7 May 2019). "Environmental Deterioration of Biodegradable, Oxo-biodegradable, Compostable, and Conventional Plastic Carrier Bags in the Sea, Soil, and Open-Air Over a 3-Year Period". Environmental Science & Technology. 53 (9): 4775–4783. Bibcode:2019EnST...53.4775N. doi:10.1021/acs.est.8b06984. hdl:10026.1/14316. PMID 31030509. S2CID 139106737.
  28. ^ Shovitri, Maya; Nafi’ah, Risyatun; Antika, Titi Rindi; Alami, Nur Hidayatul; Kuswytasari, N. D.; Zulaikha, Enny (2017). "Soil burial method for plastic degradation performed by Pseudomonas PL-01, Bacillus PL-01, and indigenous bacteria". Biodiversity and Biotechnology for Human Welfare. AIP Conference Proceedings. 1854 (1): 020035. Bibcode:2017AIPC.1854b0035S. doi:10.1063/1.4985426.
  29. ^ Circular Applications www.ecobricks.org/circular
  30. ^ "Can Plastics Supplant Wood and Concrete as a Structural Building Material? | Builder Magazine". Archived from the original on 2021-10-03. Retrieved 2021-10-03.
  31. ^ Geyer, Roland; Jambeck, Jenna R.; Law, Kara Lavender (19 July 2017). "Production, use, and fate of all plastics ever made". Science Advances. 3 (7): e1700782. Bibcode:2017SciA....3E0782G. doi:10.1126/sciadv.1700782. PMC 5517107. PMID 28776036.
  32. ^ Vila, Alixandra (18 October 2018). "This is why Philippines is world's third-largest ocean plastic polluter". South China Morning Post. Archived from the original on 16 December 2021. Retrieved 16 December 2021.
  33. ^ "Plastic Waste: Ecological and Human Health Impacts" (PDF). Science for Environmental Policy. 2011. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2021-10-02. Retrieved 2021-10-02.
  34. ^ Knoblauch, Doris; Mederake, Linda; Stein, Ulf (13 June 2018). "Developing Countries in the Lead—What Drives the Diffusion of Plastic Bag Policies?". Sustainability. 10 (6): 1994. doi:10.3390/su10061994.
  35. ^ "HUSK is the 1st to build using plastic bottles filled with rubbish in Cambodia" https://www.huskcambodia.org/building-with-bottles Archived 2021-10-02 at the Wayback Machine
  36. ^ "Styrofoam waste blocks: The styrofoam blocks help to eliminate one of the largest recycling problems the world faces today. Each block is made out of approximately 60 styrofoam takeout trays", https://www.techxlab.org/solutions/ubuntu-blox Archived 2021-10-21 at the Wayback Machine
  37. ^ Antico, Federico C.; Wiener, María J.; Araya-Letelier, Gerardo; Gonzalez Retamal, Raúl (31 December 2017). "Eco-bricks: a sustainable substitute for construction materials". Revista de la construcción. 16 (3): 518–526. doi:10.7764/RDLC.16.3.518.
  38. ^ Aneke, Frank Ikechukwu; Shabangu, Celumusa (1 June 2021). "Green-efficient masonry bricks produced from scrap plastic waste and foundry sand". Case Studies in Construction Materials. 14: e00515. doi:10.1016/j.cscm.2021.e00515. S2CID 233884551.
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  40. ^ Plastic & Climate: The Hidden Costs of a Plastic Planet, May 2019, Center for International Environmental Law, https://www.ciel.org/plasticandclimate/ Archived 2021-08-14 at the Wayback Machine
  41. ^ Verma, Rinku; Vinoda, K.S.; Papireddy, M.; Gowda, A.N.S. (2016). "Toxic Pollutants from Plastic Waste- A Review". Procedia Environmental Sciences. 35: 701–708. doi:10.1016/j.proenv.2016.07.069.
  42. ^ A.Himawati et al., 2020, The Rise of the Regenerative Ecobrick Movement, Bandung Spirit Conference, Le Havre University[non-primary source needed]
  43. ^ Brikcoin: A Manual Cryptocurrency for the Value of the Absence of Plastic, Irfan Korchak, Jarkarta Now, MONEY & FINANCE | 10 April 2019 https://nowjakarta.co.id/magazine-issue/money-finance/brikcoin-a-cryptocurrency-for-the-value-of-the-absence-of-plastic.html Archived 2021-10-02 at the Wayback Machine
  44. ^ The World's Recycling Is in Chaos. Here's What Has to Happen, Wired, March 13th, 2019 https://www.wired.com/story/the-worlds-recycling-is-in-chaos-heres-what-has-to-happen/ Archived 2021-09-11 at the Wayback Machine
  45. ^ a b McCormick, Erin; Murray, Bennett; Fonbuena, Carmela; Kijewski, Leonie; Saraçoğlu, Gökçe; Fullerton, Jamie; Gee, Alastair; Simmonds, Charlotte (17 June 2019). "Where does your plastic go? Global investigation reveals America's dirty secret". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 23 July 2021. Retrieved 24 July 2021.
  46. ^ China's ban on trash imports shifts waste crisis to Southeast Asia, National Geographic, https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/2018/11/china-ban-plastic-trash-imports-shifts-waste-crisis-southeast-asia-malaysia/ Archived 2021-02-09 at the Wayback Machine
  47. ^ "The 'Attenborough Effect' Has Made People More Conscious About Plastic Use" https://www.treehugger.com/attenborough-effect-has-cut-single-use-plastic-use-percent-last-year-4858123 Archived 2021-09-10 at the Wayback Machine
  48. ^ "UK's plastic waste may be dumped overseas instead of recycled" https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/jul/23/uks-plastic-waste-may-be-dumped-overseas-instead-of-recycled Archived 2021-09-10 at the Wayback Machine
  49. ^ "Almost No Plastic Bottles Get Recycled into New Bottles". BuzzFeed. Archived from the original on 2018-01-17. Retrieved 2021-07-24.
  50. ^ Recycling: The Evil Illusion, Russell Maier, 2016 https://www.russs.net/recycling Archived 2021-04-12 at the Wayback Machine
  51. ^ More Recycling Won't Solve Plastic Pollution, Scientific American, Matt Wilkins, July 6, 2018 https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/observations/more-recycling-wont-solve-plastic-pollution/ Archived 2021-07-22 at the Wayback Machine
  52. ^ "We found UK plastic waste in illegal dump sites in Malaysia". 21 October 2018. Archived from the original on 26 September 2021. Retrieved 10 September 2021.
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