Sustainable consumption and production of plastics?

This article deals with the environmental effects of the production and consumption of plastics. The original study was carried out at the request of the National Environmental Conference (Landelijk Milien Overleg) of the Netherlands as part of a project on sustainable chemical production. This project was sponsored by The Netherlands Department of the Environment. In the project, various studies were commissioned on the environmental performance of specific branches of chemical production. The purpose of these studies was to provide a basis for a comprehensive vision on the future of the production of chemicals, and for discussions with the chemical industry. The article will first deal with the history of plastics and then analyze current plastic production, plastic industry, and plastic consumption. The environmental burden caused by plastics is analyzed, as are the various measures taken to reduce this burden. Their effects are analyzed. This article also examines the political debates and conflicts of interest that are involved. In its conclusions, the article will discusses the possible form of a sustainable plastics industry. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science Inc.