By Emily Haggstrom, Consumer Energy Alliance
The spread of the novel coronavirus and the subsequent lockdowns has taught us a lot about ourselves, our lifestyles and our habits, but also how we value safety. Safety has become the number one priority for families, businesses and governments looking to keep friends and loved ones from getting sick. Largely, we’ve managed to keep the majority of our communities safe through the use of basic essentials like cleaning products, packaging, medical equipment and personal protective equipment.
Can you guess what all of these things have in common? Plastic made from petroleum-based byproducts.
Although some have attempted to make plastic controversial, there is no denying that it is an essential material and provides tremendous opportunities for inexpensive and life-altering inventions – many of which we are using now to keep us safe during this pandemic such as plastic eyewear, face shields, and many single-use medical items.
Despite how you feel about plastic, it has proven to be a priceless commodity during the pandemic. Plastic and the by-products that make it have revolutionized the ways we redefined safety, equity and design. Plastic has allowed us to create products that are safer, lighter, more affordable and more accessible during this challenging time.
Because nobody is exactly sure how the virus spreads, what treatments work to control or kill it, or how it will effect various individuals, everyone is taking the maximum amount of precaution in their own ways. Though these efforts might vary from person to person, many involve using tried and true products we know and trust that are derived from natural gas and crude oil byproducts.
Many places have made it mandatory for businesses to clean and disinfect everything before the next person is accommodated. You see it everywhere from restaurants and hair salons to aircraft and outdoor recreation equipment. We are also doing it more often at home, cleaning things like doorknobs, light switches and phones, and washing our hands more thoroughly. Antibacterial cleaning products are derived from petrochemicals obtained from refining petroleum and natural gas. They have helped reduce the spread, limit unnecessary contact with the virus, and give us some peace of mind.
Doctors, nurses and other essential workers are using personal protective equipment (PPE) like masks, gloves, eye protection and gowns when treating sick patients or working where there could be contaminated surfaces. In hospitals, plastics become even more important for the sickest patients who require respirators or ventilators to get better. These types of plastic are medical grade and prevent viruses and bacteria from settling on the surface or in the crevices of the tubing enclosures like central lines that are often seen being used for patients in Intensive Care Units (ICU).
Many cities across the U.S. have made it mandatory to wear protective masks in public places. Whether the mask is homemade out of synthetic fabrics or is the N95 version, they all are made of materials manufactured using natural gas and petroleum.
Businesses are working hard to ensure public safety by using more to-go packaging which ultimately doesn’t have to be handled or washed. In restaurants, food is being prepped and packaged to seal off any contamination that could occur in transport. This has always been done on a larger scale for food delivered to our grocery stores, using plastic wrap to keep food safe and fresh along the way. Because of all the unknowns, many grocery stores are forbidding reusable bags since it is unclear what a person has touched or what has been in the bag that could ultimately put their staff at risk.
Because of this, even governments are reconsidering single-use plastic. Despite becoming the first municipality in Massachusetts to ban the use of plastic bags, Cambridge, the home of Harvard University, became the first to issue an emergency order temporarily forbidding the use of reusable bags at retail stores, reflecting a growing fear they could be spreading the coronavirus. Backed by scientific studies, others are following suit with the entire state of New Hampshire banning reusable bags. Though experts are still debating on how the virus is transmitted, with safety top of mind, even scientific journals have provided evidence in support of using disposable plastic bags.
Pandemics like COVID-19 will likely happen again, and products made from plastic will continue to be just as vital to managing through them as they are today. That’s why we must reconsider how we think about plastics and realize how outright bans on plastic are not only unrealistic, but will only make it harder on our supply chains, our manufacturers, our hospitals and our businesses when the next virus comes knocking on our door.
