Single-use plastic or paper products? A dilemma that requires societal change

Abstract

Plastic pollution has reached irreversible levels in both the terrestrial and marine environments affecting our planet’s fauna and human health. Plastic debris originating from single-use plastic products (such as bags, cups, straws, etc.) has been reported in every natural habitat around the globe, and their fragmentation to micro and nano-plastics poses high risks for every organism, including humans. Political pressure and awareness campaigns over the past decades have led governments and the industry to adopt legislative measures to ban the use of single-use plastics and seek alternative solutions. Hence, single-use paper cups, straws, lids, packages, etc. started infiltrating our daily routine, as the most promising alternative to plastic products. However, there has been increasing research in recent years showing that single-use paper products can be harmful to both the environment and human health. This work reviewed the ongoing research on the hazards associated with the use of single-use plastic and paper products to assess whether paper is a viable solution to plastic. The findings reported here show that single-use paper products might be extremely harmful to both the terrestrial, fresh, and marine environment, as well as human health and climate change. This is due to the release of toxic chemical compounds directly into the environment (as in many cases these products are not recyclable) and the food/beverage (due to their rapid mechanical/compositional failure), and the release of greenhouse gases, upon degradation. Moreover, this study discusses consumer behavior from research performed in several countries and discusses that most consumers exhibit environmental consciousness, but require better incentives to use multi-use products and turn away from single-use products. Overall, the most promising solution to mitigate pollution from single-use products is to combine the environmental consciousness of consumers with economic measures (taxes, levies) for purchasing single-use products to reduce their usage.