Because PET is a petroleum product, its water footprint includes the water consumed in the processes of extracting, refining and manufacturing of oil and natural gas, which produces the raw material that becomes PET resin pellets. Polyethylene terephthalate ( PET or PETE) plastic – the source material of water bottles, soda bottles and more - makes up 10.2 percent of global plastic production. Within this context, “water consumed” refers to the water permanently withdrawn from its source, or “water that is no longer available because it has evaporated, been transpired by plants, incorporated into products or crops, consumed by people or livestock, or otherwise removed from the immediate water environment.” PET Plastic Production The water footprint accounts for the total volume of freshwater consumed in the entire production process. Accounting for all the water involved in production underscores how plastic - especially the single-use plastic created for beverage bottles and the rest of the food packaging industry - encourages consumers to pour good water down the drain.Įach step in the life cycle of plastic, from the extraction of oil or natural gas at the well pad, through the many steps that result in the resins that become various types of plastic, consumes water. Less understood is plastic’s substantial water footprint. A study found that in 2010 - only a single year - 8 million MT of plastic waste was swept off the land into the ocean due to poor waste management practices and another 150 million MT was moving through marine ecosystems. This environmental scourge clogs the smallest streams, clings to vegetation in overlooked wetlands and disintegrates into tiny bits as it flows to grand rivers and high seas. With plastic production ever increasing as plastic and oil companies ramp up, polluted waterways might be its most conspicuous and ubiquitous symbol. On a geological time scale, so much plastic has been deposited on Earth since the start of the plastic age that we could call the stratum the “Pampers layer.” Plastic in the Water Of that, approximately 6.3 billion MT was wasted, with the majority ending up in landfills and the natural environment, while only 9 percent was recycled. Geyer et al., estimated that, between 19, a total of 8.3 billion metric tons (MT) of virgin plastic was produced globally. The sheer amount of plastic that infiltrates people’s lives and Earth’s spaces is massive. But it should come with accompanying concern about how much water it takes to make the plastic itself, especially when production happens in water-stressed areas. There is also plastic’s large carbon footprint. One of the biggest is the dawning realization that plastic waste is now truly found everywhere - from the guts of birds and the flesh of fish to the noses of turtles. (This is a frequent occurrence, one of the down sides of living in Chicagoland.) She was undaunted.There are lots of reasons for the growing backlash against plastic food and beverage packaging, including bottled water. The unfortunate fact was that we did this activity on a day shortly after the snow had melted and the weather had once again plunged below 0 degrees Fahrenheit. Last year, Jack and Jane had a few babies, so of course we can’t be sure when we are seeing Jack or Jane or their unnamed babies, but we make up all sorts of stories about our backyard pets!Īs soon as she was done with all the measuring, my daughter jumped up ready to go outside and find animal tracks in our own yard. As a background, you should know that the squirrels in our backyard trees have been given the names of Jack and Jane Fluffytail, so she has a vested interest in them. Although we see many, many animals (including foxes at times!) in our unfenced yard, my daughter was delighted to measure the sample squirrel prints. She was especially excited about the squirrel tracks. As my daughter recorded the measurements on her recording sheet, she got more and more excited.
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