Over the last 70 years, plastic has become ubiquitous in our daily lives, with its production increasing 22,400% to over 450 million tonnes annually and expected to double again by 2050. Almost all foods and beverages are wrapped in it, we brush our teeth with it, children play with toys made from it and it has even become part of our vocabulary (adjective, describing my brother’s support of Manchester City).
There are many reasons why this material has become so prevalent. It is lightweight, durable and malleable. It is cheap to source and concerningly easy to discard. The rise of single-use plastic has been a key pillar in the rise of 21st century consumerism. The sad reality is that despite its impressive durability, around 95% of the plastic used in packaging goods is disposed of after one use, so rather than durability being a boon to society via reuse, it is a burden that our natural world bears.
Only 9% of the plastics ever produced have been effectively recycled with a further 12% incinerated. While the latter is a large contributor to global carbon emissions, the vast percentage not accounted for may cause significant environmental harm in other ways. As plastic usage has grown, so has our understanding of the environmental consequences, albeit at a considerably slower pace. I found Mandy Barker’s work for the Natural History Museum transcended the words I penned to demonstrate the disconnect. The images were generated using plastic found on the remote Henderson Island, with the material also discovered in even more isolated areas such as the bottom of the Mariana trench and in arctic sea ice.
At TAM, we are acutely aware of these environmental concerns related to plastic use. Our Sustainable World portfolios, through investment in the T. Rowe Price Global Impact Credit Fund, have been pioneering in initiatives like the World Bank’s plastic waste reduction-linked bond. This bond generates financial returns while supporting the reduction of plastic waste in vulnerable communities and mitigating its impact on nature and oceans. This is one example of multiple investments found within the portfolios linked to either increasing material circulatory in production processes or embedding these innovative practices into production.
However, when assessing opportunities, it always strikes me that there is considerably less rhetoric surrounding the potentially disastrous consequences of this plastic usage on human health. Mainly, because I believe many do not know just how serious it is.
A recent study found that we inadvertently eat around a credit card’s worth of plastic each week, totalling a coat hanger’s worth each month. The vast majority of this is in the form of microplastics (plastic particles under ½ a centimetre diameter) and nanoplastics (less than 1/1000th of a centimetre) which have become endemic due to their invisibility to the naked eye.
Your initial reaction may be that there is no way you ingest anything like that quantity. Well, research shows as many as 240,000 plastic fragments were detected in a typical litre of bottled water. Or perhaps you enjoy shellfish or any other fish that is eaten whole, which may be supplying you with up to 0.5 grams per week via ocean plastic transported via their digestive system. Plastic does not disappear, often it just degrades into smaller and smaller pieces which means they have snuck into people’s lungs, blood, every single placenta inspected in this study and every single male reproductive organ tested in this study. The latter has been unsurprisingly floated as a potential factor contributing to the male infertility crisis, which has seen sperm counts half in the last 40 years. Whereas publications like the FT, are presenting evidence of microplastics’ link to the iniquitous rising rates of cancer in young people.
However, it is not just microplastics that may be harming us. Phthalates, the chemical added to plastics to give the material its flexibility and bisphenol A (BPA), added to provide rigidity, are both endocrine disruptors, meaning their inevitable consumption affects our hormonal system. Thus associating them with a variety of health issues – again affecting our reproductive systems. If you want to reduce your exposure, it is increasingly difficult as contrary to intuition, even foods packaged and served in plastic alternatives have exceedingly high levels of phthalates. The number of nanograms per serving was found to be highest in prepared meals (in a metal can) as well as chicken nuggets (served in a paper box). Special shoutouts also for some of the most popular staples for fellow city workers. Chipotle Chicken Burritos (served in foil) and McDonald’s quarter pounders (served in a paper box) which were also high on the list for having concerning levels of this hormone disrupting plasticiser per serving. Yet another reason to avoid ultra-processed foods.
The above is an example of how tough it is to avoid plastics in the modern world, as so much of it is inconspicuously placed. It is also incredibly useful, and seamlessly embedded into our daily lives so it would be naïve of me to suggest we can all minimise our usage without any impracticalities. However, you can intentionally embed these concerns into your consumption choices, as TAM will in our investment decisions.
We are committed to integrating positive environmental and social outcomes into our investment strategies and operational practices, with our research here no different. Our investments into their ‘Better World’ fund are seeing CCLA probe household brands such as Heineken, PepsiCo and Unilever on their plastic reduction targets as well as joining other asset managers we invest with to create a more robust global plastics treaty. We will be questioning the processes in place for the funds’ we partner with in embedding the emerging link surrounding plastic consumption and detrimental health outcomes, just as we did with ultra-processed foods.
We are proud to be partnering with companies who are striving to drive solutions to the increasingly concerning health of our population, and of our planet.
If you would like to speak with me about anything in this post, or to discuss our TAM Sustainable World portfolios, please do not hesitate to get in touch.