How can antiviral products contribute towards sustainability?

How can antiviral products contribute towards sustainability?

Plastic pollution is a topic currently dominating the global news feed. Recent statistics have shown that Europeans are responsible for 25 million tonnes of plastic waste every year.

So what can we do to help win the war on plastics?

Introducing antiviral additives into our plastics products is a great place to start………….

With the attitude that ‘all plastics are bad’ gaining traction in the media, it’s easy to forget the many advantages of plastics; it is the vast range of applications that means a total ban on all plastic is simply inconceivable.

Whilst there’s no denying the issue of plastics pollution, simply eliminating this material from our society is not possible.

So, what more can be done to help us win the war on plastic pollution?

The human race is fighting back against SARS-COV-2, the virus that causes Covid-19. The same needs to happen with plastics waste as we are now much better informed than ever before. The solution should instead be encouraging society at large to move away from overconsumption, behaviour of discarding and viewing reusable items as single-use goods.

As we are aware, replacing plastic with other materials will actually increase our waste, and in turn, our environmental impact. At Polyblend, we recommend introducing antimicrobial technology into a greater range of plastic products. This will not only add protection during their product life but make them more sustainable and reduce their environmental impact.

And here’s why:

1. Antimicrobial products last longer. Antimicrobial additives are proven to increase the functional lifetime of a plastic. This increases the reusability of any product incorporating this technology, helping to minimise ‘throwaway’ culture.

2. Once manufactured into the material, antimicrobial additives will work to minimise the presence of bacteria that can cause the plastic to degrade quicker. This means that a product made from antimicrobial plastic is more durable, making it easier to harvest if disposed of irresponsibly.