A Sarnia petrochemical industry executive wants to clear the air when it comes to negative stereotypes about plastics.
Imperial Oil Chemical Plant Manager James Ritchie spoke about the benefits of the industry at the Sarnia-Lambton Golden K Kiwanis meeting Tuesday.
Ritchie said while there are areas where we can reduce our use of plastics, such as straws or utensils, petrochemicals still produce a variety of products which help grow the Canadian economy.
"When you hear just a simple statement like 'ban all single-use plastics,' it ignores the areas where that is really not feasible," said Ritchie. "One of the probably easiest to picture is medical -- when you think about single-use syringes and IV bags, if you ban that, then what's the alternative? If they left today, what would tomorrow have?"
Ritchie said the ultimate end for every plastic is waste, but the industry continues to look for sustainable solutions to end that cycle. He said as the world's middle class continues to grow, the demand for petrochemicals and plastics grows with it.
"That demand is going to be filled, so do we want it to get filled with something that has a lower or higher environmental impact? That's the key," said Ritchie. "That's what we try to do here, learn about all the key pieces. It's complicated, but there's always these tag lines that come out, and those tag lines can be wildly misleading. That's why I always encourage folks to educate themselves."
Ritchie said because finding the positives of the industry through a google search can sometimes be hard, he encourages everyone to visit Operation Clean Sweep and the Alliance to End Plastic Waste websites to learn more.
"At the end of the day, [I hope this discussion] shows the benefits that chemicals bring to everyday life and the balance that we find between sustainability and that benefit," he said. "We're looking at ways to close that loop where we continue to get all the benefits, but we also are looking forward to multi-generations that will make this planet better."
Ritchie said the Clean Sweep initiative is made up of 25 industry partners looking to find a sustainable solution to the plastic waste issue.