Plastic

It might be light, cheap, colourful and convenient, but plastic is the most environmentally-costly material there is. At One, we do everything we can to avoid it, encouraging our suppliers to use eco-alternatives wherever possible. Find out more about the perils of plastic…

The problem with plastic

Plastic is the ultimate modern material.  It can be engineered to suit almost any performance requirement. Embracing a huge family of related materials that differ widely in composition and characteristics, plastic has infiltrated our lives to an extent unimaginable half a century ago.

But the runaway success of plastic has brought with it a massive increase in waste, most of which ends up buried in landfill sites. One of the significant difficulties associated with plastic is that its cheapness has encouraged us to use it as a disposable material rather than recycle and reuse it. Britain annually consumes 3.5million tonnes of plastic, discarding 2.5million tonnes as waste. Over 60% of that waste is packaging.

Plastic in a nutshell

In ecological terms, plastic is simply the most expensive material there is.

• The raw ingredients of plastic are petroleum and natural gas, both of which are finite
• Plastic is so highly processed it can not be considered natural, and most types of plastic are not biodegradable
• The production of plastics consumes vast amounts of energy
• The production process is significantly polluting
• Most types of plastic are highly flammable and give off toxic smoke when burnt

Toxic PVC

PVC is the most common plastic used in the building industry. It’s found in pipes, cisterns, cabling and wires and also in vinyl flooring and window frames. PVC readily off-gases into the air affecting indoor air quality and has been linked to Sick Building Syndrome (insert hyperlink for more info), causing immune and nervous system disorders. When it burns it gives off highly toxic, dioxin-laden smoke.

Hidden plastic

Most plastic in the home is easy to identify, but in some cases it may not be immediately apparent. Various types of glues, seals and resins, such as formaldehyde, epoxy resin and polyurethane are found in laminate and composite boards and in insulating materials and foam. Many of these are known health hazards. Fortunately there are now formaldehyde-free glues available on the market so there are alternatives.

One’s policy on plastic

• We avoid the use of new plastic products in our range, though we do include recycled or more sustainable  biodegradable (cellulose based) plastic alternatives
• We avoid the use of glues, seals and other finishes that contain plastics such as epoxy resin and formaldehydes
• We also avoid using plastic packaging wherever possible, and encourage our suppliers to reduce and replace it with more sustainable alternaitves such as biodegradable (cellulose based) plastic, recycled cardboard and reused non-plastic packaging materials. One of our suppliers will even take the packaging back from you to reuse again! Unfortunately however, we can’t guarantee that all our suppliers are able to use eco-minded packaging alternatives, so please make sure you re-use and recycle any packaging material that arrives with your products.