The public discussion around plastics has shifted in the past decade to educate the public on the environmental and health impacts of plastic. Most plastics are produced using non-renewable resources like oil, gas, and coal, and are discarded after single-use. Most are not biodegradable, leading to millions of tons of plastic debris in landfills, freshwater sources, and our oceans. Despite public campaigns to encourage recycling, only a small fraction of plastic produced—around 9% in 2018—is recycled. Microplastics threaten wildlife and humans alike. Many companies are unwilling to shift to more expensive, but more environmentally-friendly alternatives as long as consumers are unwilling to purchase those alternatives. Our choices as consumers makes a difference!

But plastic has a complicated use case. It allows for vehicle light-weighting, which enhances fuel efficiency in traditional and electric cars alike. Materials like Nomex® protect firefighters, and polyethylene parts make joint replacements possible. Particularly when it comes to single-use plastics, alternatives may not be readily available or accessible depending on social and physical location.

A large part of caring for our creation includes being informed, including what is going on at an industry and political level to either thwart or embrace alternatives to traditional single-use plastics. What questions do you have about plastics—good or bad—that you'd like answered by a Lutheran plastics engineer? Heidi Burch has a Ph.D. in plastics engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and has worked in the plastics industry for twenty years. Throughout Lent, she will be responding to your questions about plastics as we explore how we can live in a modern society and still exercise God's care for creation that we are called to as Christians.