Paris (AFP)

Hiding faces or surrounding vegetables, the single-use plastic, which the world had started to track down, is making a comeback thanks to the favor of the coronavirus crisis, to the chagrin of environmentalists.

The scourge of the oceans, these masks, gloves and other packaging only represent a small part of the activity of a plastics industry in continuous growth.

"Magic" plastic

Masks, visors, gloves, screens ... are the accessories of spring. Here hairdressers equip themselves with disposable blouses, there the UN recommends that airlines serve meals in blister packs, there again elderly people living in specialized residences hug their loved ones through a transparent film.

California has lifted the ban on single-use bags for two months, while in Saudi Arabia, supermarkets are imposing disposable gloves on their customers.

The industrialists seized the ball with the jump. In mid-March, the French plastics union broke up with a statement claiming that "without single-use plastic, you will no longer have packaging to protect your food from germs".

In the United States, the Plastics Industry Association demanded from March 20 that its activity be considered "essential" in time of confinement. "Single-use plastic is a matter of life and death" in hospitals, wrote Tony Radoszewski, president of this lobby, also praising the role of single-use bags "to protect supermarket workers and consumers from all which drags on the reusable bags. "

According to an OpinionWay-Sodastream survey, 66% of French people say they prefer packaged food as long as the crisis lasts.

The Naturalia organic chain of stores has seen bulk, yet growing by 20% each year, neglected. "Our customers have tended to turn to packaged products", describes the CEO, Allon Zeitoun. "We have not yet returned to the pre-crisis level".

Hygiene not guaranteed

Plastic is not, however, absolute protection. For WHO, washing hands is more effective than wearing gloves.

According to a study published in the American journal NEJM, this coronavirus is detectable for up to two to three days on plastic, 24 hours on cardboard.

"For medical uses, we have no better than single use. But we are led to believe that it is an answer for everyday consumption. It is lobbying. Reusable does not pose any health problem" , protests Raphaël Guastavi, of the Agency for the control of energy (Ademe), "reassured to see that the European elected representatives have the wish not to yield".

Neither has Kenya, which has prohibited since June all single-use plastics, including water bottles, in its protected areas.

Waste

Because masks and other gloves are now littering sidewalks and beaches, from Hong Kong to Gaza.

WWF calls for vigilance: in 2019, it had already evaluated the quantity of plastics discharged in the Mediterranean at 600,000 tonnes, 40% of which in summer.

"The cultural battle against single-use plastic seemed to have been won. Today, a breach is open, we will have to respond," says Pierre Cannet, of WWF France.

"A mask is not easy to recycle. The general approach of the public authorities is to put it in household waste for incineration, which is from our point of view the best situation", says Arnaud Brunet, of the International Bureau of recycling (BIR), which brings together professionals from 70 countries.

"We will see what is the practice over time, maybe we can imagine a particular collection, or in pharmacies, but we are not there yet."

Barely recycled plastic

And as if that were not enough, the period is less favorable for recycled plastic.

The EU aims for 25% of recycled materials in plastic bottles by 2025, at least 30% in 2030.

"The Covid does not call into question the strategy of moving towards a circular economy and more recyclability," says Eric Quenet, of the PlasticsEurope federation.

However, the fall in the price of oil combined with lower demand could weigh on recycling, while the price of virgin plastic has dropped significantly.

Water drop for industry

Some 350 million tonnes of plastics are produced annually worldwide, first by Asia (50%), North America (19%) and Europe (16%), production growing moderately but regular.

Demand surges for the protection market (masks, overcoats, screens), but this volume remains low compared to the massive outlets that are the automobile or the building.

"To make several hundred thousand visors, you need a few tonnes" of plastic only, underlines Eric Quenet. Plexiglas, very popular for walls: "it is less than 1% of the French market for plastic materials".

Overall, for the first time since 2008, the sector is also expecting 2020 to be worse than 2019, due to confinement.

© 2020 AFP