Recently, in its “Don’t Blame Plastic” campaign, the Spanish plastics industry listed ten benefits of polymers, which contribute to the improvement in people’s well-being.
The Torrent Group would like to echo the benefits of using polymers.
- Plastic is a safe material in terms of health, as it is subjected to and successfully passes stricter controls than other materials.
- It preserves food and avoid waste. Due to advancements in eco-design, plastic containers keep food longer.
- Plastics save lives. Here’s our recommendation: visit a doctor’s surgery or a hospital emergency room, and you will see how the plastic polymer has been crucial for advances in medicine. Other objects such as car airbags use this material.
- It is durable, therefore, economical and eco-friendly. More than half of the products made from plastics last from 5 to 50 years, avoiding the consumption of many resources.
- The production of plastic is not at the expense of oil reserves. Fact: only 4% to 6% of the European consumption of oil and gas is used in the manufacture of plastics.
- It saves water and energy and reduces CO2 emissions.Thanks to plastic, micro-irrigation systems have been developed, which help to save water in agricultural sectors.
- Promoting the use of plastic is not a remedy against pollution.This can only be done by raising people’s awareness in order to prevent pollution of the environment with any material.
- Once again, it is not the use of a specific material that curbs pollution, but the responsible use of all the resources that we use regardless of their nature.
- Single-use plastic can be recycled and, if not possible, used to generate alternative renewable energy. Single-use plastic applications meet our requirements in hygiene (surgical masks, nappies), safety (gloves, disposable syringes) and food preservation (bags, bottles).
- In conclusion, the use of plastic polymers should not be hampered by prejudices as a solution to the environmental problem. Through education and our responsible consumption, this material can be disposed of correctly and separated, in order to stimulate its insertion in the circular economy.
The Torrent Group position on the use of polymers.
The Torrent Group welcomes the reception and debate by the political authorities of the Law on Waste and Contaminated Soils. It is an opportunity to work together at national and regional levels by using the same methods and avoiding the proliferation of disparate regulations at different levels that may generate confusion and legal uncertainty.
However, we also believe that for companies like the Torrent Group that use plastic polymers as raw material in good faith and through an awareness of its undeniable virtues, and who strive to be responsible in their production processes, this regulation will place a very heavy burden that will be counterproductive for society in general in both order environmental and economic terms.