Budapest Post

Cum Deo pro Patria et Libertate
Budapest, Europe and world news

How much crude oil does plastic production really consume?

How much crude oil does plastic production really consume?

The advantages of plastics over alternatives-cost and durability-will continue to drive demand for it even as governments around the world clamp down on single-use plastics.
Many social media users had a field day recently when Greta Thunberg tweeted a picture in which the 16-year-old activist was snacking on food in plastic packaging. Activists against the oil industry, the argument went, should not take advantage of the products that come from that industry.

Indeed, plastics and plastics pollution is one of the strongest arguments against the oil and gas industry. Plastics take an awfully long time to decompose naturally, and only a small amount of the plastics used on a global scale gets recycled. The problem is serious. Yet blaming crude oil alone for it is inaccurate.

Last year, 359 million tons of plastics entered markets around the world. The average portion of the total plastics output that packaging takes up is about 35 to 45 percent. This may well be less than many believe goes into plastics production, but there are even more surprising facts, and the most surprising among them is that far from all plastics are made from crude oil.

In all fairness, no plastics are made from crude oil. They are made from feedstock that is derived from crude oil, for sure, but not straight from oil. Of course, this does not have any bearing on their environmentally unfriendly properties: whether its derived from crude oil or from a crude oil feedstock, plastic still takes centuries to degrade, and in the meantime, thanks to wind and rain, they shed tiny particles that enter the food chain.

Interestingly enough, many plastics are actually made from natural gas feedstock. In the United States, for example, the most common feedstock for plastics, be it for packaging or anything else, is natural gas liquids, liquid petroleum gases, and natural gas.

This fact itself raises questions such as, “How many barrels of oil go into plastic packaging?” A question that is quite difficult to answer. The Energy Information Administration absolutely refuses to answer it, saying that it collects no data in this segment. Yet data from a few years ago, when the EIA still collected information about this, shows that in 2010 some 191 million barrels of LPG and NGL were used for the production of plastics along with 412 billion cu ft of natural gas. The liquids amount constituted about 2.7 percent of the country’s total petroleum consumption. Most of the natural gas used in plastics production was used as a fuel rather than feedstock.

Plastics production accounts for about 4 percent of global oil production. That’s according to figures for 2012, so now it may well be higher.

But that doesn’t stop various governments from waging a full-on war on plastics, particularly in Europe, Asia-in particular China-who still are producing plastics hell-bent for leather. So is the United States: a 2017 report on global plastics found that plastic production in the United States was growing at an annual rate of 1.6 percent, while China was producing 3 percent more plastics every year on average. According to the same report, plastics for packaging constituted 19 percent of the total plastics production in 2016--the second largest segment after “Other Plastic Products”.

Plastics have diverse uses, hence their still growing popularity. They are also cheaper than alternatives. The world’s plastics pollution problem is certainly grave. The Great Pacific garbage patch is real. Yet solutions are few and far between.

The advantages of plastics over alternatives-cost and durability-will continue to drive demand for it even as governments around the world clamp down on single-use plastics. While many associate that phrase with shopping bags, single-use plastics also include medical consumables, and these are not going anywhere. The same is true for the packaging of other consumer products such as electronics, but also fruit and drinks. Until we find a reliable and cost-competitive alternative to these sorts of plastic packaging, the point of how much oil-or gas-goes into plastic packaging is moot.
AI Disclaimer: An advanced artificial intelligence (AI) system generated the content of this page on its own. This innovative technology conducts extensive research from a variety of reliable sources, performs rigorous fact-checking and verification, cleans up and balances biased or manipulated content, and presents a minimal factual summary that is just enough yet essential for you to function as an informed and educated citizen. Please keep in mind, however, that this system is an evolving technology, and as a result, the article may contain accidental inaccuracies or errors. We urge you to help us improve our site by reporting any inaccuracies you find using the "Contact Us" link at the bottom of this page. Your helpful feedback helps us improve our system and deliver more precise content. When you find an article of interest here, please look for the full and extensive coverage of this topic in traditional news sources, as they are written by professional journalists that we try to support, not replace. We appreciate your understanding and assistance.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
IMF Upgrades Global Growth Forecast as Weaker Dollar Supports Outlook
House Republicans Move to Defund OECD Over Global Tax Dispute
France Opens Criminal Investigation into X Over Algorithm Manipulation Allegations
Trump Steamrolls EU in Landmark Trade Win: US–EU Trade Deal Imposes 15% Tariff on European Imports
ChatGPT CEO Sam Altman says people share personal info with ChatGPT but don’t know chats can be used as court evidence in legal cases.
Intel Reports Revenue Beats but Sees 81% Rise in Losses
Politics is a good business: Barack Obama’s Reported Net Worth Growth, 1990–2025
UN's Top Court Declares Environmental Protection a Legal Obligation Under International Law
"Crazy Thing": OpenAI's Sam Altman Warns Of AI Voice Fraud Crisis In Banking
The Podcaster Who Accidentally Revealed He Earns Over $10 Million a Year
UK Government Considers Dropping Demand for Apple Encryption Backdoor
Japanese Man Discovers Family Connection Through DNA Testing After Decades of Separation
Russia Signals Openness to Ukraine Peace Talks Amid Escalating Drone Warfare
Switzerland Implements Ban on Mammography Screening
Pogacar Extends Dominance with Stage Fifteen Triumph at Tour de France
President Trump Diagnosed with Chronic Venous Insufficiency After Leg Swelling
CEO Resigns Amid Controversy Over Relationship with HR Executive
NVIDIA Achieves $4 Trillion Valuation Amid AI Demand
Tulsi Gabbard Unveils Evidence Alleging Political Manipulation of Intelligence During Trump Administration
Centrist Criticism of von der Leyen Resurfaces as she Survives EU Confidence Vote
Trump Announces Coca-Cola to Shift to Cane Sugar in U.S. Production
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
Zelensky Reshuffles Cabinet to Win Support at Home and in Washington
"Can You Hit Moscow?" Trump Asked Zelensky To Make Putin "Feel The Pain"
Church of England Removes 1991 Sexuality Guidelines from Clergy Selection
Superman Franchise Achieves Success with Latest Release
Hungary's Viktor Orban Rejects Agreements on Illegal Migration
Air India Pilot’s Mental Health Records Under Scrutiny
Jamie Dimon Warns Europe Is Losing Global Competitiveness and Flags Market Complacency
Moonshot AI Unveils Kimi K2: A New Open-Source AI Model
Martha Wells Says Humanity Still Far from True Artificial Intelligence
Nvidia Becomes World’s First Four‑Trillion‑Dollar Company Amid AI Boom
EU Delays Retaliatory Tariffs Amid New U.S. Threats on Imports
Trump Proposes Supplying Arms to Ukraine Through NATO Allies
US Opens First Rare Earth Mine in Over 70 Years in Wyoming
Bitcoin Reaches New Milestone of $116,000
Severe Heatwave Claims 2,300 Lives Across Europe
Declining Beer Consumption Signals Cultural Shift in Germany
Emails Leaked: How Passenger Luggage Became a Side Income for Airport Workers
Polish MEP: “Dear Leftists - China is laughing at you, Russia is laughing, India is laughing”
Western Europe Records Hottest June on Record
BRICS Expands Membership with Indonesia and Ten New Partner Countries
Elon Musk Founds a Party Following a Poll on X: "You Wanted It – You Got It!"
China’s Central Bank Consults European Peers on Low-Rate Strategies
France Requests Airlines to Cut Flights at Paris Airports Amid Planned Air Traffic Controller Strike
Poland Implements Border Checks Amid Growing Migration Tensions
Emirates Airline Expands Market Share with New $20 Million Campaign
Amazon Reaches Milestone with Deployment of One Millionth Robot
Yulia Putintseva Calls for Spectator Ejection at Wimbledon Over Safety Concerns
House Oversight Committee Subpoenas Former Jill Biden Aide Amid Investigation into Alleged Concealment of President Biden's Cognitive Health
×