The 40-strong group, which draws expertise from engineering, science, economics and social science, said more effort should be put into re-using and recycling plastics.
Professor David Bucknall, from the university’s Institute of Chemical Sciences, told the BBC’s Good Morning Scotland programme:
“There have been studies in the last couple of years that have demonstrated that if you take out all of the plastics and replace them with something else…then that would actually make an increase in greenhouse emissions.”
“Plastics are a vital component to the British economy – I think it contributes something like 7% of the gross product. So, economically, there would be a big impact. Furthermore, because plastics are lightweight, transportation of consumer goods in plastic packaging means fewer vehicles are required for transportation of those goods, therefore burning less fuel and greatly reducing greenhouse gas emissions.”
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Summary of article published on bbc.com