EBNP_Impact_Report_2023-2024 (11.06.26) - Flipbook - Page 6
The Hidden
Problem
H O W C R U D E OIL BE COMES PAINT
Oil to plastic
Early oil re昀椀ning produced large quantities of unwanted by-products.
With the advent of steam cracking - a process that converts hydrocarbons
into the building blocks of polymer chains - these materials became
feedstocks and helped drive the rise of modern plastics.
Plastic to paint
Annually, more than
36 MILLION
METRIC TONNES
of polymers in liquid
formulations (PLFs)
are made.
That’s enough
to 昀椀ll over
14,500
Olympic sized
swimming pools.
Annually, more than
31 MILLION
METRIC TONNES
of polymers in liquid
formulation (PLFs) are
sold into the paints,
coatings, inks, adhesives
and sealants markets.*
That’s enough
to 昀椀ll over
12,500
Olympic sized
swimming pools.
These are used to make resin binders eg acrylic resins,
a basic building block for modern emulsion paint.
These are very popular as they are incredibly cheap to
make however the environmental impact is rarely costed.
This means that...
Once dry, modern acrylic paints become a plastic.
Microplastics are also often added to enhance certain properties.
In 2017, a Swiss-based research consultancy Earth Action published
Plastic Paints in the Ocean, a report which stated paint was a major
source of microplastic pollution.
I MPA C T REPOR T 20 23
Source *Royal Society of Chemistry
