Plastic – the Good, the Bad and the Ugly?

Every year on Earth Day, I scroll through LinkedIn and marvel at how a 1970s protest has transformed into a global movement – and one that has become a ‘must mark’ moment in the corporate calendar. And without wanting to add to a tidal wave of commentary, I have some thoughts on this year’s theme, a subject that often brings with it some controversy and debate: plastic. 

Clearly, Canon sells a significant number of products which use plastics, and they are really important to our business. So, when I think about plastic, I see beyond the binary. Past the narrative of ‘plastic = bad’ and ‘no plastic = good’. For us – and we’re certainly not alone here – it’s just not that simple. Plastics let us design products which are loved and respected around the world for their quality, usability and longevity.  

But we treat our use of plastics with respect. We closely examine the product lifecycle, looking at every process and the changes we can make to ensure materials stay in use as long as possible. We consider each product and where we can minimize material use. It makes absolute sense to do this from both an environmental and commercial point of view – so why wouldn’t we? 

Take office printers, like our imageRUNNER ADVANCE, for example. I won’t go into technical detail, but by paying attention to something as simple as its outer frame, we saw that we could reduce its thickness – and therefore the amount of plastic used – without impacting the quality of the machine. This reduced its weight by a quarter! These small details make a big difference. 

In tandem with this eye for design, since 2008, we have also recycled 44,343 tonnes of plastics from used Canon products, giving them new life as raw materials. On top of that, another 35,216 tons of products and parts have been reused directly. It is every manufacturer’s responsibility to be building these kinds of processes into their business model.  

Because the way we use plastics cannot be ignored. And the world must address single-use plastic waste and how all plastic waste is dealt with at end of life. In this respect, we must keep our focus on product packaging, circular design, the recyclability of plastic materials and end of life processes such as remanufacturing, refurbishment, recycling and waste management.  

For technology companies like us, there is a huge opportunity to tackle complex plastics problems. Black plastic, for example, poses a particular challenge. Consider for a moment how much black plastic you put into your recycling bin in a week. Then think what this must look like across a town. Or a city. Why? Because the technology used in many recycling plants often cannot ‘see’ it, so it isn't recycled and ends up in landfill or going for incineration.  

At this year’s Canon EXPO, our flagship event in Tokyo, we demonstrated a technology solution which overcomes this problem – enabling the accurate sorting of black and other coloured plastics with ease. We hope it will be commercially available this year and that others follow suit in applying their tech capabilities to real-world environmental challenges.   

One thing is certain, it's a complex subject and far from ‘planet vs. plastic’. For me, however, it simply comes down to two things: we still need plastics… but what we don’t need is plastic waste.