Hmmmm. While there are (or at least may be) viable alternatives to oil as a major fuel source, what we tend to forget is that oil is also the principal source for the plastics we use. If you think we don't use or need that much plastic, take a look around the average home and look for all the synthetics that just plain wouldn't or couldn't be there without it. Then think about the entire infrastructure of our civilisation that has come to depend on plastic.

While most products first used plastics as cheaper or attractive alternatives to conventional materials (metals, fabrics, wood, rubber and glass) plastics have taken over entirely in many areas because it can make goods cheaper to buy, and a whole lot easier and more cost effective to make. There is also (perhaps somewhat paradoxically) arguably impact less on the environment than conventional materials. Think how many trees would have been cut down to make wooden alternatives to plastic items, or how much extra power would be needed for the whole process involved in making metal goods.

While we continue to throw away plastics when we've finished with them we are discarding a valauable resource as well as damaging our fragile eco-system. If we re-cycle more plastics now, we could at least partially reduce the impact of future oil shortage on our industry and our lifes.