25 YEARS ANNIVERSARY 21 PETplanet Insider Vol. 25 No. 05/24 www.petpla.net 25 YEARS ANNIVERSARY Targeting plastic bashing A crusade for truth by Kay Barton Interview with Chris DeArmitt, President at Phantom Plastics PETplanet: How long have you been interested in plastics and what is your personal story here? And was there a trigger to take action against false reports about plastics with facts? Chris DeArmitt: I have a PhD in chemistry and polymer science, so my experience as a plastic materials scientist goes back nearly 40 years. My personal interest in plastics and the environment was catalysed by my two daughters being taught misinformation at school. As a professional scientist and problem solver, I know that we cannot make progress without sound information. So, as a hobby I began fact-checking what we are told about plastics online because no-one else is checking it. PETplanet: Today, you are known in the industry as a corrective and enlightener when it comes to misinformation and misperceptions about plastics and plastic bashing, and you counter them omnipresently and scientifically. Where does your passion for tirelessly educating people based on facts and setting the record straight come from? Chris DeArmitt: As you say, I appear to have accidentally become the leading expert simply because no-one else have been foolish enough to devote thousands of hours unpaid to reading and sharing the science. To date I have read over 4,000 peer-reviewed studies and found that there is a huge gap between what we are told and what science says. My passion comes not from concern for the environment or plastics but rather it is a crusade for truth. PETplanet: On e.g. social media like LinkedIn, you get the feeling that you comment on anything and everything that could be accused of being a follower of plastic bashing, polemic and negative publicity about plastics and environmental issues. Do you sometimes feel like Don Quixote when you respond to the same unfounded topics for the umpteenth time? Chris DeArmitt: Dispelling myths with facts is a neverending task. Brandolinis Law states that it is vastly more work to dispel nonsense with evidence than it is to make up the nonsense in the first place. The former President of Greenpeace left in disgust and has made it his job to expose so-called environmental groups as charlatans whose business model is to tell lies for money i.e. donations. This has been extremely effective for them, so my one-man unfunded hobby is up against huge NGOs with hundreds of millions of dollars to fund proper marketing campaigns. The upshot is that I am destined to fail but as Elon Musk said, if something is very important, then one must try no matter the probability of failure. PETplanet: In your opinion, what needs to be improved in order to provide more education and a fact-based discourse globally in terms of understanding, perception and handling of plastics, to address their indispensable value in modern civilisation and who do you think is most likely to be responsible for this? Herbold Meckesheim GmbH Industriestrasse 33 I D-74909 Meckesheim I Tel: +49 6226 932-0 I herbold@herbold.com I www.herbold.com (QHUJ\ (ႈFLHQW ƒ (DV\ 0DLQWHQDQFH ƒ ([FHOOHQW )ODNHV Modular system solutions for automated PET washing lines
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