Abstract

Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET), a polyester based thermoplastic polymer, is used worldwide for packaging foods and beverages. The sharp rise of PET application has increased potential hazards on human health and environment. The main objective of the study was to determine the amount of plastic waste that was generated from bottled drinking water consumption in Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and its impact on the carbon footprint (CO₂ generation). An online random survey was conducted to estimate the daily consumption of bottled water in the province of KSA, Tabuk. The total generated plastic (PET) waste from drinking water bottles in Saudi Arabia was estimated at 8,27,114 tonnes each year, which produced 26,79,851 tonnes of CO₂ per year. When considering the consumption of plastic in the food industries, the impact becomes more severe, and it exponentially increases for the developing countries as compared to the developed countries. These phenomena demand a compressive solution that ranges from governmental policies to engineering solution to lessen the use of plastic in minimizing global carbon emissions.

Keywords: Plastic waste generation; Carbon footprint; Drinking bottled water; Global warming; Survey