Use of Renewable Feedstocks

This principle is directed largely at petrochemicals: wherever possible, chemicals should be made from renewable, plant-based sources rather than from non-renewable sources such as crude oil. Continuing to over-exploit non-renewable feedstocks will eventually deplete them, depriving future generations of resources they might otherwise have had access to, and placing an ongoing burden on the environment in the process of extracting and processing those non-renewable resources. Renewable resources -- agricultural or other biological products, for example -- ensure that the resource base is shared fairly with future generations rather than being drawn down irreversibly, and this practice generally places much less burden on the environment overall, because the products made from renewable feedstocks, and the waste they generate, are typically biodegradable as well. This principle therefore links directly back to the chapter's opening theme of sustainable development (Section 16.2): choosing renewable feeds …