The past few decades have seen a meteoric rise in the production of plastics, especially disposable tableware, and waste management systems have not kept pace, according to a report cited by CNN. In 2021, the world generated 139 million tonnes of single-use plastic waste. Global plastic production will triple by 2060 if no action is taken, experts have explained.
Plastic pollution is a scourge that affects every corner of the world, from the Arctic to the oceans to the air we breathe. It can change ecosystems. Scientists recently discovered plastic rocks on a remote Brazilian island, and parts of the Pacific now have so much plastic in circulation that communities of these “coastal creatures” are thriving, swept thousands of miles away by ocean waters.
The UNEP report aims to provide governments and businesses with a roadmap to drastically reduce levels of plastic pollution. It focuses on three main strategies: reuse, recycling and alternative materials. According to the report, recycling plastic will have the biggest impact, recommending promoting options such as reusable bottles, deposit programs to encourage people to return plastic items and take-back programs for packaging. The report says it will be the “most powerful change” that will reduce plastic pollution by 30% by 2040. Experts estimate that increased recycling could reduce plastic pollution by a further 20%. Only around 9% of the world’s plastic is recycled each year, with the rest ending up in landfills or incinerated.
The report also recommends ending fossil fuel subsidies that help make new plastic products cheaper, discouraging recycling and the use of alternative materials. Fossil fuels are the raw material for almost all plastics. Using appropriate alternative materials for single-use products such as packaging and bags, including switching to more biodegradable compostable materials, could reduce plastic pollution by a further 17%. The report comes as countries prepare for a second round of talks in Paris later this month to agree the world’s first international plastics treaty. It will cover the entire life cycle of plastics, from production to disposal. Whether the deal will include restrictions on plastic production remains a stumbling block in negotiations.
In the meantime
UNEP estimates that reducing plastic use by 80% will save 0.5 billion tonnes of carbon pollution from global warming per year. It could also create 700,000 new jobs, mostly in developing countries. However, even with all these changes, the world will still have to recycle around 100 million metric tons of plastic waste from short-lived products by 2040, the report says. This is equivalent in weight to nearly five million shipping containers that can be shipped from New York to Australian Sydney and back.
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