Finding solutions to plastic pollution

SGGP 06/05/2023 11:06

This year’s World Environment Day, June 5, has the theme “Solutions to Plastic Pollution” and the slogan “Beat Plastic Pollution”. The main event will be held in Ivory Coast in cooperation with the Netherlands.

A site for sorting plastic waste for recycling in Bangladesh

Very little plastic waste is recycled.

Ivory Coast and the Netherlands are considered two of the countries that are actively addressing the challenge of plastic pollution and moving towards the benefits of a circular plastics economy.

The Dutch government has taken ambitious steps towards the lifecycle of plastics. The Netherlands has also signed the global commitment to the New Plastics Economy and is a member of the Global Partnership on Plastic Pollution and Marine Litter. Meanwhile, Côte d’Ivoire has banned plastic bags since 2014 and switched to recyclable, biodegradable packaging. Abidjan, the largest city in Ivory Coast, has become a hub for startups looking to tackle plastic pollution.

2023 marks the 50th anniversary of the first World Environment Day in 1973. Over the past five decades, plastic pollution has become a global and alarming problem, not only increasing CO2 emissions but also threatening biodiversity, especially the survival of marine life. Microplastics have been found in human blood, breast milk, placentas, and the stomachs of seabirds. It is estimated that each person on the planet consumes more than 50,000 plastic particles per year, and even more if inhalation is taken into account.

According to the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), annual plastic production has more than doubled in the past 20 years to 460 million tonnes and is on track to triple within 40 years unless urgent action is taken. An estimated 66% of the plastic produced annually ends up in the environment after being used once or more, while less than 10% is recycled. UNEP notes that globally, only about 9% of plastic waste is recycled. Meanwhile, up to 22% of all plastic materials are mismanaged and end up as waste.

Unsustainable production needs to stop

Earlier, during five days of talks in the French capital Paris, delegations from 175 countries of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee discussed control measures to prevent plastic pollution, as well as considering whether to develop national plans for each country or set global targets to tackle the problem. At the end of the meeting, representatives of the countries agreed to develop a draft, which could soon become a legally binding treaty, reflecting the views of many countries when the next round of negotiations begins in November.

However, stakeholders appeared to focus on pollution rather than cutting plastic production, while analysts said the primary goal was to reduce new plastic production and ban the most polluting and health-threatening products as soon as possible. In a video message to the meeting, French President Emmanuel Macron called on the negotiating countries to end the “globalized and unsustainable” production model in which rich countries export plastic waste to poorer ones.

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