Plastic pollution on course to double by 2030
By Erwin Suwiji; Fri Dec 24, 2021
To help reduce plastic waste at the needed
scale, it proposes an accelerated transition from fossil fuels to renewable
energies, the removal of subsidies and a shift towards more circular
approaches towards reduction.
Titled From Pollution to Solution: a global assessment of marine
litter and plastic pollution, the documents also stressing that
plastics are a climate problem as well.
For example, in 2015, greenhouse gas
emissions from plastics were 1.7 gigatonnes of CO2 equivalent; by 2050,
they’re projected to increase to approximately
6.5 gigatonnes. That number represents 15 per cent of
the whole global carbon budget - the​​ amount of
greenhouse gas that can be emitted, while still keeping warming
within the Paris Agreement
goals.
Addressing solutions to the problem,
the authors pour cold water on the chances of recycling our way out of the
plastic pollution crisis.
They also warn against damaging
alternatives, such as bio-based or biodegradable plastics, which
currently pose a threat similar to conventional plastics.
The report looks at critical market failures,
such as the low price of virgin fossil fuel feedstocks (any renewable biological
material that can be used directly as a fuel) compared to recycled
materials, disjointed efforts in informal and formal plastic waste management,
and the lack of consensus on global solutions.
Currently, plastic accounts for 85 per cent
of all marine litter.
By 2040, it will nearly triple, adding
23-37 million metric tons of waste into the ocean per year. This means about
50kg of plastic per meter of coastline.
Because of this, all marine life, from
plankton and shellfish; to birds, turtles and mammals; faces the
grave risk of toxification, behavioral disorder, starvation and
suffocation.
The human body is similarly vulnerable. Plastics
are ingested through seafood, drinks and even common
salt. They also penetrate the skin and are inhaled when
suspended in the air.
In water sources, this type of pollution
can cause hormonal changes, developmental disorders, reproductive abnormalities
and even cancer.
According to the report, there are also significant consequences for the global economy.
Source : https://news.un.org/en/story/2021/10/1103692
