Earth Today | Find and champion solutions to plastics pollution – UNEP
Published:Thursday | May 11, 2023 | 12:44 AM
WORLD ENVIRONMENT Day beckons and countries are being directed to turn their attention to the growing problem of plastics pollution.
With more than 400 million tonnes of plastics produced globally each year and between 19 million and 23 million tonnes ending up in rivers, seas and lakes, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), which leads World Environment Day, June 5, is encouraging people to “find and champion” solutions to plastics pollution.
The situation is given urgency by the fact that plastics present not only a pollution problem, but also contribute to the climate problem and hold implications for the health of people and the natural environment. Climate risks and threats, including extreme weather events, such as hurricanes and droughts, together with rising sea levels and higher global temperatures, are especially problematic for Caribbean and other small island developing states.
“The production of plastic is one of the most energy-intensive manufacturing processes in the world. The material is made from fossil fuels such as crude oil, which are transformed via heat and other additives into a polymer. In 2019, plastics generated 1.8 billion metric tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions – 3.4 per cent of the global total,” reads an April 25 UNEP story on the subject.
“Affordable, durable and flexible, plastic pervades modern life, appearing in everything from packaging to clothes to beauty products. But it is thrown away on a massive scale: every year, more than 280 million tonnes of short-lived plastic products become waste,” the article added, in clear emphasis of the urgency of now to act to manage a product that takes hundreds of years to break down.
A key part of the response, according to the UNEP, is bringing about a shift from the linear plastic economy, characterised by production, use and disposal, to a circular plastic economy that keeps plastic “at its highest value for as long as possible”.
It is against this background that UNEP has itself championed the United Nations Environment Assembly resolution for an agreement that ends plastic pollution.
That agreement, on which work is being progressed, is – as advanced by Inger Andersen, executive director of the UNEP, speaking in September last year during a side event at the 77th session of the UN General Assembly – to enable a circular plastics economy.
“We need a broad instrument that does not just tinker around the edges of the problem. This means a deal that covers the full life cycle of plastics use: from considering different types of polymers to designing products that retain the value of plastics when recycled, to developing safe and environmentally sound waste management. We need to be unapologetic about reduce, reuse, recycle, and redesign because we cannot just recycle ourselves out of this mess,” she said at the time.
“We must focus on the benefits of a new plastics economy. We should view this process as the chance to create a thriving new economy. This deal can create economic opportunities and alleviate poverty through new business models, new jobs, new market opportunities for recycling, and new designs, materials, and products. We stand to gain more than we will lose,” Andersen added.
“We need to think of plastic as a valuable commodity, not to be used excessively, lazily or wastefully – as in many single-use plastics. By giving value to this resource, we will treat it more carefully,” the UNEP boss said further.
Held annually since 1973, World Environment Day is this year to see its 50th year. It has, since inception, grown to become the largest global platform for environmental outreach and advocacy.