Plastic is a major pollution source that threatens our planet's and ourselves' health.
How can we tackle this global challenge? The UN environment chief has some ideas, but she also warns that recycling plastic is not enough.
The problem of plastic pollution
LUIS ACOSTA/AFP via Getty Images
Plastic is one of the most widely used materials in the world, but it also poses a serious threat to the environment and human health.
According to the UN Environment Program (UNEP), annual production of plastics has more than doubled in the past 20 years, to reach 460 million tons.
It could triple by 2060 if nothing changes. However, only 9% is recycled.
Plastic waste of all sizes is found today at the bottom of the oceans, in the stomachs of birds and on the tops of mountains, while microplastics have been detected in blood, breast milk and placentas.
Plastic pollution harms wildlife, ecosystems, biodiversity and climate change. It also affects human health through ingestion, inhalation and contact with toxic chemicals and pathogens.
The UNEP estimates that the global cost of plastic pollution to marine ecosystems is at least $13 billion per year.
Moreover, plastic production and disposal contribute to greenhouse gas emissions and consume fossil fuels and water resources.
With the production of plastic on the rise worldwide and creating ever more pollution, the UN environment chief, Inger Andersen, said that humanity cannot just recycle its way out of the mess, and she urged a total rethink about the way we use plastics.
She said that there are different ways to approach the problem, but everyone agrees that the current situation is unacceptable.
She was speaking two weeks after the publication of the first draft of a future international treaty on plastic pollution, which is expected to be finalized by the end of 2024.
It reflects the wide range of ambitions of the 175 countries involved, notably the gap between those who argue for a reduction in the production of raw polymers and those who insist on reuse and recycling.
Andersen said the first step was to eliminate as many single-use plastics as possible, especially those that are unnecessary or already wrapped by nature, like fruits.
She also said that we should rethink the design of products and see if they can be made in different forms, such as solid or concentrated.
She also said that we have to reduce the overall supply of new raw polymer, which was one option in the draft text of the treaty.
The UN chief added that recycling is important but not enough as plastic use increases. She warned that if we keep adding new raw polymers to the economy, we will not be able to stop the plastic flow into the oceans. And the health of the oceans is crucial for the future of humanity.
The future treaty on plastic pollution would complement the global arsenal to protect the oceans, including the new historic treaty to protect the high seas signed this week by some 70 countries.
It would also address issues such as transboundary movements of plastic waste, harmonization of standards and definitions, monitoring and reporting mechanisms, technical assistance and capacity building, and financial resources and mechanisms.
She said she hoped that "the world will come together around this treaty" and that "we will see a change in behavior" from both producers and consumers of plastics.
Furthermore, Andersen stressed that "the oceans are our collective heritage" and that "we have a duty to protect them" for ourselves and future generations.
