PLASTIC PRODUCTION CONTINUES TO GROW.
Plastic production continues to grow - it doubled between 2000 and 2019 - and not even the pandemic has been able to slow its advance. According to a report published by the OECD, it actually increased waste from single-use plastics. Moreover, the percentage of this material that ends up recycled, although it varies by area, rarely exceeds 14% (average for the OECD countries of the European Union) and at a global level it remains at 9%.
Plastic production continues to grow - it doubled between 2000 and 2019 - and not even the pandemic has been able to slow its advance. According to a report published by the OECD, it actually increased waste from single-use plastics. Moreover, the percentage of this material that ends up recycled, although it varies by area, rarely exceeds 14% (average for the OECD countries of the European Union) and at a global level it remains at 9%.
Thus, the report shows that the use of plastics fell by 2.2% in 2020 compared to the previous year, but the pandemic also brought about a greater use of single-use plastics (in part, in fact, due to health needs, with gloves, masks and wrapping). The recovery of economic activity, they point out, also implied an increase in the consumption of this good.
The OECD also regrets that the coronavirus crisis has "exacerbated plastic pollution". In other words, not only was the material used more in disposable functions, but this second action was taken literally and bags or masks ended up on the streets.
This is, in fact, another of the problems and challenges posed by a plasticised world: poorly managed waste becomes the 'gateway' through which macroplastics - anything larger than five millimetres in diameter, which accounts for 88% of the total - reach the environment. Microplastics, on the other hand, come from sources as diverse as tyre wear and tear, vehicle brakes and the cleaning of textile products. Between them, 22 million tonnes were released into the environment in 2019 alone.
"It's a real disaster," laments Carlos Arribas, head of waste at Ecologistas en Acción. In his opinion, "the issue of single-use plastic has to be limited" and the way to do this is "at source". Measures are already being taken - Arribas mentions the tax on this product and the modification of the Royal Decree on packaging - and, at the same time, to increase the use of recycled material. In short, the environmentalist points out, going where it hurts: the wallets. "In a capitalist and market society, the only way to achieve this is with environmental taxes.
"When you touch the pockets of companies or individuals, behaviour changes," Arribas acknowledges. The OECD, however, is more pessimistic and considers that these tools, already adopted by more than 120 countries, "are not doing enough to reduce global pollution". The problem is that most of these laws are limited to action against specific objects such as bags "which make up a tiny part of plastic waste". They are therefore more effective in reducing the amount of litter that litters the streets, but not in reducing the overall consumption of the material.
Meanwhile, annual plastic production has already reached 460 million tonnes in 2019 - the latest available data - according to the OECD. By comparison, the millennium began with 234 million tonnes, almost half as much. More worrying is the increase in waste, which has not only gone hand in hand, but has increased at a faster rate: from 156 million tonnes in 2000 to 353 million tonnes in 2019.
The consequences are already being felt across the planet and are having a strong impact on aquatic environments, where there are already more than 139 million tonnes of plastics. The vast majority, 109 million, are in rivers, while an additional 30 million have found their way into the oceans. In 2019 alone, the organisation laments, 6.1 million tonnes of this material accumulated in rivers, lakes and seas. In fact, there is so much accumulated in rivers that even if the problem were significantly reduced, tons of plastics would continue to flow into the world's oceans for decades.
When it comes to pointing the finger of blame, Arribas recalls that "most of the plastics that end up in the sea are packaging" and this points directly to extended producer responsibility. This does not mean that citizens and users are doing well, but its scope is smaller.
Recycling: little and badly
The OECD study reveals that, although 15% of plastic is collected for recycling, 40% of it ends up being disposed of as waste. In total, globally 9% is recycled, 19% is incinerated, 50% ends up in landfills and 22% evades waste management systems (it can end up in illegal landfills, open fires or simply the environment).
The data in more specific areas do not reveal any that can be held up as a mirror in which the planet should see itself reflected. The 14% plastic recycling rate of EU OECD countries (where each citizen produces on average 114 kilos of plastic waste per year) is the most flattering figure. In second place comes 13% shared by China and India, where it contrasts with high percentages of uncontrolled plastic (27% and 46%, respectively).
Arribas agrees with this pessimism. "The data from the Spanish plastics employers' association states that, at most, around 33% is being recycled," he explains. However, in this percentage, what is exported to third countries is also considered recycled, when "there is no way of justifying that these countries actually recycle this plastic and have sufficient infrastructure to manage and treat this waste under the same conditions as in Spain".
In this sense, the head of waste at Ecologists in Action considers that the low value of poor quality plastic has a great influence, which, as it has no outlet on the market, accumulates in landfills or recycling plants and often ends up in flames - "fires are constant", he says - or spends its days in the open air.
The hope comes from the fact that the plastic that comes out of sorting plants, which arrives from the yellow containers, can be worth between 100 and 200 euros per tonne, and therefore has a commercial outlet. It is part of the 9% of the total that is recycled globally which, in turn, does not end up in the water.
SOURCE : https://www.elmundo.es/ciencia-y-salud/medio-ambiente/2022/02/23/621512a8e4d4d8d8218b45c2.html