Page 24 - Plastics News July 2021

FEATURES

&DOO IRU D %LQGLQJ *OREDO $JUHHPHQW WR $GGUHVV WKH /LIH &\FOH RI
Plastics

No silver-bullet solution exists for the multifaceted nature of plastic pollution, the answer instead, lies in a blend
of approaches, say scientists..

n the past, the international Amid the global plastic pollution crisis, a growing
Icommunity tended to view number of governments and nongovernmental actors are
the plastics problem from proposing a new global treaty. In February 2021, at the
a predominantly ocean- ÀIWK PHHWLQJ RI WKH 8QLWHG 1DWLRQV (QYLURQPHQW $VVHPEO\
focused and waste-centered 81($ WKH ZRUOG V KLJKHVW OHYHO GHFLVLRQ PDNLQJ ERG\
perspective. However, plastics on the environment many governments spoke in favor of
are increasingly found in all an international agreement to combat plastic pollution.
environmental media, including
terrestrial ecosystems and the A binding global treaty is needed to phase out the
atmosphere, as well as human SURGXFWLRQ RI ´YLUJLQµ RU QHZ SODVWLF E\ VFLHQWLVWV
matrices, including lungs and have said. The solution to the blight of plastic pollution in
SODFHQWD :H WKHUHIRUH DUJXH the oceans and on land would be a worldwide agreement
for a new international legally binding agreement that on limits and controls, they say in a special report in the
addresses the entire life cycle of plastics, from extraction journal Science.
of raw materials to legacy plastic pollution. Only by Since the 1950s about 8bn tonnes of plastic has been
taking this approach can efforts match the magnitude and produced. The effects are everywhere. One of the reports
transboundary nature of this escalating problem and its authors, Nils Simon, said: “Plastics are ubiquitously found
social, environmental, and economic impacts. Targeting in increasing amounts worldwide, including in terrestrial
the full life cycle of plastics allows for a more equitable HQYLURQPHQWV DQG HYHQ LQVLGH WKH KXPDQ ERG\ µ 7KH
GLVWULEXWLRQ RI WKH FRVWV DQG EHQHÀWV RI UHOHYDQW DFWLRQV authors say the very properties that have made plastic
across the global value chain. an apparently essential modern material also make it
a serious environmental threat. Science senior editor
Jesse Smith, writes: “As for much new technology, their
development and proliferation occurred with little
consideration for their impacts, but now it’s impossible
to deny their dark side as we confront a rapidly growing
plastic pollution problem. “The time for preventing plastic
pollution is long past – the time for changing the future
RI SODVWLFV LQ RXU ZRUOG KRZHYHU LV QRZ µ
The report calls for a new global treaty “to cover the
entire lifecycle of plastics, from the extraction of the
raw materials needed for its manufacture to its legacy
SROOXWLRQµ 7KH ODUJHVW SURSRUWLRQ RI SODVWLF ZDVWH
FRPHV IURP SDFNDJLQJ PDWHULDOV ZKLOH WH[WLOHV DUH
UHVSRQVLEOH IRU DQG WUDQVSRUW (DFK \HDU RI
ZRUOGZLGH SODVWLF ZDVWH HQGV XS LQ WKH RFHDQV LQ
that amounted to about 8m tonnes of plastic. Yet plastic
production has continued to increase. In 2019, 368m
tonnes of newly made, or virgin, plastics were produced.
By 2050, the production of new plastic from fossil fuels
FRXOG FRQVXPH RI WKH UHPDLQLQJ JOREDO FDUERQ
budget permissible to ensure temperatures rise to no more

Plastics News July 2021 24