Topshot – A worker walks past recycled plastic bottles being packed at the La Silvia Recycling Center , [+]
According to a new study, the world has reached a tipping point when authorities and people cannot properly manage the plastic waste produced annually.
A report by Swiss-based research consultancy Earth Action warns that today (28 July) is the point in the year where the amount of short-lived plastic waste produced annually exceeds the global capacity to manage it effectively.
According to Earth Action, more than 68.5 million tons of short-lived plastics will be mismanaged and pollute the environment around the world this year.
While overall plastic waste has been managed well this year, global production of short-lived plastics is expected to reach 159 million tonnes in 2023, the study said.
This means that international capacity to manage plastics without leakage will no longer meet demand for the rest of the year.
As a result, the report estimates that 43% of all plastic waste is estimated to be mismanaged at the end of its life – the equivalent of more than 68.5 million tonnes of short-lived plastics polluting the environment this year alone.
The report also highlights that the plastic waste crisis disproportionately affects countries in the Global South.
Countries such as Bangladesh, Ecuador, India and South Africa are some of the Global South defined by Earth Action as a “waste sponge”, a country with low plastic consumption yet high levels of plastic pollution. is high level. through plastic imports.
Collectively, “waste sponge” countries account for 66.86 days of the total 157 days of plastic overshoot projected to occur in 2023.
Sarah Periard, co-chief executive of Earth Action, said in an interview that governments and corporations need to accurately and transparently measure their plastic footprints in terms of consumption, waste mismanagement and leakage, as many corporations are already doing. Are.
He also added a point that many countries have no waste infrastructure, or pre-existing systems are based on linear economic models.
“We need to develop more circular infrastructure models,” he told me.
“It means infrastructure for reuse and repair. Recycling is only a small part of the response and we are advocating for governments to get involved in the manufacture of such equipment to make current business models circular.
In a statement, Julian Boucher, founder and CEO of Earth Action, said today should be a watershed moment in the global plastic waste crisis.
‘Without this, the date of Plastics Overshoot Day will only be pushed forward every year. If we can measure and report our carbon footprints, why can’t we do the same for plastics?’
WWF’s head of global initiatives, John Duncan, said in a statement that the inherent inequities in the current plastics system have left the problem of plastic pollution “out of sight and out of mind for many”.
And he said that the social, economic and ecological burden is borne by low-income countries and poor communities.
“While improving global waste management capabilities will help, we need to focus our efforts on upstream reductions and systems design, which is where the greatest opportunities lie,” Duncan said.
