The OECD has released a damning report on global plastic pollution. It revealed over 7 billion of the 9.2 billion tons of plastic produced between 1950 and 2017 is now landfill waste. European OECD countries performed the best, with a measly 14% of plastic recycled. New technologies offer promise, and some nations have clamped down. As a result of this report, 173 member countries passed a new UN resolution on plastic which has been hailed as the “biggest climate deal since the 2015 Paris Agreement.”
Pollution by the numbers — Only 9% of global plastic is recycled, while 22% is mismanaged, 19% is incinerated, and 49% is sent to landfills. In the United States, just 4% of plastic is recycled and 73% is sent to landfills. Much of Asia incinerates the majority of plastic, but there are doubts about incineration’s efficacy, particularly in countries with poor environmental regulations. Also, it is almost certainly less energy-efficient than recycling. A focus on recycling could only address the symptom, not the root problem. A potential reason the world over-produces plastic is that consumers are time-poor; too often convenience is prioritized over the environment, despite record levels of productivity.
What can be done? – Keurig Dr. Pepper plans to test its first fully recyclable and compostable paper bottle in order to reduce its plastic use by 20% in 2025. Universities in the UK lead the way in recycling research. The University of Bath just developed a new method that could make industrial recycling more economically viable. The University of Portsmouth has developed an enzyme that “eats” through plastic. Elsewhere, countries like France and Spain have begun to clamp down on single-use plastics. Recycling workers are also 2x as likely to be injured on the job with high fatality rates, so AI-enabled systems could improve these conditions for workers and improve the purity of the waste stream.
What’s in the cards — What happens in Europe will likely be followed by the US and others. The European Commission could build on its Innovation Fund to incentivize new technologies and develop more efficient systems for plastic management. The EU could also institute a four-day workweek to reduce plastic habits built from time-poor lifestyles. The UN’s new treaty will develop regulations for every aspect of the waste lifecycle, and it should be finalized by 2024. After plastic, plans for recycling other materials like precious metals for batteries and textiles used in fast fashion could follow
Post time: Mar-27-2022