Plastic waste production reaches record 0:50
Brisbane, Australia (CNN) --
The world is producing a record amount of single-use plastic waste, much of it made from polymers created from fossil fuels, despite global efforts to reduce plastic pollution and carbon emissions, according to a new report released Monday.
The second Plastic Waste Makers Index, compiled by the non-profit Minderoo Foundation, found that the world generated 139 million metric tons of single-use plastic waste in 2021, which is 6 million metric tons more than in 2019. , when the first index was published.
The report found that the additional plastic waste created in those two years equated to nearly 1 kilogram (2.2 pounds) more for every person on the planet and was driven by demand for flexible packaging such as plastic wrap and sachets.
Single-use plastic wreaks havoc on the planet.
What can you do to minimize its impact?
In recent years, governments around the world have announced policies to reduce the volume of single-use plastic, banning products such as single-use straws, disposable cutlery, food packaging, cotton swabs, bags and balloons.
In July, California became the first US state to announce its own targets, which include a 25% reduction in the sale of plastic packaging by 2032. In December, the UK expanded its list of prohibited items. to include single-use trays, balloon sticks, and some types of Styrofoam cups and food containers.
There are also bans in the European Union, Australia and India, among other places.
Many countries have banned single-use plastic plates and cutlery.
Credit: Adobe Stock
However, the report concludes that recycling is not increasing fast enough to keep up with the amount of plastic being produced, which means that used products are much more likely to end up in landfills, beaches, rivers and oceans than to reach the recycling plants.
advertising
The index mentions just two companies in the petrochemical industry that recycle and produce recycled polymers on a large scale: Taiwanese conglomerate Far Eastern New Century and Thai Indorama Ventures, the world's largest producer of recycled PET for beverage bottles.
California becomes the first US state to ban straws or straws
Indorama Ventures is also fourth in a list of the world's 20 largest producers of virgin polymers used in single-use plastics.
The list is headed by US oil company Exxon Mobil, China's Sinopec and another US heavyweight, Dow, in that order, according to the report.
And by making polymers intended for single-use plastic, those 20 companies generated some 450 million metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions, about the same amount of total emissions as the UK, according to the Carbon Trust and Wood Mackenzie, which analyzed the data.
Last June, the UK Office for National Statistics stated that British greenhouse gas emissions fell by 13%, to just over 478 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (Mt Co2e) in the year until 2020.
"It shows, without a doubt, that the problem of plastic pollution is growing and is being driven by polymer producers, which of course is driven by the oil and gas sector," said Andrew Forrest. , founder of Minderoo and CEO of iron ore giant Fortescue Metals.
Building reflected in the waters of a river full of garbage in Manila, on January 23, 2016. Credit: NOEL CELIS/AFP/AFP/Getty Images
Forrest proposes paying a "polymer premium" for every kilogram of plastic polymer made from fossil fuels to give people, businesses and governments a financial incentive to recycle more.
Sea pollution: there are 14 million metric tons of microplastics on the seabed, according to a study
"In the advanced world, that payment for polymer will lead to automatic mechanisation of collection. In the developing world, it will put people who otherwise would not have jobs, have jobs making sure there is no plastic waste in the ocean, that there is no there is plastic waste on the streets, that there is no plastic waste poisoning wildlife," he said.
Last year, the United Nations Environment Assembly, the world's highest decision-making body on the environment, agreed to create the first global treaty on plastic pollution.
An intergovernmental committee is working to draft a legally binding agreement that addresses the entire life cycle of plastic, from its production and design to its disposal to be published by 2024.
plastic pollution