by Alexandra de Jager, AWG Paris, FAUSA
Plastic waste. It’s everywhere – from the depths of the oceans to the peaks of mountains. Even before COVID-19, the volume of plastic per day going into the ocean by weight was equivalent to 90 aircraft carriers. This is the speed at which we are destroying the ocean. According to UN Secretary-General António Guterres, by 2050, plastic will have more weight than fish in the ocean.[1] On mountains such as Mt. Everest, the paths are littered with single-use water bottles,[2]just like overflowing trash bins at tourist attractions around the world.
But the story gets worse. With the COVID-19 pandemic, we are experiencing a plastic pandemic. It is a double tsunami of plastic waste: 1) the demand for the manufacturing of “new” plastic is up while the use of recycled plastic is down; and 2) our pandemic lifestyle makes us more reliant on single-use and often non-recyclable plastic. In other words, we are producing more plastic while recycling less and thereby increasing plastic waste on our planet. Further, once plastic is made, it does not go away, whether it is recycled or not. Plastic does not decompose, but rather breaks down to micro-plastics and permeates every aspect of our life. These micro-plastics can enter our food chain through seafood, for instance. There is even evidence that microscopic plastic is in rainfall[3]and our drinking water as well.
The origin of plastic?
To understand the origins of plastic is to understand that nearly all plastic starts from fossil fuel. With the economic slowdown caused by the pandemic, the demand for oil has
dropped and so, too, has the price. This price drop makes the manufacturing of new or “virgin” plastic cheaper than buying recycled plastic. For instance, drinksbottles made of recycled plastic, the most commonly recycled plastic item, have become less viable. To make them is 83–93% more expensive than new bottle-grade plastic.[4] According to a yearly brand audit, Coca-Cola, Nestle and PepsiCo have been the world’s top three plastic polluters. Although these companies have set voluntary goals to increase recycled plastic in their products, they have largely failed to meet them. ‟We often pay more for recycled plastic than we would if we purchased virgin plastic,” a Nestle spokesperson said. Since the coronavirus struck, recyclers worldwide have seen their businesses shrink by more than 20% in Europe, by 50% in parts of Asia and as much as 60% for some firms in the United States. The US has become one of the cheapest places to make virgin plastic, so more is coming onto the market.[4]
Simultaneously, the pandemic has increased our need for single-use plastic that could be the difference between life and death. Face masks are made partly from plastic, and so are hospital gowns, intravenous bags and ventilators. “There are 129 billion face masks being made every month – enough that you could cover the entire country of Switzerland with face masks at the end of this year if trends continue,” says Dave Ford, founder of the Ocean Plastics Leadership Network. “And a lot of these masks are ending up in the water. The masks look like jellyfish – thus, food – to turtles and other wildlife creatures.”[5]In addition, our current pandemic lifestyle makes us even more reliant on single-use, non-recyclable plastic. Not only is the demand for face shields and gloves up, but so is the demand for takeaway food containers, plastic bags and bubble wrap for online shopping. “Packaged take-out meals and home-delivered groceries contributed an additional 1400 tons of plastic waste during Singapore’s 8-week lockdown. The global plastic packaging market size is projected to grow from USD 909.2 billion in 2019 to 1012.6 billion by 2021, at a compound annual growth rate of 5.5%, mainly due to pandemic response.”[6] Since most of these items cannot be recycled, plastic waste has surged and is ending up in the ocean. That’s approximately a 30% increase in plastic waste in our ocean. Countries with poor waste management and recycling infrastructure will have an even harder time handling larger volumes of plastic waste. “Improper disposal of just 1% of face masks translates to more than 10 million items, weighing 30,000 to 40,000 kg. Waterlogged COVID-19-related plastic has been observed on beaches and in water, potentially aggravating the challenge of curtailing microplastics.”[6] The plastic going into the oceans would reach 600 million tonnes – the weight of 3 million blue whales.[4]
What, then, is the solution?
There are, in fact, many solutions that are multilateral among nations, simultaneous among consumers, producers and investors, and all interlinked at the national, state and individual levels. At the “Countdown Global Launch, A Call to Action on Climate Change” online event in October 2020, Pope Francis urged us to pull investments out of companies who are not committed to protecting the environment: “One way to encourage this change is to lead companies towards the urgent need to commit to the integral care of our common home, excluding from investments companies that do not meet (these) parameters ... and rewarding those that (do).”[7] We, the consumers and manufacturers, need to transition away from products made of fossil fuel. To do this, transparency is key. A recent World Wildlife Fund initiative called “ReSource: Plastic” had five large companies – Starbucks, Keurig/Dr Pepper, McDonald’s Corporation, Procter & Gamble and The Coca-Cola Company – go public with how much plastic waste they manufactured, whether the plastic is recyclable or not, and where they believe the plastic is ending up. By 2030, it is the hope that the 100 biggest companies will sign up for this transparency initiative.
On a personal level, we can continue to stay educated on environmental issues so that we are equipped to talk and advocate in a way that convinces people, government and companies and helps move public opinion. We can reduce our waste as well as being thoughtful about buying locally and sustainably. These are topics that we will explore in further detail in later articles. For now, we can visit the UN website for ideas.
In US President Biden’s inaugural speech, he said, “A cry for survival comes from the planet itself. A cry that can’t be any more desperate or any more clear... Now we must step up. All of us. It is a time for boldness, for there is so much to do.” The answer is that we must meet the challenge together. US Youth Poet Laureate Amanda Gorman echoes this command, “We seek harm to none and harmony for all. Let the globe, if nothing else, say this is true. That even as we grieved, we grew. That even as we hurt, we hoped. That even as we tired, we tried that will forever be tied together victorious... We will not be turned around or interrupted by intimidation because we know our inaction and inertia will be the inheritance of the next generation. Our blunders become their burdens. But one thing is certain, if we merge mercy with might and might with right, then love becomes our legacy and change our children’s birthright.”[8]
Sources
- Columbia University World Leaders Forum
- Single-use plastics banned in Nepal's Everest region
- It’s Now Raining Plastic In Parts Of Colorado
- THE PLASTIC PANDEMIC COVID-19 trashed the recycling dream
- COVID-19 Pandemic Has Led To More Ocean Plastic Pollution
- Accumulation of plastic waste during COVID-19
- Pull investments from companies not committed to environment, pope says
- Amanda Gorman reads inauguration poem, 'The Hill We Climb'
Images: Pixabay
