Earth Day 2018: Plastic pollution tops the agenda

23 Apr 2018 --- The major theme of yesterday’s Earth Day was the global issue of plastic pollution. Earth Day focused its attention on fundamentally changing human attitudes and behavior about plastics and catalyzing a significant reduction in plastic pollution across the world. The move comes as an ever-increasing number of nations establish strategies for dealing with plastic pollution.

In support of Earth Day’s agenda: “A world without plastic pollution”, a joint discussion with key representatives of United Nations agencies and governments was held to exchange best practices. The Government of Quebec Office in New York, in partnership with New York University and Earth Day Network, convened experts, from city hall to state and national capitals, to take stock on tackling the global plastic bag issue.

According to international experts, it is estimated that approximately a trillion plastic bags are used around the world every year. If current pollution rates continue, there will be more plastic in the sea than fish by 2050, according to the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). The average plastic bag is used for 20 minutes and takes more than 400 years to break down. To put these numbers in context, in 2015, the world produced 322 million tons of plastic – the equivalent of 900 Empire State Buildings.

In January, Montréal became the first big city in Canada to ban single-use plastic bags and the Canadian federal government is leveraging its presidency at this year’s G7 meeting in Charlevoix, Québec, to highlight the plastic problem.

“Plastic pollutants are turning up in everything from endangered wildlife to municipal water supplies and we, as users of plastic, must come up with solutions,” said Kathleen Rogers, President of Earth Day Network. “We thank the government of Quebec and NYU for joining with us in this important forum that has provided a strong set of best practices for disposable plastics like plastic bags.”

“Plastic pollution is a global problem, but in the absence of a coordinated global response, local action will be necessary to find our way to a solution,” said New York State Senator Liz Krueger. “Montreal has joined hundreds of cities, states, and countries around the world in banning single-use plastic bags. I’m confident that New York State will not be far behind.  Small changes to our daily consumption routines can have a big impact on our shared environment, and ensure that we protect our quality of life for ourselves, our children and grandchildren.”

“The Clean Seas campaign of UN Environment seeks to address plastic pollution in a global effort, in cooperation with governments, businesses and others. It strikes at the root-causes of marine litter by targeting non-recoverable and single-use plastics. More than 40 countries have already joined the campaign and many others will be joining soon,” said Jamil Ahmad, Director, a.i. UN Environment.

Moroccan Representative to the United Nations, Abdellah Larhmaid said, “There is a commitment at the highest level in Morocco. In his speech at COP21 in Paris, His Majesty King Mohammed VI expressed the need for a binding law on plastic bags. This resulted in a law that came into effect in 2016 – in the lead up to the UN Climate Change Conference in Marrakech.”

Insights from the meeting highlight that policies to ban or put a price on plastic bags are highly effective in reducing plastic pollution. Successful implementation of these laws or regulations can be achieved through proven strategies. Countries or cities are most successful when they conduct studies about the economic impact of the possible policies, which provides them with enough data to engage the public, the plastic industry, and other constituencies.

The UK government claim that the introduction of the 5p plastic bag charge has led to the distribution of nine billion fewer bags across the nation. It makes up part of the Conservative government’s strategy to abolish all plastic waste by 2040, a pledge which has already seen the ban of microbeads and, more recently, plans to launch a tax consultation of single-use plastics, the introduction of a European-style deposit-return scheme on all plastic, glass and metal drink containers, and a proposed ban on all plastic straws, drink mixers and cotton buds.

The Earth Day discussions indicate that although governments, national and local, have found that industry groups sometimes push back when policies to drastically reduce the use of plastic bags are planned or announced, they are ultimately quick to adapt, especially when they have time to do so and are engaged throughout the process. Additionally, involving civil society groups and the non-profit sector is essential to engaging the wider community. Civil society groups can reach a wide network and effectively communicate the message about the problem and proposed solutions to build community support and action around plastic bag legislation.

An increasing number of large companies have pledged their commitments to tackling plastic pollution. The world’s largest food and beverage company, Nestlé, has announced ambitions to make 100 percent of its packaging recyclable of reusable by 2025. In similar moves, Iceland became the first UK supermarket to eradicate plastic from all its own-brand products by 2025, while Dutch organic supermarket chain, Ekoplaza, opened the world’s first plastic-free aisle. In the restaurant sector, McDonald’s promises to discontinue use of plastic straws in all of its UK restaurants, while Leon restaurant chain has already replaced plastic straws with biodegradable alternatives.

Although the environmental concerns of plastic pollution are undeniable, it is also important to reiterate that plastics are more eco-friendly and cost-effective to produce in comparison to other popular packaging materials. The same durability which makes plastics such a long-lasting and visible form of waste also allows for the material to be recycled at end-of-life, as well as provide solutions to global issues such as food waste and world hunger. In recent news, the discovery and modification of a PET-digesting enzyme has led the industry to reevaluate the role nature can play in breaking-down plastics.

By Joshua Poole