Problematic Plastic.

• Author: Gourmelon, Gaelle
• Position: WORLD WATCHER

FOR MORE THAN 50 YEARS, global production of plastic has continued to rise. More than 300,000,000 tons of plastics were produced in 2017. Recovery and recycling, however, remain insufficient, and millions of tons of plastics end up in landfills and oceans each year. Worldwide plastic production has been growing as the durable, primarily petroleum-based items gradually replace materials like glass and metal. Today, an average person living in North America or Western Europe consumes 100 kilograms of plastic each year, mostly in the form of packaging. Asia uses 20 kilograms per person, but this figure is expected to grow rapidly as economies in the region expand.

According to the United Nations Environmental Program, between 22%-43% of the plastic used worldwide is disposed of in landfills, where its resources are wasted. Moreover, the material takes up valuable space and it blights communities. Recovering plastic from the waste stream for recycling or for combustion for energy generation has the potential to minimize these problems. However, much of the plastic collected for recycling is shipped to countries with lower environmental regulation, and burning plastic for energy requires air emissions controls and produces hazardous ash, all while being relatively inefficient

Before its recent ban on the impport of nonindustrial plastic waste, China received 56% (by weight) of waste plastic imports worldwide. Indirect evidence suggests that most of this imported plastic is reprocessed at low-tech, family-run facilities with no environmental protection controls, such as proper disposal of contaminants or wastewater. There also are concerns that low-quality plastics are not reused but instead are disposed of or incinerated for energy in plants that lack air pollution control systems. However, through its Green Fence Operation, the Chinese government has started to work to reduce the number unregulated facilities.

Approximately 10,000,000-20,000,000 tons of plastic end up in the oceans each year. A recent study conservatively estimated that 5.25 trillion plastic particles weighing 268,940 tons are floating in the world's oceans. This plastic debris results in an estimated $13,000,000,000 a year in losses from damage to marine ecosystems, including financial losses to fisheries and tourism as well as time spent cleaning beaches. Animals such as seabirds, whales, and dolphins can become entangled in plastic matter, while floating plastic items--such...