(First of 3 parts)
The world generated an estimated 400 million tons of plastic waste last year. This torrent of water and shampoo bottles, dispensing containers, polyester shirts, PVC piping and other plastic products weighed as much as 40,000 Eiffel Towers.
It is part and parcel of a plastic pollution crisis that experts say is ravaging ecosystems, exposing people to potentially harmful pollutants and stoking climate change.
“Plastic pollution is one of the gravest environmental threats facing the Earth but it’s a problem we can solve,” said Elisa Tonda, chief of the Resources and Markets Branch of the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP). “Doing so could not only improve the well-being of people and planet but also unlock a host of economic opportunities.”
Countries worldwide are now negotiating an international legally binding agreement to end plastic pollution. Against that backdrop, this year’s World Environment Day will focus on ways to prevent plastic waste from escaping into the environment, such as curbing pollution from single-use plastic products and redesigning plastic products so they last longer.
Ahead of World Environment Day, here’s a closer look at what plastic pollution is, why it’s such a problem and what can be done about it.
1. How much plastics is out there?
A lot. Today, plastics are an important part of the modern world, used in everything from car parts to medical devices. Since the 1950s, researchers estimate humanity has produced 9.2 billion tons of material, some 7 billion tons of which have become waste.
2. What kinds of plastics are the most problematic?
A major source of plastic pollution are single-use plastic products, which are not circulated in the economy, overwhelming waste systems and entering the environment. Some of the most common single-use plastic products are water bottles, dispensing containers, takeaway bags, disposable cutlery, freezer bags and packaging foam.
3. Where do you find plastic pollution?
polyethylene
(HDPE) Shampoo
bottles, milk bottles,
freezer bags, ice
cream containers
The short answer: nearly everywhere. It’s in lakes, rivers and the ocean. It dots city streets and farmers’ fields. It’s bursting from dumpsites. It’s piling up in deserts and worming its way into sea ice. Researchers have even found plastic debris on Mount Everest and in the Mariana Trench, the deepest point on Earth. (To be continued)
UNEP News