Only 9% Plastic Recycling Rate in the World, Worried about Plastic Pollution Epidemic. How is the International Response?
Reporting to channelnewsasia.com, the minimal level of plastic waste recycling in the world urges an international agreement. Paris, Tuesday (22/02/2022), the Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD) called for a “coordinated and global solution”. Based on the OECD report, the use of plastic waste in the past year has almost doubled since 2000, which is 460 million tons.
According to the OECD in the Global Plastics Outlook, only 9% of plastic waste is recycled, 19% is burned, 50% is disposed of in landfills, and the remaining 22% is disposed of in uncontrolled landfills.
This concerns the efforts of the world, which is faced with global warming and rampant pollution. It is known that in 2019, plastic alone accounted for 3.4% of global greenhouse emissions and 90% of fossil fuel production and conversion. The OECD calls for “the lifecycle of a more circular plastic” with policies to curb consumption as a whole.
Consideration of the Global Plastic Pollution Agreement at UNEA 5.2
Based on information from betahita.id, the plastic pollution agreement was followed up through the United Nations Environmental Assembly for the first time. The event occurred in the Kenyan capital Nairobi at the 28 February-2 March 2022 meeting.
It was attended by 3.400 participants in person and 1.500 online, 79 ministers and 17 dignitaries attended. The overall theme for UNEA-5 is “Strengthening Actions for Nature to Achieve the Sustainable Development Goals”.
There are two main proposals, the first by Peru and Rwanda with a life cycle approach that includes plastic pollution in all environments. The second is from Japan, which concentrates on marine plastic pollution.
It is hoped that this proposal will lead to a legally binding instrument on international environmental law in 2024 with the establishment of the Intergovernmental Negotiation Committee, which is still under consideration.
If the UN Environment Assembly endorses this agreement, it “would be the most significant global agreement; environmental governance decisions since the Paris (Climate) Agreement in 2015”, said UN Environment Program Executive Director Inger Andersen.
In addition, UNEA also agreed on 14 resolutions to strengthen action for nature to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.
