SUSTAINABILITY AND THE ENVIRONMENT
Professor Fletcher adds that , importantly , the meaning of the term ‘ end plastics pollution ’ has to be negotiated : “ Does it mean absolutely zero pollution or does it mean zero pollution reaching a particular environment ? Or does it mean net zero where we accept there will be some pollution , but we then clean it up to achieve net zero waste entering the environment ? All this has to be determined , and the determination has to be informed by research .
“ So hopefully the way forward for a global agreement will be through changing the system in which plastic is made and used , rather than simply trying to influence people ’ s recycling behaviour .”
This was Professor Fletcher ’ s message to the UK Parliament ’ s Environment , Food and Rural Affairs Committee ( EFRA ) in early 2022 . Giving evidence to a plastic waste inquiry , he reiterated that any solution will only work if the entire system of production , consumption and waste management is considered as a whole : “ Isolated intervention won ’ t work unless the rest of the system is adapted to that intervention or configured to allow that intervention to work ,” he said .
The Global Plastics Policy Centre is the world ’ s only independent research body with a dedicated team focused on developing rigorous , evidence-based plastics policy analysis . Its work is supported by the Netherlandsbased Flotilla Foundation , a philanthropic body with a mission to enhance humankind ’ s relationship with the marine environment .
Half of all plastics ever manufactured have been made in the last 15 years .
Production increased exponentially , from 2 million tonnes in 1950 to 406 million tonnes by 2015 . Production is expected to double by 2050 .
Plastics often contain additives making them stronger , more flexible and durable . But many of these additives can extend the life of products if they become litter , with some estimates ranging to at least
400 years to break down .
Every year , about 7 million tonnes of plastic waste escapes into the oceans from coastal nations . That ’ s the equivalent of setting five garbage bags full of trash on every foot of coastline around the world ..
SOURCE : NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC
ISSUE 04 / 2022 27