Global plastic crisis looms
The amount of global plastic pollution is set to triple by 2030 if rapid and broad reaching policy changes aren’t made, a new report released by the World Wide Fund-US has concluded.
The new Solving Plastic Pollution Through Accountability report concludes that too much responsibility to reduce plastic consumption is placed on consumers, rather than producers and policy makers.
Released ahead of the United Nations Environment Assembly meeting in Nairobi, the study shows that over 270 species have been documented as being harmed by plastic entanglement, while over 240 have been found to have ingested plastics.
According to the report, a business as usual scenario will see CO2 emissions from the plastic life cycle are expected to increase by 50%, while the CO2 increase from plastic incineration is set to triple by 2030, due to wrong waste management choices.
“We are in the thick of a global plastic waste crisis. As plastic pollution continues to wreak havoc on the natural world and impact communities, wildlife, and people, we can’t wait to address the damage that has already been done,” said Nik Sekhran, Chief Conservation Officer at World Wildlife Fund-US.
“We need to shut off the faucet of plastic that is leaking into our environment. Embracing a holistic approach from design to disposal will put us on a path toward transforming the entire value chain and get us closer to our goal of no plastic in nature.”
The release of the report comes days after the European Parliament released a draft motion that could potentially see the majority single use plastics banned throughout the Eurozone in the coming decades.
The full report can be found here