Plastics that are blighting the natural environment and the world's oceans had the spotlight firmly shone on them at the United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA) on December 6th.
Ocean plastics
The meeting in Nairobi approved resolution UNEP/EA.3/L.20 which came to the conclusion that a system that supports effective waste management while minimizing the accumulation of waste in intelligent design and recyclability are paramount to tackling the volume of plastics in the environment.
UN Oceans Chief Lisa Svensson described the current state of plastic materials and their presence in the marine environment has reached "planetary crisis" levels, and made it clear that governments, businesses and individuals must work together to bring an end to plastic pollution to prevent more damage.
Chairman of the World Plastics Council Abdulrahman Al-Fageeh said: "This resolution, adopted during the third session of the United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA3), adds to the fast-growing global consensus that to end marine plastic pollution we must invest in improved municipal solid waste management, with a focus on emerging economies with large populations near rivers and coastlines.
"Since 2011, our industry has partnered in many efforts to research and prevent marine debris around the world under our “Declaration of the Global Plastics Solutions for Solutions on Marine Litter,” which has been signed by 70 plastics associations in 35 countries. Our 2016 Progress Report lists 260 projects that have been completed or are in progress in various parts of the world since the effort began."
Al-Fageeh added that it is important to remember that plastics bring environmental benefits to the supply chain such as lightweighting to enable us to reduce fuel consumption in vehicles and to transport products more economically. He cited the Trucost study Plastics and Sustainability: A Valuation of Environmental Benefits, Costs, and Opportunities for Continuous Improvement, which sets out the carbon footprint of a product packaged in plastic compared to a product packaged in alternative materials and across its lifecycle the plastic packaged product was the more environmentally economical.
“Marine debris is a complex, global issue that deserves thoughtful consideration and action on the part of government, scientists and industries working together," said Al-Fageeh. "The UNEA3 resolution through waste management practices will help support long-term, integrated solutions to this challenge”
The World Plastics Council will continue to support initiatives to drive waste minimisation and environmentally sound solid waste management.
