Eliminating plastic pollution

Plastic pollution is one of the most serious problems confronting the world, and Bangladesh is also finding it tough to combat the menace. All the wonderful new innovations made with plastic use the material because of its low cost and durability, but the bitter and unavoidable truth is that plastic is negatively impacting our environment by filling landfills, causing problems for animals, and polluting our planet.

Plastic takes a long time to degrade, and only nine per cent of plastic has been recycled and 12pc has been incinerated since processing began in the 1950s. Approximately, 79pc of the 8.3 billion metric tonnes generated is currently sitting in landfills or littering our lands, oceans and waterways.

Furthermore, the process of incineration releases poisonous chemicals into the atmosphere, which is akin to adding salt to injury. For that reason, it is estimated that if significant innovations and changes in policy and behaviour are not made, the influx of plastic materials into the oceans is expected to increase manifold by 2040.

According to a report published in The Business Post on Monday, voices around the world are becoming stronger to achieve complete elimination of plastic pollution by 2040 by refusing, reducing and recycling plastic products and introducing the use of plastic alternatives.

They are likely to raise them at the second session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC) on plastic pollution, including the marine environment (INC-2), to achieve a global treaty against plastic pollution is set to start in Paris, France on Monday.

This, we believe, is a natural consequence of years of campaigning by environmentalists across the globe. According to the latest UNEP report released on May 16, around 80 per cent of plastic pollution can be eliminated by 2040 and $4.5 trillion in investment costs can be saved.

In a circular economy, reuse of plastic will reduce pollution by 30 per cent and recycling will reduce 20 per cent while sustainable alternatives will reduce it further by 17 per cent.

The world is reaching a critical stage where environmental pollution is concerned — some would even argue we have crossed the tipping point. While Bangladesh, in global terms, figures far down on the list of contributors to greenhouse gas emissions and solid waste, our disposal mechanisms of the solid waste that we produce and how we dispose of it has dire, ongoing implications for our quality of life. Non-biodegradable plastics leach harmful carcinogens, among other lethal substances into the soil, polluting our sub-soil water and increasing the health burden on the country’s already overburdened health sector.

When plastics are ingested by marine life, including by plankton — the lowest rung on the food chain — many of the toxins ultimately end up inside humans. According to a reputable organisation working on global environmental issues, there are over five trillion plastic pieces afloat at sea.

Forward-thinking, civilised societies dispose of their waste responsibly and are increasingly switching to the use of biodegradable products.

As is well known consumers play a vital role in influencing the marketplace, so raising voice for the plastic crisis is an important step toward combating plastic pollution.

It is the collective responsibility of the stakeholders to work together in highlighting, addressing and tackling plastic pollution as well as mobilising businesses and governments to ensure a healthy world by avoiding the use of plastic in everyday life.