[Statsita] Recycling Efforts Not Enough to Solve Plastic Waste Problem

 

Topics›Waste generation worldwide›
GLOBAL WASTE

Recycling Efforts Not Enough to Solve Plastic Waste Problem

by Anna Fleck, Jul 11, 2022

 

Plastic waste is projected to triple by 2060, according to the latest forecasts by the OECD’s Global Plastics Outlook, rising from 353 million tonnes of waste in 2019 to 1 billion tonnes over the course of the next four decades. Two thirds of this is expected to be made up of packaging, consumer products and textiles. Plastic waste from construction and transport will also be significant.

Recycling rates are expected to improve in this time, rising from the 9 percent seen in 2019 to 17 percent in 2060. This will still be a lower share than landfilling and incineration, at 50 percent and 18 percent, respectively.

While population growth is one reason for the coming surge, another driver is economic growth. A bigger, urban population means greater demands, production and spending power. According to the report: "While OECD countries are projected to double their plastics use, emerging economies are expected to see much more significant increases, from a six-fold increase in Sub-Saharan Africa to a tripling in Asia." The report adds that despite such rapid growth, OECD countries are still expected to be the biggest consumers of plastics on an average per capita basis.

At the same time, we are seeing a crisis of waste management policy, which is hitting residents living in developing countries, particularly the urban poor, the hardest. This is partly because it can be very expensive to manage waste effectively. According to the World Bank, over 90 percent of waste is disposed of in unregulated dumps or openly burned in countries with a low-income. This leads to health, safety, and environmental risks, whether through the spread of disease or exacerbating global warming as high amounts of methane are released.

The report concludes that as industries make an effort to become more sustainable, it is hoped that new technologies will be one means of lowering plastic intensity in the coming years. This is in addition to the need for an implementation of policies focused on cutting down on plastics demand, encouraging people to repair and reuse products rather than to throw them away and improving waste management methods, including recycling.

DESCRIPTION This chart shows the waste management projections for up to 2060.

References: Statista

https://www.statista.com/chart/27756/global-waste-management-projections/

 

요약

• OECD의 Global Plastic Outlook에 따르면 플라스틱 폐기물은 2019년 3억 5,300만톤에서 향후 40년 도안 10억톤으로 증가하여 2060년까지 3배가 될 것으로 예상됨
• 재활용률은 개선되어 2019년 9%에서 2060년 17%로 증가할 것으로 예상되지만, 여전히 매립 및 소각보다 낮은 비율로 추정됨
• 이러한 폐기물의 급증은 인구 증가도 있지만, 또 다른 동인은 경제성장으로 지목되고 있으나, 동시에 개발도상국에서는 폐기물 관리 정책의 위기 상황에 직면하고 있음 
• 세계은행에 따르면 쓰레기의 90% 이상이 규제되지 않은 쓰레기통에 버려지거나 저소득 국가에서 공개적으로 소각되고 있음, 이는 질병의 확산 또는 다량의 메탄 방출로 지구온난화를 악화시키고 건강, 안전 및 환경적 위험을 초래함
• 보고서는 업계가 보다 지속가능성 추구를 위해 노력해야 하며 새로운 기술이 향후 플라스틱 집약도를 낮추는 수단이 되기를 희망한다고 결론지음
• 플라스틱 수요를 줄이고, 제품을 버리지 않고 재사용하는 것을 장려하고, 재활용을 포한한 폐기물 관리 방법을 개선하는데 중점을 둔 정책의 구현이 필요함을 제언함