A new report has revealed that the world's production of single-use plastic rose by 6 million metric tons to 139 million metric tons between 2019 and 2021 "despite rising consumer awareness, corporate attention, and regulation." Production is now at a record high, reports CNN.
Plastic pollution is a growing environmental and ecological concern, with consequences including increasing carbon emissions and leaching microplastics into the land and sea ecosystems. The report found that the additional waste produced was equivalent to an extra kilogram per person for everyone on Earth.
But why didn't the world's efforts amount to a change? The biggest issue is that the world's recycling mechanisms are not able to keep up with the level of plastic production and petrochemical companies are the ones to blame. Plastic created from "virgin" polymers outpaces plastic made from recycled materials 15 times. Exxon Mobil is the largest producer of virgin polymers. Most single-use plastic also makes its way into landfills or the environment and not into the recycling stream, writes Reuters.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Currently, only two major petrochemical companies are producing from recycled materials on a large scale. "It demonstrates beyond any doubt that the plastic pollution problem is getting much bigger and is being driven by the polymer producers, which are of course, driven by the oil and gas sector," said Andrew Forrest, founder of Australia's Minderoo Foundation which created the report.
To combat the growing level of production, Forrest suggests a "'polymer premium' on every kilogram of plastic polymer made from fossil fuel." He adds that the payment "will lead to automatic mechanize collection" of plastic "in the advanced world" and "people ... making sure there's no plastic waste going into the ocean" in "the developing world."
"Make no mistake, the plastic waste crisis is going to get significantly worse before we see an absolute year-on-year decline in virgin single-use plastic consumption," concludes the report.
-
US, Kyiv report progress on shifting Ukraine peace planSpeed Read The deal ‘must fully uphold Ukraine’s sovereignty,’ the countries said
-
Why the Maga vibe shift spelled trouble for Teen VogueTalking Point As anti-feminist women’s magazines thrive, progressive titles are left out in the cold
-
Trump peace deal: an offer Zelenskyy can’t refuse?Today’s Big Question ‘Unpalatable’ US plan may strengthen embattled Ukrainian president at home
-
Blue Origin launches Mars probes in NASA debutSpeed Read The New Glenn rocket is carrying small twin spacecraft toward Mars as part of NASA’s Escapade mission
-
Why scientists are attempting nuclear fusionThe Explainer Harnessing the reaction that powers the stars could offer a potentially unlimited source of carbon-free energy, and the race is hotting up
-
Dinosaurs were thriving before asteroid, study findsSpeed Read The dinosaurs would not have gone extinct if not for the asteroid
-
Canyons under the Antarctic have deep impactsUnder the radar Submarine canyons could be affecting the climate more than previously thought
-
SpaceX breaks Starship losing streak in 10th testspeed read The Starship rocket's test flight was largely successful, deploying eight dummy satellites during its hour in space
-
NASA is moving away from tracking climate changeThe Explainer Climate missions could be going dark
-
Rabbits with 'horns' sighted across Coloradospeed read These creatures are infected with the 'mostly harmless' Shope papilloma virus
-
Lithium shows promise in Alzheimer's studySpeed Read Potential new treatments could use small amounts of the common metal
