Global Plastic Pollution Set To Triple By 2060 Above 1 Billion Tons
Author: Ghulam din
Annual production of fossil-fuel-based plastics are set to top 1.2 billion tons by 2060 and waste to exceed 1 billion tons, according to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). Even with aggressive action to cut demand and improve efficiencies, plastic production would almost double in less than 40 years, the 38-nation body projects in a report. Such globally coordinated policies, however, could hugely boost the share of future plastic waste that is recycled, from 12% to 40%. There is increasing international alarm over the volume and omnipresence of plastics pollution, and its impact. The amount of plastic waste has also nearly doubled, exceeding 350 million tons, with less than 10% of it recycled. On current trends, the use of plastics is projected to roughly double in North America, Europe and East Asia. In other emerging and developing countries, it is expected to grow three to five-fold, and more than six-fold in sub-Saharan Africa.The new report contrasts a business-as-usual trajectory with the benefits of more ambitious global policies of reduced plastic use and pollution.