Worldwide
plastic production has been growing as the durable, primarily
petroleum-based material gradually replaces materials like glass and
metal. Today, an average person living in Western Europe or North
America consumes 100 kilograms of plastic each year, mostly in the form
of packaging. Asia uses just 20 kilograms per person, but this figure is
expected to grow rapidly as the region's economies expand.
According
to the United Nations Environmental Programme, an estimated 22-43
percent of the plastic used worldwide is disposed of in landfills, where
its resources are wasted, the material takes up valuable space, and it
blights communities. Recovering plastic from the waste stream for
recycling or for combustion for energy generation has the potential to
minimize these problems. However, much of the plastic collected for
recycling in Europe, the United States, Japan, and other industrialized
countries is shipped to countries with lower recycling standards. And
burning plastic for energy requires air emissions controls and produces
hazardous ash, all while being relatively inefficient.
Most
plastic scraps from countries that have established collection systems
for the material flow to China, which receives 56 percent (by weight) of
waste plastic imports worldwide. Indirect evidence suggests that most
of this imported plastic is reprocessed at low-tech, family-run
facilities with no environmental protection controls, such as proper
disposal of contaminants or waste water. There are also concerns that
low-quality plastics are not reused but are disposed of or incinerated
for energy in plants that lack air pollution control systems. Through
its 2010 Green Fence Operation, the Chinese government has started to
work to reduce the number of unregulated facilities.
Approximately
10-20 million tons of plastic end up in the oceans each year. A recent
study conservatively estimated that 5.25 trillion plastic particles
weighing a total of 268,940 tons are currently floating in the world's
oceans. This debris results in an estimated $13 billion a year in losses
from damage to marine ecosystems, including financial losses to
fisheries and tourism as well as time spent cleaning beaches. Animals
such as seabirds, whales, and dolphins can become entangled in plastic
matter, and floating plastic items-such as discarded nets, docks, and
boats-can transport microbes, algae, invertebrates, and fish into
non-native regions, affecting local ecosystems.
The
environmental and social benefits of plastics must be weighed against
the problems that the durability and high volume of this material
present to the waste stream. Plastics help to reduce food waste by
keeping products fresh longer, allow for the manufacture of life-saving
healthcare equipment, reduce packaging mass compared with other
materials, improve transportation efficiency, and have large potential
for use in renewable energy technologies. But plastic litter, gyres of
plastics in the oceans, and toxic additives in plastic
products-including colorants, flame retardants, and plasticizers (such
as bisphenol A, or BPA)-are raising awareness of and strengthening
consumer demand for more sustainable materials.
Along with reducing
unnecessary plastic consumption, finding more environmentally friendly
packaging alternatives, and improving product and packaging design to
use less plastic, many challenges associated with plastics could be
addressed by improving management of the material across its life cycle.
Businesses
and consumers could increase their participation in collection in order
to move plastic waste toward a recovery supply chain, and companies
could switch to greater use of recycled plastics. Governments must
regulate the plastic supply chain to encourage and monitor recycling.
Report highlights:
- About 4 percent
of the petroleum consumed worldwide each year is used to make plastic,
and another 4 percent is used to power plastic manufacturing processes.
- In Europe, 26 percent,
or 6.6 million tons, of the post-consumer plastic produced in 2012 was
recycled, while 36 percent was incinerated for energy generation. The
remaining 38 percent of post-consumer plastics in Europe went to landfills.
- In the United States, only 9 percent of post-consumer plastic (2.8 million tons) was recycled in 2012. The remaining 32 million tons was discarded.
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