Can we eliminate plastic pollution by 2040?

We now find traces of plastic everywhere on the planet: from the seabed to the summit of Everest, and even in the stomachs of camels. To counter this scourge, 175 countries are meeting in Paris this week to prepare an agreement that aims to eliminate plastic pollution by 2040. Big work ahead.

Soon more plastic than fish

Since Monday, representatives of 175 countries have been meeting in Paris to set the table for a future agreement on plastic pollution. This meeting is the second in a series of five to agree on an agreement that would be legally binding by the end of 2024. The objective is to eliminate plastic pollution by 2040. we do nothing, in 2060, there will be more plastic than fish in the ocean, ”warned the French Minister for Ecological Transition, Christophe Béchu.

Only 10% recycled plastic

Of the 9.2 billion tonnes of plastic produced since 1950, half has been produced since the year 2000. Annual global production now stands at more than 460 million tonnes and could triple by 2060. Among the many uses of plastic, packaging tops the list (36%), followed by buildings (16%), textiles (14%) and miscellaneous consumer goods (10%). Currently, 7% of the world’s oil production is used to manufacture plastic. Less than 10% of the plastic produced since the post-war period has been recycled.

plastic everywhere

According to a recent estimate by the 5 Gyres Institute, a non-governmental organization specializing in research on plastic pollution, there are more than 171,000 billion pieces of plastic floating on the surface of the oceans. In 2020, Australian researchers suggested in a study that there could be 30 times more plastic at the bottom of the oceans than on the surface, or at least 14 million tonnes. Studies have also shown that traces of plastic can be found on the summit of Everest, in women’s breast milk and even in the stomachs of camels in the United Arab Emirates.

Plastic and GHG

In addition to polluting the environment, plastic production could generate 53.5 billion tons of CO₂ by 2050, according to the Center for International Environmental Law. Plastic represents a kind of blind spot in international decarbonization efforts. The International Energy Agency (IEA) predicts that petrochemicals used to manufacture plastics will account for nearly 50% of the increase in oil demand by 2050. According to this agency, developed countries consume 20 times more plastic per capita than the poorest nations.

Reduce or recycle?

More than 50 countries, including Canada, are advocating for a reduction in global plastic production. But others, like the United States and Saudi Arabia, say they favor recycling, wanting to protect the petrochemical industry at the same time. “It would not be realistic to say that we should completely ban the production of plastic (at least not in the short or medium term). […] That said, the solution obviously lies in a substantial reduction in daily reliance on single-use plastics,” wrote Charlotte Lloyd, researcher in environmental chemistry at the University of Bristol, in a letter published recently in the daily. The Guardian.

Battle Ahead in Canada

In Canada, a coalition of about 30 companies, including Dow Chemical, Imperial Oil and Nova Chemicals, as well as the provinces of Saskatchewan and Alberta want to overturn an Ottawa decision to designate all plastic products as being toxic. Since 2021, these are considered harmful to the environment or to biological diversity. Starting in December 2023, six single-use plastic products will be banned across the country, which is expected to remove 1.3 million tonnes from landfills over the next 10 years.