UNEP: All wrapped up in plastic: Rethinking marine litter

The forthcoming UNEP report, from Pollution to Solution, shows that marine litter is inescapable. Unless we take drastic action, by 2040, the volume of plastics flowing into the ocean will triple. Micro and nano plastics are pervasive. The pandemic is compounding the problem.

But the issue is far bigger than marine litter.

Turtles entangled in plastic bag shrouds. Dead whales full of debris. Billions of plastic pellets washing up on beaches – as happened recently in Sri Lanka. We see the harm we are causing. But the way we use and manage plastics causes so much more harm. It fuels the triple planetary crisis of climate change, nature and biodiversity loss, and pollution.

The life-cycle greenhouse gas emissions of plastics hit 1.7 gigatonnes of CO2-equivalent in 2015. On the current course, emissions from plastics will reach 17 per cent of the global carbon budget by 2050. This includes emissions from incinerating plastic waste.

Plastic pollution reduces marine ecosystem services by up to USD 2,500 billion each year. But this plastic does not just magically appear in the ocean. New research found that 80 per cent of plastic waste comes to sea through 1,000 rivers. These river ecosystems suffer. Freshwater lakes suffer. Land-based ecosystems suffer.

But plastic pollution does not magically appear in our rivers. Humans generate almost 1.3 billion tonnes of municipal solid waste every year. Yet many major cities lack adequate solid waste infrastructure. Poor waste management adds to the overall health cost of plastics in the environment.

Climate change. Nature and biodiversity loss. Pollution. Plastics are wrapped up in all of them. The conclusion is obvious. Marine litter is best addressed by rethinking how we design, use and dispose of plastics. We need to revisit and inform the entire supply chain. And if we do this, we can make our economies, societies and planet greener and healthier. But what do we actually do?

First, we engage industry and finance to reduce virgin plastic production, particularly for single-use plastic purposes.

Just twenty companies produce half of all the world’s polymer production, destined for single-use plastic waste. Around 60 per cent of the commercial finance for single-use production comes from 20 banks. Twenty asset managers hold over USD 300 billion worth of shares in the parent companies of single-use plastic polymer producers. If these companies lean in on the solutions and come to the table, we can make rapid progress.

Second, we look at safe circularity.

We need to keep plastics circulating in the economy, and out of terrestrial and marine ecosystems, waterways and oceans – by improving the design of products to enhance their reuse and ensuring recycling when they reach their end. A comprehensive circular economy approach could reduce the volume of plastics entering our oceans by over 80 per cent. Reduce virgin plastic production by 55 per cent. Save governments USD 70 billion between 2021-2040. Reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 25 per cent. And create 700,000 additional jobs, mainly in the Global South.

Third, we invest in waste management systems.

Improving solid waste management across the globe will make a huge difference to plastic pollution and human health. Municipal solid waste infrastructure is woefully inadequate in a rapidly urbanizing world.

Four, we increase national action.

Near-term national action plans are crucial. This means national legislation on waste, production, public procurement and consumer information. It means integrating action on plastics across the economy through fiscal measures on product content (for example, increasing recycled content in products), manufacturing, trade, transport, waste management and so on. It means campaigns to engage citizens in solving this challenge.

Ministers, these are some areas in which we can act. But this action can be boosted by a comprehensive, inclusive and global approach.

We at UNEP are proud of the UN Environment Assembly resolutions on marine litter and plastic waste. The Basel Convention Annex plastic waste amendments, which came into operation this year, are a big step forward. Member States are forming a collective vision on a future without plastic pollution. UNEP stands with Member States as they work on a joined-up approach because the issue lands with this organization.

Marine litter is a critical entry point to engage governments, businesses and the public to act on plastic pollution. But we need to be clear on the full range of consequences of plastic pollution and act at source to address them all.

If we get it right on plastic pollution, we not only clean up our seas. We help to solve the triple planetary crisis. We protect our air, land and water. And we protect our health, and the health of the planet.