Affected by the outbreak, the global demand for plastic products, the use of increasing. These plastic products are abandoned to bring great damage to the ecological environment. Plastic waste such as masks and gloves has been washed to remote beaches, and plastic packaging for takeaway food and express delivery has piled up in landfills. It is urgent to control plastic pollution.
In order to curb the impact of plastic waste on the environment, governments have introduced governance measures to promote the implementation of policies. Related companies are also responding to government environmental initiatives and pursuing sustainable operations.
Difficult to reuse plastic waste into a burden
The United Nations reports that as many as 5 trillion plastic bags are used every year. Only 9% of the world's 9 billion tons of plastic products can be recycled, and most of the rest will end up in landfills or into the natural environment. Refractory and low-recycling plastic waste has caused a heavy burden on the environment and economic development.
According to statistics, South Korea produces about 70000 tons of marine garbage every year, of which plastic garbage accounts for an alarming proportion. According to 2019 data, plastic waste accounts for 81.2 per cent of all marine litter by trait and is the number one cause of death for many marine organisms.
According to the South Korea Ministry of Environment, the recycling rate of plastic products in South Korea was only 34.4 percent in 2017. South Korea environmental protection experts analyzed that after the recycled plastic waste was transferred to the treatment agency, it could not be reused due to some contamination of foreign matter and reduced quality, and could only be destroyed in the end.
As a country surrounded by the sea, plastic waste is a serious threat to Australia's marine environment. According to the Australian Department of Agriculture, Water and Environment, about 80 per cent of marine litter is plastic. It is estimated that by 2050, there will be more plastic in the oceans than fish by weight.
In addition, the amount of plastic waste people create in their daily lives is staggering. Australians use up to 10 million plastic bags a day, up to 4 billion a year. About 0.15 billion of them end up in oceans and waterways, with up to 8 million tons of plastic dumped into the sea each year. According to data released by the Australian Department of the Environment, only 14% of the country's plastic waste is recycled each year, of which only 3% are plastic bags.
According to statistics from the Statista website, in 2018, Germany produced about 19 million tons of plastic products, accounting for about 1/3 of the total amount of plastic products in the EU; the Germans produced an average of about 39 kilograms of plastic waste per year, far exceeding the EU average of 33 kilograms.
In the UK, about 700000 plastic bottles are turned into rubbish every day. Of the 30 billion plastic bottles used in UK households each year, only 57% are recycled. According to the latest data from 2019, the UK can recycle more than 370000 tons of plastic every year. Although this is a significant increase from the 13000 tons recycled in 2000, most plastics end up in landfills or incinerators.
A move to break the situation, governments to solve the problem.
Actively dealing with plastic pollution is related to global ecological environment protection and high-quality economic development of various countries. Faced with the problem of plastic pollution, governments have introduced relevant policies to increase the recycling of plastic waste collection and processing efforts.
The "2019 National Waste Policy Action Plan" pointed out that Australia will ban the export of waste plastics, paper, glass and tires from the second half of 2020, and eliminate problematic and unnecessary plastics by 2025. Most state and territory governments in Australia have banned single-use lightweight plastic bags. In some states and territories, people can also send waste plastic bottles to designated locations for recycling and in exchange for change. According to data from the Australian Retail Association, since the country's two largest supermarket chains announced plastic restrictions in July 2018, the consumption of disposable plastic bags in Australia has been reduced by more than 80%.
In 2018, the UK launched a new Resources and Waste Strategy to change the way plastic waste is handled. Companies and manufacturers will take on greater responsibility to pay the full cost of recycling or disposing of their packaging waste, including cars, electronics and batteries. In 2018, the UK government signed the Ellen MacArthur Foundation's New Plastics Economy Global Commitment to accelerate the transition to a circular economy for plastics.
In recent years, Germany has introduced a number of environmental policies to reduce plastic waste. Since 2015, local supermarkets no longer provide single-use plastic bags for free, a move that has led to a 64% drop in plastic bag consumption. At the end of 2018, the German Ministry of Environment put forward a "five-point plan", including banning the use of disposable plastic packaging, advocating environmentally friendly packaging, strengthening the use of recyclable plastic products, avoiding mixed plastics in organic waste, opposing marine waste and advocating sustainable use of plastic products, aiming to reduce the production of plastic products and strengthen recycling. In response to the EU's ban on the production of disposable plastic products that will take effect in 2021, the German government also decided in July this year to ban the sale of multiple categories of plastic products.
In May 2018, the Ministry of Environment of South Korea issued the "Comprehensive Countermeasures for Recyclable Waste", which pointed out that it aims to reduce plastic waste by half by 2030, increase the recycling rate of plastic waste from 34% in 2017 to 70%, and reduce the use of disposable products by 35% by 2022.
Earlier, the South Korea government stipulated that consumers should not provide disposable cups when enjoying drinks in cafes. Starting from August 1 this year, the Ministry of Environment of South Korea began to try out a policy to reduce the use of plastic products. If businesses do not ask customers for advice and directly provide disposable cups, they will be fined. In addition, starting from 2021, disposable tableware provided by coffee shops with packaging and takeout will be prohibited from being provided free of charge. From 2022 onwards, supplies such as plastic straws and plastic stirring rods will also be completely banned.
The South Korea government stated that for manufacturers who have suffered losses in the disposable product restriction policy, a certain "career transformation subsidy" will be issued to compensate for part of their business losses. For businesses in coffee shops and traditional markets, the South Korea government plans to support them by providing cutlery cleaning equipment.
At the beginning of this year, China's National Development and Reform Commission and the Ministry of Ecology and Environment issued the "Opinions on Further Strengthening the Control of Plastic Pollution", requiring that by the end of 2020, the catering industry nationwide will prohibit the use of non-degradable disposable plastic straws. Experts believe that although the output of plastic straws accounts for only 0.036 per cent of the total output of plastic products, it has a high degree of attention and will have a strong demonstration effect on the whole society.
Helping environmental protection enterprises to promote the "new plastic economy"
In January 2016, the Davos World Economic Forum released a report entitled "New Plastics Economy-Rethinking the Future of Plastics". For the first time, it proposed the vision of establishing a plastic circular economy. The purpose is to use the principles of circular economy. Let plastics never become waste. As countries around the world gradually increase the degree of plastic limit, the relevant enterprises have also innovated technology, research and development of related environmental protection products, through action to promote the vision of the plastic economy to reality.
At the Australian National Plastics Summit 2020, the industry made several important announcements to show how companies can help meet the plastic waste challenge. Pact Group, Australia's largest producer of rigid plastics, announced a $0.5 billion investment to update facilities, research and improve technology to increase the use of sustainable packaging. To increase the recyclable content of its product portfolio to 30% by 2025. Australian Airlines plans to reduce single-use plastic items such as cups, cutlery and lunch boxes by 0.1 billion by the end of 2020, replacing them with compostable items.
In response to the South Korea government's call, Korean enterprises have joined the ranks of environmental protection. A local integrated food company has set up a marine plastic waste management group to carry out a "three-year plan" to reduce marine pollution. For the 40 fishing vessels under its management, the management team will reduce the use of plastic products on board by 65.4 within 3 years. In addition, the company's subsidiary has also successfully developed ultra-light environmentally friendly glass bottles to replace colored plastic bottles for beer.
The UK's Asda supermarket will pack fresh produce with a new plant coating, which has been approved by the European Commission. The London start-up CupClub to use the electronic label technology in the field of Internet of Things to design a cup recycling system. By setting up recycling points in the city, people can use reusable cups like renting shared bicycles. It also reached cooperation with McDonald's and Starbucks earlier this year.
In 2019, 30 companies, including German chemical company BASF, formed the "Plastic Waste End Alliance" in London. These companies plan to invest a total of US $1.5 billion by 2024 to invent technologies to improve waste recycling. In addition, there are many creative companies in Germany that "turn waste into treasure". For example, Berlin Pentatonic Furniture Factory uses plastic bottles and disposable cups that people discard daily to manufacture various tables, chairs and cups.
According to Statista statistics, in 2018, only 4.5 per cent of Germans would buy plastic bags when shopping for food; 57 per cent would not buy single-use plastic bags when shopping; and 72 per cent would support a fee for plastic bags. Parades or art exhibitions related to plastic waste are often held across Australia to increase people's awareness of plastic reduction. A researcher at the South Korea National Institute of Ecology said: "Every consumer should be aware of the importance of reducing the use of plastic products. Only when each individual makes efforts can the real environmental protection effect be achieved."
Controlling plastic pollution and promoting the establishment of a "new plastic economy" cannot be separated from the active participation of ordinary people. With the continuous advancement of national-level policies in various countries, people's environmental awareness is also increasing, and plastic pollution will eventually become a past tense.
