UN Environment Chief: Recycling Alone Could Not Solve Plastic Pollution

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): The UN environment chief warned that recycling alone could not solve the rising worldwide plastic pollution. In an interview on the sidelines of the General Assembly in New York, Inger Andersen, director of the UN Environment Program said that the pollution is further accelerated by rising production of plastics. She called for a thorough change in the way plastics are used.

By the way, efforts are in full swing on an international treaty on plastic pollution, the draft of which was published two weeks back. The treaty incorporates the wide range of ambitions of as many as 175 participating countries, thus ensuring collective action in the fight against plastic pollution.

The proper knowledge and awareness of sustainable alternatives will help in reducing pollution. The use of single-use plastics must be eliminated. Also, steps must be undertaken to reduce the overall supply of raw polymers, Anderson said.

Of course, recycling has to be encouraged. However, that alone cannot put an end to the rising crisis.

The plastics production has more than doubled over the past two decades to touch 460 million tons per year. At the current rate, it is estimated to triple by 2060. Only 9% of the world’s total plastics are recycled.

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