Experts say the problem is particularly severe in emerging economies that lack sophisticated recycling processes.
Schemes to help include the Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) programme that makes plastic producers responsible for meeting the cost of their products’ recycling or end of life.
Should we ban single-use plastics?
A 2023 report by the Back to Blue initiative, a research group run by the Economist Impact think-tank and the Nippon Foundation, examined global efforts to cut plastics by EPR schemes, production taxes and bans on single-use plastics.
It found that single-use bans were the most effective.
However, if these were implemented in G20 countries without any other measures, plastic consumption would still be 1-1/2 times higher by 2050.
In 2024, the European Union reached a deal to cut packaging waste and ban single-use plastics – from plastic bags for fruit to mini toiletries – although with some sectoral exemptions.
The deal came into force in February.
How can plastic consumption be reduced?
A key challenge to reducing consumption is plastic’s low manufacturing cost, thanks to fossil fuel subsidies.
Possible solutions include cutting the subsidies, blocking new capacity where excess exists and backing businesses that reuse plastic, said The Pew Charitable Trusts.
Policies to include the cost of any plastic into a product’s price, such as tallying its health impact, should reduce demand and make recycled material more attractive, the report added.
Does the world need a plastics treaty?
Given the global nature of supply chains, analysts doubt that local schemes will be enough to win meaningful cuts.
A global treaty could, by contrast, guide countries as they decide which plastics are problematic and unnecessary.
The U.N. talks in Geneva were supposed to get a deal over the line but their collapse mean a path forward is uncertain.
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