Plastics, an Existential Threat to Earth
THE TIMES KUWAIT REPORT
Plastics are undoubtedly versatile material; they are moldable, durable, lightweight, and inexpensive, making them the ideal choice for various products we use in daily life. However, the enormous amount of plastic production, its ubiquitous use, and unstructured disposal make them a pervasive pollutant that impacts human health, the environment, and poses an existential threat to the planet.
Plastic pollution permeates every corner of the world, affects every aspect of life, and has become one of the defining environmental challenges of our time. Over 75 percent of all plastics produced since large-scale synthetic plastic manufacturing began in the 1950s, still pollutes the environment, leaching into the soil, contaminating water bodies, and polluting the land, air and oceans around us.
Highlighting the severity of global plastic pollution, a recent report titled ‘Global Plastic Production, published by the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), notes that plastic consumption more than quadrupled over the past 30 years. The report shows that from 2000–2019, plastic production nearly doubled from 234 million tonnes (Mt) to 460 Mt while plastic waste generation more than doubled from 156 Mt to 353 Mt.
Of this total plastic waste only 9 percent was recycled; around 19 percent was incinerated, 50 percent ended up in landfills, and 22 percent completely evaded waste management systems. The report also found that in 2019, more than 6 Mt of mismanaged plastic waste leaked into aquatic environments, with 1.7 Mt flowing into oceans, and the remaining accumulating in rivers and lakes. This implies that even if leaked waste is reduced, drainage into oceans will continue for decades.
The OECD report warned that in a ‘business-as-usual’ scenario, plastic production is expected to triple to over a billion tonnes by mid-century. The corresponding plastic waste generation over this period could likely overwhelm the waste management capabilities of many countries. This would catalyze even more flow of mismanaged plastic waste on land and in aquatic systems and oceans, further exacerbating global warming and climate change.
Equally alarming are studies by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), which show that nano-plastics, formed from micro plastic ingredients and from disintegration of larger plastics, find their way into human food chains, pollute the water we drink and the air we breathe. These tiny particles eventually end up in our arteries, lungs, brains and even in breast milk, harming the health and well-being of people everywhere.
Tackling plastic pollution is an inextricable part of environmental conservation and requires concerted efforts by everyone from nations to individuals. This level of cooperation is needed to address the issue comprehensively, as well as to promote and stimulate conservation efforts. World Environment Day, observed annually on 5 June, serves as a platform to raise awareness on environmental pollution. This year the emphasis was on plastic pollution and the need for governments to adopt measures to bring about systemic changes in efforts to combat plastic pollution.
In a statement on World Environment Day, Nouf Behbehani, the acting director-general of Kuwait’s Environment Public Authority (EPA) noted that environmental conservation efforts form a major component of Kuwait’s sustainable development plans. This, she said, includes encouraging ‘positive behavior’ across individual and at institutional levels, while phasing out single-use plastics.
For his part, Dr. Mubarak Al-Hajeri from Kuwait Society for Earth Sciences lamented the increasing amount of plastic waste flowing into oceans and other water bodies, choking Kuwait’s marine environment and threatening the existence of fish and other creatures through entanglement, ingestion and the spread of harmful plastic and other chemicals into aquatic systems.
A study in 2021, conducted in coordination with the US Florida State University and UNEP, found that a little over 14,000 tonnes of mismanaged plastic waste, including plastic beach-litter, end up in the waters around Kuwait. While 10 percent of this waste pollutes the sea, the remaining 90 percent is washed ashore along the coastline of the country.
Relevantly, a study in 2018 showed that on average, 44,437 items of plastic beach-litter are found per square kilometer on beaches and along the coastline in Kuwait. That data once again emphasizes the need to raise public awareness on the hazards of plastic pollution to human health and the environment, and the need to protect and preserve ecosystems, as well as instill and encourage greater civic sense among the public, starting right from the school stage..
In this regard, it is noteworthy that in her comments on World Environment Day, head of Kuwait Environment Protection Society (KEPS) Dr. Wejdan Al-Oqab stated that KEPS recently launched an initiative titled ‘Green Schools’ targeting school students. The initiative aims to raise awareness among children on the need to conserve and promote the environment, and to educate them on the detrimental effects of plastic pollution on the environment as well as on human health.
Al-Aqab added that it was imperative for the general public to develop ‘proper behavior’ that limits any potential perils to the environment. The KEPS initiative highlights the pivotal role of individuals and their daily habits in combating plastic pollution and protecting ecosystems. Even simple acts at home such as using sustainable material instead of plastic can go a long way in contributing towards environment conservation efforts. Environmental experts also point to the lack of accurate and disintegrated data on plastic waste and its environmental impact in Kuwait. A recent primary data collection conducted through a waste composition survey in selected areas of Kuwait found no data available on a number of important pollution parameters, including the share of plastic waste within collected waste, and reliable per capita MSW generation.
Comprehensive and accurate metrics covering things like the production of plastic polymers, and how plastic products are designed, manufactured and recycled still remains scant. Better understanding of the entire life cycle of plastics, from production to disposal, is necessary to develop evidence-based policies and strategies that effectively counter the use of plastics, its waste, and pollution, as well as to make investments in waste management infrastructure.
A holistic approach that addresses the full lifecycle of plastic should include eliminating unnecessary single-use and short-lived plastics—such as water bottles, dispensing containers, takeaway bags, disposable cutlery, freezer bags and packaging foam—rolling out refill and reuse models and producing less problematic plastic. It also means designing for circularity, where the focus is on prolonging the life of plastic products and keeping plastics out of the environment.
With UNEP-led negotiations on an international legally-binding treaty on plastic pollution scheduled for August in Geneva, Switzerland, world leaders need to adopt strong, enforceable measures, including a global ban on hazardous plastic chemicals; mandatory safety testing of all plastic components; long-term monitoring of human exposure to plastic pollution; independent research funding into health impacts, and a phase-down of fossil fuel-based plastic production.
Bringing down plastic production from fossil fuels is vital, as nearly 99 percent of all plastics are by-products of the petrochemical industry, which is poised to become the largest driver of fossil-fuel demand by mid-century. Additionally, the strong link between fossil fuels and plastic production means that plastics are one of the largest catalysts of climate change.
The science is undeniable, plastics are toxic at every stage of life. From unborn foetuses to the elderly, no one, and no environment is safe from the plastic that pollutes our land, water, and air. The world cannot recycle its way out of the plastic crisis; we need to implement innovative, bold, and binding global action, and we need to implement them now, in Kuwait and elsewhere around the world.
