Where does all the plastic go?

Plastic forms an important and almost inevitable part in our everyday lives. However, the ways we use plastic is not sustainable, especially with the increase of ‘single-use’ plastics. Drastic measures need to be taken if we want to decrease pollution and the destruction of our planet.

Since the 1960s, the global production of plastics has grown twentyfold and is expected to double again over the next 20 years. In 2015, 322 million tonnes of plastic have been produced globally, out of which 49 million tonnes are attributed to Europe. 40% go into packaging, 20% into building and construction, 9% into automotive and around 6% into electronics.

After plastic – plastic waste

The life of most plastic is very short-lived. Europe produces almost 26 million tonnes of plastic waste every year. Less than a third is being recycled, whereas most go into landfill or into incineration. A landfill is a way of burying trash into or on top of the ground but kept sealed off so as not to contaminate the soil or ground water. It does not decompose much and is therefore the least favourite method in waste management. 31% of our waste goes into landfill, and 39% into incineration. It is said that the production and incineration of plastic waste amounts to 400 million tonnes of CO2 emissions a year.

5 to 13 million tonnes of plastic end up in the ocean. Not only does it cause marine damage, but it also affects the tourism, fishing and shipping industries. Once the plastic breaks down, it becomes micro plastics, which are ingested by marine life and enter the human food chain. Studies have found micro plastics in the air, drinking water and other food sources.

Which countries in the EU produce the most plastic packaging waste?

The European Parliament has published a study in 2016. Germany tops the list with almost 3 million tonnes of waste, followed by United Kingdom, France and Italy with just over 2 million tonnes. Per capita, an individual in Ireland produces around 55 kg of waste per year, followed by Luxembourg, Estonia, Germany and Denmark.

Where does the plastic waste go?

The Guardian has recently published a series of investigation into the economy of plastic waste in the United States – which is being sold to recycle to developing countries where there is already poor waste and environmental regulation.

European countries such as Germany also used to export their excess waste to China where it would get extracted into raw material. But since China introduced an import ban in 2017 and thus only accepting high-quality plastic waste, exports have been diverted to India, Indonesia and Malaysia. According to Greenpeace, most of the export trash comes from the United States, Japan, United Kingdom and Germany. Not all of the trash is recyclable and ends up in landfills where poor regulations not only affect the environment but also the health of the people in these countries.

What does the future hold?

Investment into recycled plastics remains low as there is no profitability foreseen. If we recycled 1 million tonnes of plastic, that would equal the amount of 1 million cars off the road. 

The EU’s Plastic Strategy aims to make plastic packaging reusable or recyclable by 2030. The Strategy also includes investment in better product design, revise recycled content, improve the separate collection of plastic waste, reduce single-use plastics, invest towards circular solutions, monitor and reduce marine litter and microplastics and focus on global action.

https://ec.europa.eu/environment/circular-economy/pdf/plastics-strategy-brochure.pdf

http://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/en/headlines/society/20181212STO21610/plastic-waste-and-recycling-in-the-eu-facts-and-figures

https://www.dw.com/en/german-plastic-floods-southeast-asia/a-47204773

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/jun/17/recycled-plastic-america-global-crisis

https://www.politico.eu/article/europe-recycling-china-trash-ban-forces-europe-to-confront-its-waste-problem/