"In the most wide-ranging analysis of the global plastic system, the Pew Charitable Trusts, in collaboration with academics including at Imperial College London and the University of Oxford, said plastic, a material once called revolutionary and modern, was now putting public health, world economies and the future of the planet at risk. If nothing is done, plastic pollution will more than double in the next 15 years to 280m metric tonnes a year, the equivalent to a rubbish truck full of plastic waste being dumped every second."
"This will damage every aspect of life; from the economy, to public health, to climate breakdown, the report, Breaking the Plastic Wave 2025, said. This rapid growth will harm human health and livelihoods through increased levels of land, water and air pollution, exposure to toxic chemicals, and risk of disease, and lead to higher rates of ingestion and entanglement among other species, resulting in more animals suffering illness, injury and death, the authors said."
Sixty-six million tonnes of plastic packaging pollute the global environment each year and could be almost eliminated by 2040 through widespread reuse and return schemes. Without intervention, plastic pollution will more than double to about 280 million metric tonnes annually by 2040, roughly a rubbish truck of plastic dumped every second. Plastic production is projected to rise 52 percent from about 450 million tonnes to 680 million tonnes by 2040, driven largely by packaging. Single-use packaging, much of it non-recyclable, is the single largest source of waste. The rapid increase threatens economies, public health, climate stability, and wildlife through pollution, toxic exposures, ingestion, and entanglement, while waste management systems lag behind production growth.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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