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Wednesday, May 19, 2021
Twenty companies create over 50% of global single-use plastic waste, Australia leads: Study
Correspondent :
ust twenty companies are responsible for producing over half of all single-use plastic waste in the world, pushing the already worsening climate crisis. The new Plastic Waste-Makers Index ranks Exxon Mobil, Dow Chemicals, and China's Sinopec as the biggest producer of plastic waste polymers, together generating 16 per cent of global waste worldwide.

While global companies are among the biggest producers of plastic waste, in terms of countries, Australia produces nearly 59 kg of single-use plastic waste per person in 2019, the highest in the world.

Most of these companies are based in Asia, Europe, North America, Latin America, and the Middle East, with Exxon Mobil leading the charts as the biggest polluter contributing 5.9 million tonnes to the world's waste. Meanwhile, US-based Dow Chemicals created nearly 5.5 million tonnes of plastic waste followed by Sinopec's 5.3 million tonnes.

The report released by Andrew and Nicola Forrest’s Minderoo Foundation found that 100 companies are behind 90 per cent of the global plastic waste production. While just 10-15 per cent of single-use plastic waste is recycled the rest remains in the environment. The waste, which now ranges from face masks to plastic bags, ends up in oceans polluting marine life and in landfills that later lead to deadly air pollution.

“An environmental catastrophe beckons: much of the resulting single-use plastic waste will end up as pollution in developing countries with poor waste management systems,” the authors of the report were quoted as saying by The Guardian. The authors added that the projected rate of growth in the supply of these virgin polymers will likely keep new, circular models of production and reuse ‘out of the money without regulatory stimulus.

The foundation had previously revealed global efforts to reduce plastic waste are being thwarted by a lack of transparency that extends the length and breadth of the plastics supply chain.

The report stated, "every month, over one million tons of plastic enters rivers and oceans worldwide, and billions of dollars are spent by governments in attempting to manage plastic waste. At the same time, much of the industry of plastic producers, users, and investors operates under a shroud of mystery. Global efforts to change industry practices, including producing less plastic from virgin feedstock, collecting more plastic waste, and increasing recycling, are all significantly hampered by a lack of transparency, and well-intentioned efforts are falling short of their expectations and potential."

Single-use plastic and India

The Environment Ministry had in March unveiled new draft rules to ban several categories of single-use plastic prohibiting their manufacturing, use, sale, imports, and handling. The draft Plastic Waste Management (Amendment) Rules, 2021 is proposed to be implemented in three stages and to reach full execution by 2022.

In the first phase that begins in September, the Centre proposes that plastic carry bags made from no-woven plastic should not be less than 60-240 microns in thickness. The second phase that will commence from January 2022 will see a complete ban on six categories of such plastic and in the third phase, the list will further grow by July 2022.

The draft rules define single-use plastics as “a plastic commodity intended to be used once for the same purpose before being disposed of or recycled”.

 
SOURCE : https://www.indiatoday.in/science/story/single-use-plastic-pollution-exxon-mobil-dow-environment-1803927-2021-05-18
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