Countries are thinking about how to dispose of waste plastics?Encourage the development of technologies that make more efficient use of waste plastics.

Countries are thinking about how to dispose of waste plastics?

Encourage the development of technologies that make more efficient use of waste plastics.

On November 20th, the body of a whale was rushed to a coast in eastern Indonesia. After dissection, the researchers found about 5.9 kilograms of waste plastic found in the stomach of the whale, including 115 plastic cups, 25 plastic bags, 2 double-word tows and more than 1,000 pieces of various plastic debris, which caused Environmentalists are highly concerned.

In the past few decades, global plastics production and consumption have shown an upward trend, and the production of plastic waste has increased dramatically, especially in high-income countries. According to World Bank estimates, approximately 130 million metric tons of plastic waste is produced annually worldwide.

After China introduced the “prohibition of waste”, Southeast Asian countries have also restricted the import of waste plastics. European and American countries that urgently need to solve the pressure of garbage explosion are rethinking how to properly dispose of discarded plastics.

European Union

In October, the European Parliament passed an overwhelming majority of the new draft bill proposed by the European Commission. Before 2021, the use of plastics such as straws, cotton swabs and disposable plastic plates and tableware was banned.

British Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond said on the 29th that the UK will impose new taxes on plastic packaging for those who manufacture or import less than 30% renewable materials. The measure, which will be implemented in April 2022, aims to reduce waste and help address climate change.

America

According to US Environmental Protection Agency, US Waste Recycling Association (ISRI) statistics and industry news, US plastic recycling rate will fall from 9.1% in 2015 to 4.4% in 2018. If other Asian countries follow China’s import ban or the proposed amendment to the Basel Convention prohibits the United States from transporting plastic waste to these countries, the recovery rate in 2019 may fall to 2.9%.

Plastic waste will continue to accumulate unless the government asks for reforms, increases the ratio of recycled materials to the original resin, and implements more efficient methods of collection and recycling.

Australia

According to a survey commissioned by the Australian government, Blue Environment, China’s ban, which began on March 1, affects 1.25 million tons of Australian waste, valued at 850 million Australian dollars ($640 million).

Australian Environment Minister Josh Frydenberg said he has instructed government investment agencies to “prioritize” waste energy recovery projects.

Canada

At the G7 summit in June this year, the G7 and the European Union are pushing more countries to sign the “Plastic Charter” on a global scale. The “Marine Plastics Charter” requires governments to set standards to increase the reuse and recycling of plastics. After that, Canada will push the “ocean plastics charter” to the UN General Assembly and urge more countries to sign.

Governments are working hard to develop increasingly stringent regulations and policies on plastics processing, while encouraging the development of technologies that make more efficient use of waste plastics.