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Data Insight

Data point: the pandemic’s plastic problem

Can an historic, global plastic-free pledge help manage plastic pollution from covid-19?

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    PUBLISHED 19 APRIL, 2022 • 2 MIN READ

      Masks, face shields, gloves—these products have become an essential part of our lives as we try to protect ourselves and others during the pandemic. The fight against covid-19 led to an almost unavoidable increase in demand for single-use plastics, putting huge pressure on the world’s already excessive plastic waste problem. One report estimated that around 1.6 billion face masks ended up in the ocean in 2020. The pervasiveness of plastic is, in itself, a global health issue—two separate studies published in 2022 have found microplastics in the blood and lungs of most samples under supervision.

      the pandemic’s plastic problem

      Pandemic protection turned harmful pollutant

      Indeed, plastics play a crucial role in the healthcare and public health sectors, but a recent study shows that how we are treating plastic waste is not keeping up with the increased demand for the material. Pandemic epicentres in particular have struggled to process the waste.  A study published in PNASrevealed that more than 8 million tonnes of pandemic-associated waste had been generated from 193 countries as at August 2021, with more than 25,000 of that ending up in the ocean. Using their MIT General Circulation Model to quantify the pandemic’s impact on the plastics problem, researchers found hospital waste was responsible for the majority of the plastic discharge, at 73%, with most coming from Asia (72%).

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      The resolution will clearly take us towards a future with no plastic pollution, including in the marine environment. United, we can make it happen.

      Tsuyoshi Yamaguchi, Japan’s environment minister

      A global plastic-free pledge

      It was against this backdrop that countries signed an historic resolution on ending plastic pollution at the UN Environment Assembly (UNEA) in Nairobi in March. Representatives from 175 nations endorsed an agreement that recognised the serious environmental damage, committing to strengthening infrastructure to end plastic pollution in what the UNEA described as the “most significant environmental deal since Paris”. 

      While the resolution calls for a treaty to tackle plastic waste, it will also focus on the complete lifecycle of the material, starting with its production and design. It has also established an intergovernmental committee tasked with negotiating and drafting a legally binding treaty by 2024. 

      “The resolution will clearly take us towards a future with no plastic pollution, including in the marine environment. United, we can make it happen,” Tsuyoshi Yamaguchi, Japan’s environment minister, said in a statement.

      Net Zero and Energy