By Favour Adesuwa
Ahead of the forth coming negotiations to be held in Paris next week on a global agreement to end plastic pollution a research revealed 80 percent reduction on plastic pollution by 2040 if countries and companies make deep policy as well as market shift using existing technologies.
In a report by United Nations Environment Programme(UNEP) outlined the magnitude and nature of the changes required to end plastic pollution and create a circular economy.
In a report, suggesting to eliminate problematic and unnecessary plastic pollution globally by 80 percent in 2040 is first to reduce the size of problem.
Subsequently the report calls for three market shift- reuse, recycle reorient and diversify products
With the overall shift to a circular economy resulting in $1.27 trillion savings, considering costs and recycling revenues. A further $3.25 trillion would be saved from avoided externalities such as health, climate, air pollution, marine ecosystem degradation and litigation-related costs.
It also acknowledges that this shift could also result in a net increase of 700,000 jobs by 2040, mostly in low-income countries, significantly improving the livelihoods of millions of workers in informal settings. While investment costs for the recommended systemic change are significant, but below the spending without this systemic change: $65 billion per year as opposed to $113 billion per year.
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Much of this can be mobilised by shifting planned investments for new production facilities – no longer needed through reduction in material needs – or a levy on virgin plastic production into the necessary circular infrastructure. Yet, time is of the essence: a five-year delay may lead to an increase of 80 million metric tons of plastic pollution by 2040.
The report noted that the highest costs in both a throwaway and circular economy are operational. With regulation to ensure plastics are designed to be circular, Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) schemes can cover these operational costs of ensuring the system’s circularity through requiring producers to finance the collection, recycling and responsible end-of-life disposal of plastic products.
Internationally agreed policies can help overcome the limits of national planning and business action, sustain a flourishing circular global plastics economy, unlock business opportunities and create jobs. These may include agreed criteria for plastic products that could be banned, a cross-border knowledge baseline, rules on necessary minimum operating standards of EPR schemes and other standards.
The report recommends that a global fiscal framework could be part of international policies to enable recycled materials to compete on a level playing field with virgin materials, create an economy of scale for solutions, and establish monitoring systems and financing mechanisms.
Crucially, policymakers are encouraged to embrace an approach that integrates regulatory instruments and policies tackling actions across the life cycle, as these are mutually reinforcing towards the goal of transforming the economy. For example, design rules to make products economically recyclable can be combined with targets to incorporate recycled content and fiscal incentives for recycling plants.
The report also addresses specific policies, including standards for design, safety, and compostable and biodegradable plastics; targets for minimum recycling; EPR schemes; taxes; bans; communication strategies; public procurement, and labelling.
