How Did the Global Plastic Problem Develop?
by James P. Outreach & PR ExecutiveAccording to statistics from Statista,
global plastic production totalled 359 million metric tonnes in 2018. The UK
produced 99 kilograms of plastic waste per person, per year, second only to
the US, which produce 105 kilograms.
Using the information from Statista, we have
documented global plastic production from 1950 to 2018 and analysed it
alongside global population figures and the introduction of new laws. From this,
we’ve created a graph to show exactly where we are in terms of our use of
plastic.
The plastic timeline
From the graph, you can see the rise of
plastic production is in line with population growth. This also correlates with
the fact that laws relating to plastic only started to become more common from
2006.
But, as the key talking points show,
there’s plenty to discuss when it comes to the plastic timeline.
Key talking points
·
Neil Armstrong plants a nylon
flag on the moon in 1969 as plastic starts to become a go-to material in the
1970s.
·
In 1977, the plastic bag was
introduced to the grocery industry as an alternative to the paper bag—something
we’re trying to revert back to 40-plus years later.
·
Production takes a noticeable
dip as laws start to be introduced.
·
2008 was a noticeable period on
the timeline. In this year, global production dropped as China
announced a ban on supermarkets handing out plastic bags in shops, instead
telling people to use paper or cloth sacks to carry their shopping. Retailers
faced prosecution if they were found to be providing them to grocery shoppers.
As shown on the timeline, global laws
started to become more common. At least 23 laws, levies or pieces of
legislation were introduced between 2008 and 2010 in 21 different countries.
Laws reach their peak, but production
surpasses population
Laws started to reach their peak around
2017. Free disposable plastic bags were
banned in Catalonia, and Slovenia rolled this ban out on a national level.
But plastic production started to surpass
population growth at this time. The reason? Well, global e-commerce sales
totalled $2.38 billion in 2017, hitting $3.54 billion last year. The online
boom comes with the need for packaging, which is often plastic.
New laws start to decline despite
production increase
From 2018, new laws started to tail off,
but production and population levels continued to rise. This may be due to the
fact that certain laws, levies and legislation had been introduced in previous
years, but it opens the debate that there’s still work to be done in order to
help solve the world’s plastic problem.
There are encouraging signs though. In
October 2020, a UK ban on the supply of plastic straws, stirrers and
plastic-stemmed cotton buds came into force.
The ban was introduced after it was
revealed the UK
was using 4.7 billion single-use straws, 316 million plastic stirrers and
1.8 billion plastic-stemmed cotton buds each year.
UK plastic laws
Like many other countries, the UK already
has a levy on the use of plastic bags in shops. When the levy was introduced in
Northern Ireland back in 2013, usage dropped by 71% in just one year. Scotland
followed in 2014 and England in 2015—with the rule mandatory for companies who
employed over 250 members of staff.
In November this year, Liberal Democrat MP
Alistair Carmichael re-introduced
the Plastics Pollution Bill, which calls for a 2025 target to end
“non-essential single-use plastics”.
Plastic facts over the years
Over the years, plastic has been produced
by many industries across the world and used in everyday items. Here’s a list
of some historic plastic facts over the years.
·
1862: Plastic starts to
be used in households for items like knife handles
·
1950: Tupperware parties start to
become a trend
·
1982: Grocery chains Kroger and Safeway replace their
paper bags with plastic
·
1997: Charles Moore discovers the Great
Pacific Garbage Patch—the world’s largest collection of floating plastic
waste
·
2002: 360 million bottles
are recycled
·
2008: Plastic bottles achieve
a 27% recycling rate, reclaiming 2.4 billion pounds of plastic
·
2016: A global population of 7 billion produces
over 320 million tonnes of plastic—with the figure expected to double by
2034.
·
2019: University College London launches its Plastic
Waste Innovation Hub and the Big Compost Experiment
Going forward, innovation needs to be at
the heart of solving the world’s plastic problem. For industries who ship items
online it can be a case of improving supply chains through the use of a
reusable plastic pallet—where
vehicle fill can be improved by up to 42 per cent.
Sources:
https://www.ecowatch.com/plastics-history-ecological-crisis-2560978473.html
http://www.historyofplastic.com/plastic-facts/facts-about-plastic/
https://www.bigcompostexperiment.org.uk/about/timeline-of-composting-and-biodegradable-plastics
https://www.sas.org.uk/our-work/plastic-pollution/plastic-pollution-facts-figures/
https://www.bigcompostexperiment.org.uk/about/timeline-of-composting-and-biodegradable-plastics
https://loadhog.com/product/pally/
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Created on Apr 29th 2021 03:36. Viewed 457 times.