Less than 10% of plastic is recycled, says the OECD

Less than 10% of the plastic produced in the world is recycled, warned the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), which called for a response “global and coordinated”, a week before a UN conference that could open the doors to an international treaty against this pollution.

Of the 460 million tons of plastic produced in 2019 in the world, 353 million ended up as waste, according to the report “World Plastic Outlook”.

“Only 9% of plastic waste was recycled, while 19% was incinerated and close to 50% ended up in controlled landfills. The remaining 22% was abandoned in illegal dumps, burned or abandoned in the middle of nature”, added the text.

The COVID-19 pandemic caused a slight decrease in the consumption of plastics (-2.2%) in 2020, but the use of disposable plastics, “single use only“, increase. And that trend will only worsen with the economic rebound.

Additionally, plastic production accounted for 3.4% of greenhouse gas emissions in 2019.

“It is essential that countries respond through global and coordinated solutions” explained Mathias Cormann, secretary general of the OECD.

We must develop the market for recycled plastic, impose minimum quotas for reuse, improve technological innovation.

The minimum investment to create plastic management and recycling circuits in low- and middle-income countries is estimated at around US$28 billion a year, estimates the text.

Next week the UN assembly for the environment opens in Nairobi, in which negotiations should officially start for a future international treaty on plastics.