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16th July 2024 (11 Topics)

Plastic Recycling

Context

Despite widespread efforts, plastic recycling has largely failed to curb the plastic pollution crisis, raising significant questions about its effectiveness as a sustainable solution.

Key-highlights

  • Massive Production: Over 10 billion metric tonnes of plastic have been produced globally, with annual production currently around 460 million metric tonnes.
  • Ineffective Recycling: Less than 9% of all plastic ever made has been recycled, while 79% ends up in landfills or the environment.
  • Downcycling Issues: Recycling often results in downcycled products of lesser quality and utility, contributing to environmental degradation and health risks.
  • Toxicity Concerns: Recycled plastics often contain harmful chemicals, making them unsuitable for many applications, including food packaging.
  • Global Inequities: The burden of plastic waste is often shifted to the Global South, leading to severe environmental and health impacts.

Reasons behind the Situation

  • Design for Disposability: Historically, plastics were designed to be disposable, not recyclable, with the industry emphasizing disposability.
  • Energy-Intensive Processes: Recycling requires significant energy and often involves adding virgin plastic and toxic additives.
  • Toxic Chemical Leaching: Recycled plastics contain a mix of thousands of chemicals, many of which are toxic and pose health risks.
  • Inequitable Waste Trade: The export of plastic waste to developing countries exacerbates environmental injustice and health issues.

Impact of Ineffective Recycling

  • Environmental Degradation: Recycling processes contribute to greenhouse gas emissions, water contamination, and the creation of microplastics.
  • Public Health Risks: Toxic chemicals in recycled plastics can leach into products, posing serious health risks.
  • Economic Inequity: The plastic waste trade often exploits vulnerable communities in the Global South, leading to pollution and health problems.
Required Measures
  • Policy Interventions: Implement policies to reduce plastic production, restrict single-use plastics, and promote reusable alternatives.
  • Sustainable Practices: Support sustainable, reuse-based solutions and adopt plastic-free habits to reduce demand for disposable plastics.
  • Equitable Waste Management: Develop equitable waste management practices and address the root causes of plastic pollution.
  • Scientific and Indigenous Insights: Leverage scientific consensus and indigenous knowledge to minimize plastic use and protect human health and the environment.
Mission Life
  • LiFE is a public movement to mobilize individuals to become 'Pro-Planet People'.
  • It is an India-led global mass movement to nudge individual and community action to protect and preserve the environment.
  • The program hopes to “mobilize one billion Indians as well as people in other countries to become individuals who practice sustainable lifestyles.
  • It emboldens the spirit of the P3 model, i.e. Pro Planet People.
Phases of Mission LiFE
  • Change in Demand (Phase I): Nudging individuals across the world to practice simple yet effective environment-friendly actions in their daily lives.
  • Change in Supply (Phase II): Changes in large-scale individual demand are expected to gradually nudge industries and markets to respond and tailor supply and procurement as per the revised demands.
  • Change in Policy (Phase III): By influencing the demand and supply dynamics of India and the world, the long-term vision of Mission LiFE is to trigger shifts in large-scale industrial and government policies that can support both sustainable consumption and production
Mains Practice Question

Q: "The notion that we can recycle our way out of plastic pollution is a dangerous illusion." Comment on the viability of plastic recycling as a sustainable solution to plastic pollution, highlighting the challenges and potential measures to address the crisis.

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