Plastic does not stop even with the pandemic and there are already 139 million tons in seas and rivers: "It is a real disaster"

• WILLIAM OF THE PALACE

Updated Wednesday, February 23, 2022-00:40

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Plastic production continues to grow - it doubled between 2000 and 2019 - and not even the pandemic could stop its progress.

According to a report published by the OECD, in fact,

.

In addition, the percentage of this material that ends up recycled, although it varies by area, rarely exceeds 14% (average of the OECD countries of the European Union) and at a global level it remains at 9%.

Thus, the report reflects that the use of plastics was reduced by 2.2% in 2020 compared to the previous year, but the pandemic also brought greater use of single-use plastics (in part, in fact, due to health needs, with gloves, masks and wraps).

The recovery of economic activity, they point out, also implied an increase in the consumption of this good.

The OECD also regrets that the coronavirus crisis has "exacerbated plastic pollution."

In other words, not only was the material used more in throwaway functions, but this second action was taken literally and bags or masks ended up in the streets.

This is, in fact, another of the problems and challenges posed by a plasticized world: poorly managed rubbish becomes the 'door' through which macroplastics arrive -everything that is more than five millimeters in diameter, which means 88% of the total- to the environment.

Microplastics, for their part, come from sources as diverse as tire wear or vehicle brakes or the cleaning of textile products.

Between the two,

reached the environment in 2019 alone.

"It's a real disaster," laments

, responsible for waste at Ecologistas en Acción.

In his opinion "we must limit the issue of single-use plastic" and the way to do it is "at origin".

Measures are already being taken -Arribas mentions the tax on this product and the modification of the Royal Decree on packaging- and, at the same time, increasing the use of recycled material.

In short, the environmentalist points out, go where it hurts: the wallets.

"In a capitalist and market society, the only way to achieve this is

."

"When the pockets of companies or individuals are touched, they change their behavior," admits Arribas.

The OECD, however, is more pessimistic and considers that these tools, already adopted by more than 120 countries, "are not doing enough to reduce global pollution."

The problem is that most of this legislation is limited to acting against specific objects such as bags "which constitute a tiny part of plastic waste."

It is, therefore, about more effective measures in reducing the rubbish that litters the streets, but not in the general consumption of the material.

Meanwhile, the annual production of plastic already reached

-the latest data available-, according to the OECD.

For comparison, the millennium began with 234 million tons, practically half.

More worrying is the increase in waste, which has not only gone hand in hand, but has increased at a faster rate: from 156 million tons in 2000 to 353 million in 2019.

The consequences are already being felt on the planet and have a strong impact on aquatic environments, where there are already

.

The vast majority, 109 million, are in the rivers, while an additional 30 million reached the oceans.

In 2019 alone, the organization regrets, 6.1 million tons of this material were accumulated in rivers, lakes and seas.

In fact, there is so much accumulated in the rivers, that even if the problem were significantly reduced, tons of plastics would continue to end up in the planet's oceans for decades.

When pointing out culprits, Arribas recalls that "most of the plastics that end up in the sea are containers" and this points directly to the extended responsibility of the producer.

This does not mean that citizens and users do it well, but its scope is less.

Recycle: little and bad

The OECD study reveals that, despite the fact that 15% of the plastic is collected for recycling, 40% of it ends up being discarded as waste.

In total,

, 19% is incinerated, 50% ends up in landfills and 22% evades waste management systems (it can end up in illegal dumps, open fires or simply the environment ).

The data in more specific areas do not reveal any that can stand out and stand as a mirror in which the planet should see itself reflected.

The 14% recycling of plastics in the EU member countries of the OECD (where each citizen produces an average of 114 kilos of plastic waste per year) is the most encouraging figure.

In second position appears 13% shared by China and India, where it contrasts with high percentages of uncontrolled plastic (27% and 46%, respectively).

Arribas agrees with this pessimism.

"The data from the plastic employers in Spain establish that, at most, around 33% is being recycled," he explains.

However, in this percentage, what is exported to third countries is also considered recycled, when "in no way is it justified that they actually recycle that plastic and have sufficient infrastructure to manage and treat that waste under the same conditions as it is done in Spain".

In this sense, the person in charge of waste at Ecologistas en Acción considers that the

has a great influence , which, having no outlet on the market, accumulates in landfills or recycling plants and often ends up in flames - "The fires are constant", he says- or spends his days outdoors.

Hope is given by the fact that the plastic that comes out of packaging classification plants, which arrives from the yellow containers, can be worth between 100 and 200 euros per ton, so it has a commercial outlet.

It constitutes part of that 9% of the total that is recycled globally, which, in turn, does not end up in the water.

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