Manila: Plastic waste leakage to the environment in Southeast Asian countries, along with China, Japan, and South Korea, could escalate by nearly 70% if effective measures are not implemented, as per a report by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).
According to Philippines News Agency, the Regional Plastics Outlook report highlights that driven by increasing incomes and living standards, plastic use in the region is anticipated to almost double without more robust policies, compared to 2022 levels. The report further indicates that the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) member states are projected to experience a near tripling in plastic usage.
Plastic waste is expected to more than double, with leakage into the environment predicted to rise by 68%, mainly originating from ASEAN lower-middle-income countries and China. The region is described as a “hotspot for plastic pollution,” with 8.4 million tons of mismanaged plastic waste entering the environment in 2022.
Th
e report outlines a dramatic increase in regional plastic waste from 10 million tons in 1990 to 113 million tons in 2022. It highlights the persistence of informal and unsafe waste management practices, such as open burning and dumping, particularly in rural areas of most ASEAN countries and China.
Plastic waste poses a significant environmental concern, polluting rivers and oceans and posing health risks to wildlife and humans as microplastics enter the body. The report projects that annual leakage into the environment in the region could reach 14.1 million tons by 2050, with 5.1 million tons potentially ending up in rivers, coastal areas, and oceans.
Waste management capabilities vary widely among countries in the region, with plastic use in 13 countries increasing nearly ninefold from 17 million tons in 1990 to 152 million tons in 2022. Over half of the plastic used in the region has a lifespan of less than five years, resulting in rapid waste accumulation.
The report suggests that ambitious actions, su
ch as bans on single-use plastics and the imposition of taxes, could reduce plastic use by 28%, increase the recycling rate to 54%, and decrease mismanaged waste by 97%.
In a related development, discussions for an international legally binding treaty on plastic pollution resumed in Geneva, following previous talks in South Korea last year that collapsed due to disagreements over plastic output curbs and waste management measures.
