Transformative environmental actions to tackle plastic pollution

By Fernanda Valdivieso, director of the Chilean Plastics Pact

Plastic pollution has become a difficult problem to ignore. For the Chilean Plastics Pact (PCP), which works directly on this issue, this is good news.

The fact that the 50th edition of World Environment Day -celebrated annually on June 5- has focused on this theme, just closing, in Paris, the second Intergovernmental Negotiation Committee (INC-2) of the Global Treaty to end to plastic pollution, with a focus on the marine environment, shows the interest and need to prioritize this problem and generate transformative environmental measures. Coincidentally, June 8 marks World Ocean Day, the date on which we make visible the vital role that they play, for example, in regulating the climate and in the provision of biodiversity and food; as well as the threats they face, including plastic pollution.

The best waste is the one that is not generated, and this premise upheld by the PCP calls for reflection and collaborative work to move towards a circular economy for plastics, minimizing the generation of waste and making the most of existing resources and raw materials. Instead of continuing to produce and consume in a linear fashion, the circular economy proposes extending the life cycles of materials and products, reusing and recovering them instead of discarding them. In the case of plastic containers, this makes special sense and is particularly necessary, given the long useful life they can have if their proper design and management is promoted with a focus on their reuse and recycling.

Advancing in strategies to promote reuse models is essential. In Chile, the recent celebration of the reuse day promoted by Coca-Cola, Plastic Oceans and País Circular – all members of the PCP – highlighted the importance of this practice, considering that according to figures from the United Nations Environment Program ( UNEP), by 2040, reuse models could reduce plastic pollution by 30%. A few days before, Oceana, ANIR and Algramo, presented a report on the instruments to promote the reuse of containers and packaging in Chile and reduce the generation of waste.

As for recycling, the container and packaging goals of the Extended Producer Responsibility Law (REP Law) will come into force in September, which constitutes a great challenge considering that 970,000 tons of plastic were consumed (2020) and only recycled 9.6% of that total. The education, awareness and active participation of citizens will be one of the fundamental aspects for the collection of waste to be effective in quantity and quality. Along with this it will be necessary to improve the entire recycling infrastructure, and increase the demand for recycled materials. That is, its implementation requires the participation of multiple actors and the responsibility is shared.

It is encouraging to see that efforts to move towards a circular economy for plastics are gaining momentum globally and locally. The Chilean Plastics Pact is part of this movement, together with more than 45 collaborating companies and organizations, which present the entire plastic value chain, with more than 200 professionals involved.

The circular economy of plastics not only benefits the environment, but also the economy in general. According to figures from the Ellen Macarthur Foundation, the circular economy can reduce the volume of plastics entering the ocean by 80% per year, generate savings of USD 200 billion and 700,000 additional jobs. A circular model is an engine of sustainable development that can improve the quality of life for everyone.