COVID-19 led to a sharp rise in the production of single-use plastics, a significant proportion of which end up in the world’s oceans. With the pandemic gradually being brought under control, emerging markets are now stepping up efforts to tackle marine pollution.
Due largely to demand for personal protective equipment and packaging for food delivery services, the pandemic provoked a dramatic increase in the use of single-use plastics.
Highlighting the sheer scale of production, a study led by researchers from the University of Aveiro in Portugal estimated that 129bn face masks and 65bn disposable gloves were used every month last year.
While much of this has ended up in landfill, the sudden rise in plastic production has placed a significant strain on marine ecosystems, given that plastic accounts for around 80 per cent of all marine debris worldwide.
Indeed, a study released by the Pew Charitable Trusts and SYSTEMIQ in July last year predicted that, unless there is a significant drop in production, the amount of plastic that finds its way into the sea each year could increase from current levels of 11 million tonnes to 29 million tonnes, resulting in a cumulative 600 million in the world’s oceans by 2040.
The effects of such pollution on wildlife are grave. UNESCO estimates that plastic debris causes the death of more than one million seabirds every year, along with more than 100,000 marine mammals.
Meanwhile, research from the University of Newcastle in Australia and the World Wide Fund for Nature estimates that humans consume on average 21 grammes of microplastic – equivalent to half a bowl of rice – every month, with much of this coming from food and water.
Fighting marine plastics in Asean
One of the worst-affected regions in terms of plastic waste is South-east Asia, where it was reported during the early months of the pandemic that face masks and latex gloves were regularly washing up on beaches.
Indeed, while Covid-19 has worsened the situation in terms of marine plastic waste, the issue is not a new one for the region.
According to a 2015 study by US recycling and waste expert Jenna Jambeck, six Southeast Asian countries were among the top 20 in the world in terms of waste mismanagement.
Indonesia was ranked second, the Philippines third, Vietnam fourth, Thailand sixth, Malaysia eighth and Myanmar 17th in the study, which calculated that the countries’ combined marine plastic pollution came to 1.4 million to 3.5 million tonnes per year, out of a global total of eight million to 12 million tonnes.
In a cross-governmental attempt to address the situation, in late May Asean member states launched a regional action plan to combat marine debris.
The plan aims to reduce plastic inputs into the system, enhance collection capabilities, minimise leakage and create value for waste reuse. It includes guidelines for countries to phase out single-use plastics, harmonise regional standards on recycling and plastics packaging, and strengthen regional measurement and monitoring of marine debris.
Given the international nature of marine waste – a significant amount of plastic is washed across national borders via rivers or ocean currents – this cross-governmental development marks a significant turning point for Asean countries in terms of fighting pollution.
It also builds on many strategies and initiatives from individual countries, such as Malaysia’s ban on non-biodegradable plastics, the Thai government’s proposed tax on electronic waste, and Indonesia’s efforts to enhance waste recycling technology and develop garbage-collecting vessels.
Boosting the blue economy
Aside from human and marine health factors, reducing plastic waste from waterways can also bring about tangible economic benefits to affected countries.
As OBG has detailed, the so-called blue economy, a broad term that encompasses areas ranging from fisheries, waste management and maritime transport, to tourism and renewable energy, has considerable social and economic value, with some estimates suggesting that the global ocean economy has an annual value of around US$1.5 trillion.
Indeed, in December last year the High Level Panel for a Sustainable Ocean Economy – a group of 14 countries consisting of Australia, Canada, Chile, Fiji, Ghana, Indonesia, Jamaica, Japan, Kenya, Mexico, Namibia, Norway, Palau and Portugal – launched a new ocean action agenda.
As part of the agreement, all member states agreed to sustainably manage 100 per cent of their national waters by 2025, part of a 74-point agenda designed to improve the health of the world’s oceans and waterways.
If the agenda is adhered to, the panel says that it will allow the world’s oceans to generate six times more food and 40 times more renewable energy than current levels, as well as lifting millions out of poverty and contributing one-fifth of the greenhouse gas emission reductions needed to stay within 1.5 degrees Celcius goals.
There are also significant economic opportunities in processing used plastics.
A series of World Bank studies across Malaysia, the Philippines and Thailand released in March found that more than 75 per cent of the material value of plastics is lost – the equivalent of US$6 billion per year across the three countries – when single-use plastics are discarded rather than recovered and recycled.
This piece was produced by the Oxford Business Group.