Plastic Archives - Art of Landscaping

December 11, 2022

On January 1, 2023, Colorado stores and restaurants will begin charging a 10 cent bag fee for single-use plastic and paper bags, until January 2024 when a ban goes into effect.

(COLORADO SPRINGS) — Starting up Jan. 1, 2023, stores in Colorado will start off charging a 10-cent fee for each bag, to present buyers with a recycled paper or solitary-use plastic bag as component of a statewide mandate. The mandate was put in position by the Plastic Air pollution Reduction Act which was signed into legislation in July 2021.

The evaluate goes into whole influence on Jan. 1, 2024, when one-use plastics will be banned from outlets and retail foodstuff institutions, with the exception of dining establishments and tiny shops that run only in Colorado and have a few or less areas – all those merchants will still be permitted to deliver customers with one-use plastic bags.

The fee goes into impact at the commencing of 2023 as a transitionary time period to prepare retailers and consumers to go without the need of single-use plastic luggage by the start off of 2024.

Businesses will be expected by law to charge the 10-cent for every bag price in the course of 2023, and people that do not comply could face a $500 good for a second violation or $1,000 for a 3rd or subsequent violation. Local governments will be accountable for enforcement.

After Jan. 1, 2024, stores can only offer you recycled paper bags at the stage of sale, with the 10-cent or bigger bag charge imposed on the acquire.

The transfer is in an energy to stimulate prospects to provide their individual reusable buying baggage to suppliers, so solitary-use plastic luggage really don’t stop up in streets and trees, polluting Colorado’s lovely purely natural landscape.

Walmart claimed in a statement that their model will shift to paper luggage for supply, and they will no longer be offering single-use plastic or paper luggage at checkout or pickup.

Examine Walmart’s whole statement sent to FOX21 Information underneath:

Commencing Sunday, January 1, 2023, Walmart shops in Colorado will no for a longer time present single-use plastic or paper bags at checkout or pickup. Supply will shift to paper bags. We are doing the job really hard to assure a seamless and easy shift to reusable baggage for our consumers and associates. Eradicating solitary-use bags is component of our commitment to realize zero waste throughout our functions and finally change little by little toward a circular economy designed on advancing reuse, refill and recycling habits.

Lauren Willis, International Communications Director – Western U.S.

In addition to plastic bags, the act prohibits eating places from applying an expanded polystyrene (Styrofoam) merchandise for use as a container for completely ready-to-take in meals.

Retail food establishments that obtain Styrofoam products and solutions ahead of Jan. 1, 2024, can continue on to use the products and solutions right up until their source is depleted.

Exceptions to the law include things like:

Resources utilized in the packaging of pharmaceutical medication, professional medical products, or dietary dietary supplements
Any tools or elements utilised to manufacture pharmaceutical drugs, health care devices, or dietary dietary supplements
The carryout bag price does not utilize to any human being who can offer proof to the retailer that they are a participant in a federal or state meals assistance program
Eating places and tiny outlets that operate exclusively in Colorado and have three or less destinations can go on to deliver one-use plastic luggage

March 16, 2022

Plastic Market in Thailand to Increase by USD 8.63 Bn | Featuring Top Vendors including BASF SE, Covestro AG, Dow Inc., and Huntsman Corp.

Read our Free Sample Report before purchasing.

Key takeaways from Plastic Market in Thailand study

The Plastic Market in Thailand to increase by USD 8.63 billion at 4.72{6d6906d986cb38e604952ede6d65f3d49470e23f1a526661621333fa74363c48} CAGR between 2021 and 2026
5.20{6d6906d986cb38e604952ede6d65f3d49470e23f1a526661621333fa74363c48} year-over-year growth expected in 2022
The packaging segment accounted for maximum growth in the market.
Dominant vendors include BASF SE, Covestro AG, Dow Inc., EcoBlue Ltd., Huntsman Corp., Indorama Ventures Public Co. Ltd., INEOS Group Holdings SA, PTT Global Chemical Public Co. Ltd., and others.

Vendor Landscape

The market structure is expected to remain fragmented during the forecast period. Vendors are deploying different organic and inorganic growth strategies to compete in the market.

BASF SE, Covestro AG, Dow Inc., EcoBlue Ltd., Huntsman Corp., Indorama Ventures Public Co. Ltd., INEOS Group Holdings SA, PTT Global Chemical Public Co. Ltd., Siam Cement PCL, and Thai Plastic Industries Co. Ltd. among others are some of the few key vendors competing to maintain their market position in the market.

The vendors in the market compete on the basis of factors such as price, quality, innovation, reputation, and distribution network. While some companies are more specialized than others with respect to particular commodities, others have larger financial resources.

View more about the market’s vendor landscape highlights with a comprehensive list of vendors and their offerings.

Key Market Segmentation

Segmentation by End-Users:

Packaging:

During the projection period, the packaging segment’s plastic market share will expand significantly in Thailand. Plastic is used to make a variety of items in the packaging industry, including containers, bottles, plastic bags, and more. They’re an important aspect of the packaging industry, and most manufacturers utilize them since they’re robust and work as a barrier to keep moisture out of the product. During the projection period, such factors are expected to boost the segment’s growth.

Electronics and electrical appliances
Construction
Automotive
Others

Request a FREE Sample of this report for more highlights into the market segments.

Plastic Market in Thailand: Growth Drivers and Challenges

The increasing demand for packaging materials is one of the major factors driving the Plastic Market in Thailand to grow. The demand for flexible plastic packaging from hospitals, medicine manufacturers, and personal protective equipment (PPE) manufacturers is likely to be strong over the forecast period. Plastics are in higher demand in medical devices like testing equipment, ventilators, and syringes, as well as personal protective equipment like masks and face shields. During the projected period, the demand for packaging materials in the healthcare industry is expected to stay stable.

“Although effective waste management will further boost the market growth, the stringent regulations over the usage of plastics“, says an analyst at Technavio.

The Plastic Market in Thailand report answers questions such as:

Is the market structure fragmented or concentrated?
What was the market size in 2021 and the forecast of the Plastic Market in Thailand through 2026?
Which are the best segment areas to invest in over the forecast period?
What is the market share of dominant and strong vendors in the Plastic Market in Thailand market?
What are the latest trends and regulatory frameworks in the Plastic Market in Thailand?

Get all your questions answered in our full report.

Gain confidence by Speaking to Our Analyst Now!

Keratin Market by Product and Geography – Forecast and Analysis 2022-2026

Plastic Market Scope in Thailand
Report Coverage	Details
Page number	120
Base year	2021
Forecast period	2022-2026
Growth momentum & CAGR	Decelerate at a CAGR of 4.72{6d6906d986cb38e604952ede6d65f3d49470e23f1a526661621333fa74363c48}
Market growth 2022-2026	$ 8.63 billion
Market structure	Fragmented
YoY growth ({6d6906d986cb38e604952ede6d65f3d49470e23f1a526661621333fa74363c48})	5.20
Competitive landscape	Leading companies, Competitive strategies, Consumer engagement scope
Key companies profiled	BASF SE, Covestro AG, Dow Inc., EcoBlue Ltd., Huntsman Corp., Indorama Ventures Public Co. Ltd., INEOS Group Holdings SA, PTT Global Chemical Public Co. Ltd., Siam Cement PCL, and Thai Plastic Industries Co. Ltd.
Market dynamics	Parent market analysis, Market growth inducers and obstacles, Fast-growing and slow-growing segment analysis, COVID-19 impact and recovery analysis and future consumer dynamics, Market condition analysis for forecast period
Customization purview	If our report has not included the data that you are looking for, you can reach out to our analysts and get segments customized.

Table of Contents

1. Executive Summary

2. Market Landscape

2.1 Market ecosystem

Exhibit 01: Parent market

2.2 Market characteristics

Exhibit 02: Market Characteristics

2.3 Value Chain Analysis

Exhibit 03: Value Chain Analysis: Commodity chemicals

2.3.1 Inputs

2.3.2 Inbound logistics

2.3.3 Operations

2.3.4 Outbound logistics

2.3.5 Marketing and sales

Support activities

Innovation

3. Market Sizing

3.1 Market definition

Exhibit 04: Offerings of vendors included in the market definition

3.2 Market segment analysis

Exhibit 05: Market segments

3.3 Market size 2019

3.4 Market outlook: Forecast for 2019 – 2024

Exhibit 06: Thailand – Market size and forecast 2021 – 2026 ($ billion)

Exhibit 07: Thailand: Year-over-year growth 2021 – 2026 ({6d6906d986cb38e604952ede6d65f3d49470e23f1a526661621333fa74363c48})

4. Five Forces Analysis

4.1 Five Forces Summary

Exhibit 08: Five forces analysis 2021 & 2026

4.2 Bargaining power of buyers

Exhibit 09: Bargaining power of the buyer

4.3 Bargaining power of suppliers

Exhibit 10: Bargaining power of the supplier

4.4 Threat of new entrants

Exhibit 11: Threat of new entrants

4.5 Threat of substitutes

Exhibit 12: Threat of substitutes

4.6 Threat of rivalry

Exhibit 13: Threat of rivalry

4.7 Market condition

Exhibit 14: Market condition – Five forces 2021

5. Market Segmentation by End-user

5.1 Market segments

Exhibit 15: End-user- Market share 2021-2026 ({6d6906d986cb38e604952ede6d65f3d49470e23f1a526661621333fa74363c48})

5.2 Comparison by End-user

Exhibit 16: Comparison by End-user

5.3 Packaging – Market size and forecast 2021-2026

Exhibit 17: Packaging – Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ billion)

Exhibit 18: Packaging – Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 ({6d6906d986cb38e604952ede6d65f3d49470e23f1a526661621333fa74363c48})

5.4 Electronics and electrical appliances – Market size and forecast 2021-2026

Exhibit 19: Electronics and electrical appliances – Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ billion)

Exhibit 20: Electronics and electrical appliances – Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 ({6d6906d986cb38e604952ede6d65f3d49470e23f1a526661621333fa74363c48})

5.5 Construction – Market size and forecast 2021-2026

Exhibit 21: Construction – Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ billion)

Exhibit 22: Construction – Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 ({6d6906d986cb38e604952ede6d65f3d49470e23f1a526661621333fa74363c48})

5.6 Automotive – Market size and forecast 2021-2026

Exhibit 23: Automotive – Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ billion)

Exhibit 24: Automotive – Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 ({6d6906d986cb38e604952ede6d65f3d49470e23f1a526661621333fa74363c48})

5.7 Others – Market size and forecast 2021-2026

Exhibit 25: Others – Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ billion)

Exhibit 26: Others – Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 ({6d6906d986cb38e604952ede6d65f3d49470e23f1a526661621333fa74363c48})

5.8 Market opportunity by End-user

Exhibit 27: Market opportunity by End-user

6. Market Segmentation by Trade type

6.1 Market segments

Exhibit 28: Trade type- Market share 2021-2026 ({6d6906d986cb38e604952ede6d65f3d49470e23f1a526661621333fa74363c48})

6.2 Comparison by Trade type

Exhibit 29: Comparison by Trade type

6.3 Domestic – Market size and forecast 2021-2026

Exhibit 30: Domestic – Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ billion)

Exhibit 31: Domestic – Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 ({6d6906d986cb38e604952ede6d65f3d49470e23f1a526661621333fa74363c48})

6.4 Exports – Market size and forecast 2021-2026

Exhibit 32: Exports – Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ billion)

Exhibit 33: Exports – Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 ({6d6906d986cb38e604952ede6d65f3d49470e23f1a526661621333fa74363c48})

6.5 Market opportunity by Trade type

Exhibit 34: Market opportunity by Trade type

7. Customer landscape

Technavio’s customer landscape matrix comparing Drivers or price sensitivity, Adoption lifecycle, importance in customer price basket, Adoption rate, and Key purchase criteria

Exhibit 35: Customer landscape

8. Drivers, Challenges, and Trends

8.1 Market Driver

8.1.1 Increasing demand for packaging materials

8.1.2 Increasing demand for biodegradable plastics

8.1.3 Environment-friendly nature of recycled plastics

8.2 Market challenges

8.2.1 Stringent regulations over usage of plastics

8.2.2 Rising demand of plastic replaceable

8.2.3 Volatility in raw material prices

Exhibit 36: Impact of drivers and challenges

8.3 Market trends

8.3.1 Effective waste management

8.3.2 Growing recycling techniques

8.3.3 Growing demand for synthetic textiles

9. Vendor Landscape

9.1 Vendor landscape

Exhibit 37: Vendor landscape

9.2 Landscape disruption

Exhibit 38: Landscape disruption

Exhibit 39: Industry Risk

10. Vendor Analysis

10.1 Vendors covered

Exhibit 40: Vendors covered

10.2 Market positioning of vendors

Exhibit 41: Market positioning of vendors

10.3 BASF SE

Exhibit 42: BASF SE – Overview

Exhibit 43: BASF SE – Business segments

Exhibit 44: BASF SE – Key News

Exhibit 45: BASF SE – Key offerings

Exhibit 46: BASF SE – Segment focus

10.4 Covestro AG

Exhibit 47: Covestro AG – Overview

Exhibit 48: Covestro AG – Business segments

Exhibit 49: Covestro AG – Key News

Exhibit 50: Covestro AG – Key offerings

Exhibit 51: Covestro AG – Segment focus

10.5 Dow Inc.

Exhibit 52: Dow Inc. – Overview

Exhibit 53: Dow Inc. – Business segments

Exhibit 54: Dow Inc. – Key News

Exhibit 55: Dow Inc. – Key offerings

Exhibit 56: Dow Inc. – Segment focus

10.6 EcoBlue Ltd.

Exhibit 57: EcoBlue Ltd. – Overview

Exhibit 58: EcoBlue Ltd. – Product and service

Exhibit 59: EcoBlue Ltd. – Key offerings

10.7 Huntsman Corp.

Exhibit 60: Huntsman Corp. – Overview

Exhibit 61: Huntsman Corp. – Business segments

Exhibit 62: Huntsman Corp. – Key News

Exhibit 63: Huntsman Corp. – Key offerings

Exhibit 64: Huntsman Corp. – Segment focus

10.8 Indorama Ventures Public Co. Ltd.

Exhibit 65: Indorama Ventures Public Co. Ltd. – Overview

Exhibit 66: Indorama Ventures Public Co. Ltd. – Business segments

Exhibit 67: Indorama Ventures Public Co. Ltd. – Key News

Exhibit 68: Indorama Ventures Public Co. Ltd. – Key offerings

Exhibit 69: Indorama Ventures Public Co. Ltd. – Segment focus

10.9 INEOS Group Holdings SA

Exhibit 70: INEOS Group Holdings SA – Overview

Exhibit 71: INEOS Group Holdings SA – Business segments

Exhibit 72: INEOS Group Holdings SA – Key News

Exhibit 73: INEOS Group Holdings SA – Key offerings

Exhibit 74: INEOS Group Holdings SA – Segment focus

10.10 PTT Global Chemical Public Co. Ltd.

Exhibit 75: PTT Global Chemical Public Co. Ltd. – Overview

Exhibit 76: PTT Global Chemical Public Co. Ltd. – Business segments

Exhibit 77: PTT Global Chemical Public Co. Ltd. – Key offerings

Exhibit 78: PTT Global Chemical Public Co. Ltd. – Segment focus

10.11 Siam Cement PCL

Exhibit 79: Siam Cement PCL – Overview

Exhibit 80: Siam Cement PCL – Business segments

Exhibit 81: Siam Cement PCL – Key offerings

Exhibit 82: Siam Cement PCL – Segment focus

10.12 Thai Plastic Industries Co. Ltd.

Exhibit 83: Thai Plastic Industries Co. Ltd. – Overview

Exhibit 84: Thai Plastic Industries Co. Ltd. – Product and service

Exhibit 85: Thai Plastic Industries Co. Ltd. – Key offerings

11. Appendix

11.1 Scope of the report

11.1.1 Market definition

11.1.2 Objectives

11.1.3 Notes and caveats

11.2 Currency conversion rates for US$

Exhibit 86: Currency conversion rates for US$

11.3 Research Methodology

Exhibit 87: Research Methodology

Exhibit 88: Validation techniques employed for market sizing

Exhibit 89: Information sources

11.4 List of abbreviations

Exhibit 90: List of abbreviations

About Us

Technavio is a leading global technology research and advisory company. Their research and analysis focus on emerging market trends and provides actionable insights to help businesses identify market opportunities and develop effective strategies to optimize their market positions. With over 500 specialized analysts, Technavio’s report library consists of more than 17,000 reports and counting, covering 800 technologies, spanning across 50 countries. Their client base consists of enterprises of all sizes, including more than 100 Fortune 500 companies. This growing client base relies on Technavio’s comprehensive coverage, extensive research, and actionable market insights to identify opportunities in existing and potential markets and assess their competitive positions within changing market scenarios.

Contact

Technavio Research
Jesse Maida
Media & Marketing Executive
US: +1 844 364 1100
UK: +44 203 893 3200
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.technavio.com/

SOURCE Technavio

March 7, 2022

What are the climate costs of plastic?

This article is the first of a two-part series on plastic and climate change. The second article will be published on 14 March 2022.

Found from the peaks of Mount Everest to the depths of the ocean and inside every organ in our body, plastic is all around us, in us and will outlive us.

Ubiquitous, versatile and disposable, plastic has shaped the modern age in a way that few other materials have. Plastic is used in virtually every industry in a staggering range of forms: packaging, clothes, electronic components, consumer products and construction, to name only a very few.

Nowadays it is also infamous for its tendency to clog waterways and beaches, get eaten by turtles or accumulate in gigantic landfills. And, it’s developing a reputation as a driver of global warming. A study published last year in Nature Sustainability calculated the carbon footprint of the plastic industry to be 2 gigatonnes of greenhouse gas emissions, or 4.5 percent of the world’s total emissions, in 2015.

But how exactly does humanity’s addiction to plastic contribute to climate change? In this article, we’ll look at the ways we produce and dispose of plastic and how these lead to emissions. Then, in the next article in this series, we’ll dive into the climate change impact of plastic that ends up in our oceans as well as what we can do next.

Nurdles, which are pre-production plastic material that is shipped to manufacturers to be molded into products. Mark Dixon, Flickr

The birth of plastic

Broadly speaking, plastics are materials composed of man-made “polymers” – large molecules built from repeating chains of small molecules called “monomers.”

Humans have used naturally moldable materials for thousands of years. The use of rubber, for example, dates back to the ancient Olmec civilization. But new substances started to be developed during the 19th century, and the following century saw an explosion of plastic development and mass production. Given its low production cost and many useful applications, plastic has boomed over recent decades. In 2020, the world created an estimated 367 million tonnes of plastic.

It is, however, likely to leave an increasingly large climate footprint, according to a 2019 report by the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL), which estimates that plastic production could in total emit 56 gigatonnes of greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. This equates to more than 10 percent of the entire remaining carbon budget set out by Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) to try and limit warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius since the Industrial Revolution.

Every step of the plastic production chain emits greenhouse gases. Nearly all plastic resins are derived from fossil fuels – mainly natural gas and oil, but also some from coal. Other than the emissions generated from using these fossil fuels as the feedstock for plastic, extracting fossil fuels can also lead to greenhouse gas emissions in various other ways, including through flaring, methane leakages, and the energy used to drill and extract oil or gas. Carbon is also released when forests and vegetation is cleared to construct pipelines and wellpads.

After oil and gas is extracted, they are sent to “cracking” plants, where they are broken down into monomers before being stitched together in long chains to create polymers, the building blocks of plastic. Afterwards, plasticizers or other chemicals may be added to the plastic before it is cooled and shredded into tiny pellets called nurdles, which are then shipped to manufacturers to be formed into bags, textiles and other goods.

This process emits an intense amount of greenhouse gases. Just within the U.S., plastic manufacturing is thought to add 114 million U.S. tons (103.4 million tonnes) of carbon dioxide equivalent every year, according to a report released last year by Beyond Plastics, a U.S.-based group that aims to end plastic pollution. The report states that this number is expected to grow, with at least 42 more plastics facilities coming under operation, construction or the permitting process in the country since 2019.

Judith Enck, the president of Beyond Plastics, says that most cracker facilities within the U.S. are proposed in low-income areas, especially around communities of color. “It’s as if we’ve created ‘sacrifice zones,’ where there are entire neighborhoods that are battered with air pollution and water pollution that’s making a lot of people sick,” she says.

“I think it’s really troubling that the phrase ‘Cancer Alley’ [the 85-mile stretch of land containing 25 percent of the U.S.’s petrochemical production] just flows off our tongues. But that’s what that stretch of the Mississippi River is called. Cancer Alley.”

Coal is a growing source of plastic production-derived carbon emissions, according to recent research. Darmau Lee, Unsplash

Natural gas is the main plastic feedstock used in the U.S., due to an abundant supply as a result of the shale gas boom of recent years. But oil is a major feedstock in the rest of the world. The World Economic Forum estimates that roughly 4 to 8 percent of oil extracted globally is then used for plastic, half of which is used as material feedstock and the other half used to provide energy for the production process, leading to the CIEL report authors to roughly estimate that, outside the U.S., producing plastic from oil releases 108 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent every year.

However, the role of coal in plastic production is rapidly growing – especially as global plastic production is increasingly reliant on coal-dependent countries like China, Indonesia and South Africa. The aforementioned study published in Nature Sustainability found that this trend has doubled the carbon and health footprint (as relates to particulate matter) of plastic production since 1995.

“One factor might be that in wealthy countries we have more strict environmental guidelines, and this can even lead to this shift – we also call it ‘outsourcing’ – of the dirty steps like plastic production to other countries where we don’t have these strict guidelines,” says Livia Cabernard, a post-doctoral researcher at ETH Zürich and one of the authors of the study. She added that a consumer preference for cheaper products and increasing Western imports of commodities like electronics and machinery might also explain this trend.

The research found coal to be the source of 44 percent of plastic production emissions, mainly for electricity generation and for resin production and manufacturing. Even though 88 percent of the carbon emissions and 93 percent of the health impacts from plastic production occurred in countries outside Europe and the U.S., Western countries enjoyed 80 percent of the economic value of these plastics.

Cabernard added that outsourcing plastic production to these coal-dependent countries meant that it is harder for them to achieve their climate commitments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, because “what counts in these climate agreements are our domestic emissions, which indeed in many high-income regions have decreased. But on the other hand, when we look at our consumption-based impacts, they actually have increased…we just cause the impacts somewhere else.”

A landfill in Arizona, U.S. Alan Levine, Flickr

The difficult disposal of plastic

The wonderful qualities of plastic when in use are also its environmental downfall. Its resistance to water and durability means that it degrades very slowly, and depending on the type of plastic and environment, it can take decades or even centuries to break down. In fact, the bulk of most plastic’s existence happens after it is disposed , typically after being used only once. It is after we throw plastic away that its life begins to diverge into a variety of paths – and emit carbon in various ways.

Plastic is usually landfilled, incinerated or recycled. Ideally, all plastic would be recycled in perpetuity, but in reality, only about 9 percent of all plastic ever produced has been recycled just once. The costs of recycling compared with the cheapness of making new plastic results in much of the world’s used plastic, even when cleaned and thrown into the recycling bin, being landfilled or incinerated. Infinite reuse is also impossible, because plastic’s quality degrades each time it is repurposed.

So around 60 percent of all plastic made since 1950 has been either sent to landfills – where it emits methane and carbon dioxide and can lead to soil, groundwater and smell pollution for nearby communities – or discarded in the natural environment.

The most emissions-heavy way to manage plastic waste is to burn it. From 1950 to 2015, around 12 percent of all discarded plastic was incinerated. Facilities that incinerate waste (which usually includes both plastic and other disposed material) for energy can now be found around the world. The logic is to take various types of waste material and burn it into fuels to be reused as power. Many municipalities have adopted this technology in order to reduce the waste that ends up in landfills while displacing some fossil fuel dependency.

But according to the CIEL report, for every tonne of plastic burned, 0.9 tonnes of carbon dioxideequivalent are still released, even after accounting for the fossil fuel use it displaces. This means that plastic incineration, including when it is burned for energy use, emits far more greenhouse gas emissions than both landfilling or recycling.

And the fossil fuel “offset” will become less valid as economies decarbonize and switch to using renewable energy. According to Janek Vähk, the Climate, Energy, Air Pollution programme coordinator at Zero Waste Europe, waste incineration could come to occupy 7 percent of the total European carbon budget in a future that keeps global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius.

“A lot of waste which is currently incinerated actually is recyclable, but it ends up incinerated because it’s the simplest thing to do,” Vähk says. “It’s just something to do with economics: waste incineration is cheaper than recycling. Why bother with all the separate collection, recycling and so on if you could just simply burn it and get a little bit of energy out of it?”

The emissions from incineration waste for energy can vary, depending on the type of energy used to power the incinerator and the type of waste burned. It is often not simply pure plastic that is incinerated but mixed municipal waste, which could require more energy for the incineration process. For example, more energy is needed to burn plastic mixed with food or other organic material that could contain more moisture, which then reduces the fossil fuel offset. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency estimated that the emissions from waste-to-energy incineration in 2016 from the U.S. alone was 11 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent.

According to a recent report by Zero Waste Europe, these incineration facilities can contaminate surrounding communities with persistent organic pollutants, also known as “forever chemicals,” as was found with the waste incinerators the authors studied in Spain, the Czech Republic and Lithuania. These pollutants gradually accumulate within living things in the environment and can harm human health over time. For example, they found that most of the chicken eggs from communities surrounding the incineration facilities had higher levels of toxins than permitted for sale or consumption.

Plastic waste, recyclable or not, is often traded globally on cargo ships. Rinson Chory, Unsplash

Yet the plastic waste generated in many countries is often overwhelming, to the point that many export it to be managed elsewhere. The primary destination was once China, until it banned most plastic waste imports in 2018. This resulted in the trade being diverted to other Asian countries – either legally or illegally – including Malaysia, which was the top importer of plastic waste in 2020. A report by the Environmental Investigation Agency last year found that despite only having a recycling capacity of 515,009 tonnes, Malaysia imports roughly 835,000 tonnes of foreign plastic waste each year – even while producing 2.4 million tonnes domestically.

Mageswari Sangaralingam, a senior research officer with Friends of the Earth Malaysia, said that after China banned plastic imports, communities near Port Klang (a major port in Malaysia) began to experience breathing difficulties. After investigating on their own, they detected some illegal recycling plants near their agricultural areas.

“[The recycling plants] were just dumping it. And sometimes [plastic dumps] catch fire, so it’s in flames. Or sometimes they intentionally burn it,” says Sangaralingam. She said that Friends of the Earth Malaysia and other groups then assisted the communities in appealing to the authorities to address the problem by reaching out to international media to bring attention to this issue. “Thailand, Vietnam and Indonesia, they all became a dumping ground for this waste from developed countries.”

Batches of plastic waste that contain a mix of resins or that are contaminated with non-plastic material are often difficult to recycle and are thus often illegal to import, but shipping containers holding imported waste might be mislabeled to obscure this. The Basel Convention, an international treaty that aims to reduce the trade in hazardous waste, was amended in 2019 to also include plastic.

Nevertheless, the waste trade continues. Since many countries lack the capacity to manage such large quantities of plastic waste or because the plastic is unrecyclable, it is often dumped, openly burned or lost into the environment, at which point its climate impact becomes more difficult to measure. Every year, between 5 and 12 million tonnes of plastic waste are thought to be leaked into waterways before ultimately ending up in the ocean.

Read on in part 2 of this series on plastics.

Posted on November 29, 2021
Delhi-Based Artist Creates Beautiful Art Work On Olive Ridley Turtles With Message To Curb Plastic Menace In Oceans

Bhubaneswar: On the closing ceremony of the METIS Initiative on Plastics and Indo-Pacific Ocean 2021 at Utsha Foundation here this evening, the grant-winning artist Manveer Singh shared his experience at the month-long residency and also displayed a short film on his journey in Odisha in transforming his ideas to create beautiful art from plastics and also generating awareness among people and especially among the youth and students.

Today’s installation by Manveer at Utsha created a wall of Olive Ridley turtles hanged from net and the artist has the concept to tell to the visitors, how human activities like fishing are killing the turtles. The tiny ones consuming plastics are also facing life threat near the coastline and especially adjacent locations near the mass nesting grounds. The work today at Utsha, thus explained all the challenges behind the lifecycle of the Olive Ridley turtles, which are in love with the Odishan coast.

The wonderful event on art and sustainability was attended by Consulate General of France Kolkata Mr. Talpain, Regional Director South Asia AgenceFrançaise de Développement (AFD) or French Development Agency Mr. Jacky Amprou, Director AFD India Mr. Bruno Bosle and Sector Portfolio Manager AFD Mrs. Fanny Ragot and Founder of Utsha Foundation and eminent artistJagannath Panda, among others.

Congratulating Manveer, the Consulate General of France Mr. Talpain said ‘’this artistic food for thought is the reminder that art and artists have the power to influence the way we think about the environment. I strongly believe that artists have the power not just to raise awareness about critical issues, but their work is also the key to creating real world impact.’’

Delhi-based artist Manveer Singh’s concept “From Plastic to Art” was selected from 26 applicants. During his stay for the Utsha Residency in association with AFD, Manveer visited various institutions and offices and distributed 40 habit changer boxes to collect the layered plastics to make the tiny turtles for his art work. He also organized a workshop with 28 Peer Leaders (PragatiSathis) of the Bhubaneswar Smart City so that the concept of “From Plastic to Art” is translated to action by others in the society. Peer Leaders are youth and student leaders of Bhubaneswar Smart City to create public awareness among the 100 slums across the Temple City. The workshop was organized at BDA City Centre (NICCO Park) where the Quick Win project under City Investments to Innovate, Integrate and Sustain (CITIIS) is under implementation in Bhubaneswar.

Manveer also conducted a workshop for students at Unit VI Girls High School in which 50 students participated. He also interacted with more than 15 families residing in Government quarters near Utsha Foundation. His installation on Puri sea beach also attracted more than 5,000 visitors on November 24.

The artist, popularly known as “Plastic Wallah’’ in Delhi, has dedicated his works in creating awareness on the menace of plastics in and around the human habitations. However, as the marine ecology is going to be severely affected by plastics by 2050, the artist feels, the awareness level should also get more attention so that the oceans and their ecosystems would be less affected by the plastics and their derivatives.

The METIS initiative is part ofAFD celebrating its 80th Anniversary on December 2, this year and for this the agency has planned events across the Indo-Pacific Region including India, Mauritius and Indonesia. AFD has decided to launch a global initiative METIS, to create a global public opinion on marine debris and pollution.

While this has encouraged participation of artists in India to express their ideas relating to plastic waste production, management and its ill effects on the fragile coastal ecosystem, in Mauritius and Indonesia music and comics respectively were used to create the public awareness.

Currently, AFD is also funding the CITIIS Programme in Bhubaneswar and 11 other cities of India through the Smart City Mission. AFD is funding CITIIS Programme here, supported by Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, European Union and National Institute of Urban Affairs, New Delhi and the Government of Odisha.