With the right policies in place, plastic pollution could be almost ended by 2040, a new report from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) concludes. Comprehensive policy instruments addressing all phases of the plastic life cycle at a global level could cut plastic leakage into the environment by more than 95 per cent by 2040, the authors noted.
However, these actions would have to be implemented consistently and encompass waste management and recycling as well as steps to reduce plastic production and use. Without a strategy of this kind, the OECD expects global plastic production and consumption to soar by 70 per cent from 435 million tonnes in 2020 to 736 million tonnes in 2040.
The report was published in early October in the run-up to UN talks in November to agree on a global treaty on plastic pollution....
