Toxic Tidal Wave Of Plastic Pollution Is Endangering Human Rights: UN Experts

New York: Plastic production has increased exponentially over recent decades and today the world generates 400 million metric tonnes of plastic waste a year. Therefore, the world must beat the toxic tidal wave of plastic pollution that threatens human rights, said UN experts.

The appeal comes as countries continue negotiations towards an international treaty on plastic pollution and ahead of World Environment Day on June 5.

“We are in the middle of an overwhelming toxic tidal wave as plastic pollutes our environment and negatively impacts human rights in a myriad of ways over its life cycle,” stated UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights and Environment David R. Boyd and Special Rapporteur on Toxics and Human Rights Marcos Orellana.

The two independent experts outlined how all stages of the ‘plastics cycle’ are harmful to people’s rights to a healthy environment, life, health, food, water, and an adequate standard of living.

Plastic production releases hazardous substances and almost exclusively relies on fossil fuels, while plastic itself contains toxic chemicals, posing serious risks and harms to human health, human rights, and the environment. At the end of its life as a consumer good, plastic waste pollutes our planet, with 85 per cent of single-use plastics sent to landfills or dumped in the environment.

Moreover, false and misleading solutions, such as incineration or recycling of toxic-laden plastics, aggravate the plastic threat. Plastic, microplastics, and the hazardous substances they contain can be found in the food we eat, the water we drink, and the air we breathe.

UN experts also discussed how marginalised communities are most affected by exposure to plastic-related pollution and waste.

We are particularly concerned about groups suffering from environmental injustices due to heightened exposure to plastic pollution, many of them living in ‘sacrifice zones’, they said, referring to locations near facilities such as open-pit mines, petroleum refineries, steel plants, and coal-fired power stations.

Experts further stated that plastic pollution has made an “alarming” contribution to climate change that is frequently ignored. For instance, the removal of greenhouse gases from the atmosphere by marine ecosystems is hampered by the presence of plastic particles in the ocean.

The UN Environment Programme (UNEP) projects that the amount of plastic waste entering aquatic ecosystems could reach some 23 to 37 million metric tonnes per year by 2040.

UNEP Chief Inger Andersen bluntly stated that “we cannot recycle our way out of this mess”, adding that “only elimination, reduction, a full life-cycle approach, transparency, and a just transition can bring success.” Agencies

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