It's time to strengthen plastic pollution control and join hands

[ Focus on Chemical Machinery and Equipment Network ] Plastic pollution has become one of the environmental issues worthy of attention within the scope.
A 2017 study in the journal "Science Advances" stated that as of mid-2017, 8.
3 billion tons of plastic had been produced; as of 2015, about 6.
3 billion tons of plastic waste had been generated, of which about 9% had been recycled and 12% had been incinerated , 79% is accumulated in landfills or the natural environment.
The marine garbage pollution caused by this is also serious.
In December 2016, the 13th Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity released a marine garbage pollution research report, showing that humans dump tons of shopping bags and fishing nets into the ocean every year.
As with other plastic wastes, plastic wastes currently account for 3/4 of marine garbage.
The oceans polluted by plastic wastes have already put nearly 400 species of marine organisms facing a survival crisis.
According to a new study published in the British *Society's "Biology Letters" in July 2020, the research team found traces of polystyrene fragments in the Collembola in Antarctic soil, confirming that the microplastics have reached remote places on the earth.
The terrestrial food chain of the region.

 

1.
The problem of plastic pollution is becoming more and more serious, and the society pays great attention to plastic pollution
 

　　The pollution of marine garbage and plastic waste has been an important topic in organizations and conferences in recent years.
The United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA) attaches great importance to the issue of marine plastic waste and microplastics.
As a high-level decision-making mechanism for environmental issues, it mainly discusses environmental and sustainable development issues and makes decisions.
In order to solve the problem of plastic pollution, the United Nations Environment Assembly has formulated conference resolutions on plastic waste and marine microplastics in its four sessions.
From the first UN Environment Assembly’s emphasis on the importance of the principle of prevention of plastic product pollution, to the third UN Environment Assembly’s encouragement to reduce unnecessary plastic production and use, the society’s treatment of plastic waste, especially marine microplastics and disposable plastics The importance of products is getting higher and higher.
At the Fourth United Nations Environment Conference held in March 2019, countries reviewed and passed two resolutions directly addressing the issue of plastic waste, "Marine Plastic Waste and Microplastics" and "Controlling Pollution from Disposable Plastic Products", marking the social Gradually taking concrete actions on the issue of plastic waste and the determination to promote sexual cooperation have also pointed out the direction for countries to further develop plastic waste management.

 

　　In addition, other multilateral organizations and frameworks also attach great importance to plastic pollution.
For example, in 2015, the joint statement of the G7 Summit opened in Germany mentioned the issue of plastic waste, proposed to minimize the discharge of plastic waste, and discussed the need for recycling.
In December 2019, the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Green Supply Chain Cooperation Network Conference put forward the "Blue Citizen" initiative, calling on every citizen to advocate an environmentally friendly life>
 

　　2.
The Basel Convention on Plastic Waste Amendment and its adoption, the establishment of a framework for the prevention and control of plastic waste pollution
 

　　The Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and Their Disposal is a comprehensive environmental agreement on hazardous wastes and other wastes.
At present, there are 187 contracting parties including my country, which is universal.
The overall goal of the convention is to protect human health and The environment is protected from the adverse effects of hazardous wastes and other wastes.

 

　　In May 2019, the Fourteenth Conference of the Parties to the Convention reviewed and approved the Basel Convention Plastic Waste Amendment, which included non-recyclable and contaminated plastic waste in the scope of the Convention.
Contracting parties should take measures such as source reduction, environmentally sound management, and transboundary movement control.
At the same time, the Fourteenth Conference of the Parties reviewed and approved the "Further Actions to Deal with Plastic Waste under the Basel Convention", and proposed a comprehensive management plan for plastic waste from the perspective of the entire life cycle, including green design and green production of plastic products, Control of transboundary movement of plastic waste and environmentally sound management and other aspects.
The relevant resolutions of the Basel Convention have brought plastic waste management and control into a practical stage, and a framework for the prevention and control of plastic waste pollution has basically been established.

 

　　3.
"Notice" "plastic restriction" has gradually become a consensus, and countries have formulated and issued prohibitions and restrictions.

 

　　In addition to the organization, many countries and regions have also formulated and promulgated mandatory laws and regulations related to plastic pollution control.
For example, in 2017, the Australian government passed the Queensland Waste Reduction and Recycling Amendment to prohibit retailers from distributing plastic bags except for film bags used in the transportation of perishable food.
In early June 2018, following a comprehensive ban on plastic bags, the Kenyan government announced that it would implement a ban on all disposable plastic products in *"protected areas" before June 5, 2020.
In October 2018, the United Kingdom proposed that it will start implementing measures to impose a new tax on those who manufacture or import plastic packaging with a renewable material content of less than 30% in April 2020.
On January 1, 2020, France passed the ban on plastics in the "Energy Transition to Promote Green Growth Law".
The new bill sets forth quantitative targets for banning disposable plastic products and reducing plastic pollution, and plans to completely ban disposable plastic products.
route map.
On March 11, 2020, the European Commission adopted a new version of the "Circular Economy Action Plan", which puts the concept of circular economy throughout the product life cycle, and regards plastics as one of the seven key areas, which will affect key products such as packaging, construction materials and vehicles.
Mandatory requirements are established for plastic recycling content and waste reduction measures.
On June 30, 2020, the South Korean Environmental Agency issued a new plastic restriction order, stipulating that the import restrictions on waste plastics (PET, PE, PP, PS) will be implemented from June 30.
On July 1, 2020, Japan began to implement the provision of paid provision of plastic bags, requiring all retail stores to charge a fee when providing plastic bags, and the price of plastic bags will be determined by the merchants.

 

　　4.
Following the pace of plastic pollution control, my country’s “plastic limit order” policy has been upgraded
 

　　From 2007 when my country put forward the “Plastic Restriction Order” to 2017, when it put forward the “Forbidden Entry of Foreign Waste”, my country has continued to pay attention to the problem of plastic pollution.
Following the pace of accelerating the treatment of plastic pollution, on January 19, 2020, the National Development and Reform Commission and * jointly issued the "Opinions on Further Strengthening the Treatment of Plastic Pollution" (referred to as the "Opinions").
The promulgation of the "Opinions" is not only an upgraded version of the "plastic restriction order", it has got rid of the previous "price leverage" dependence, and has a larger coverage and greater operability.
Unlike previous policies that only provided for individual links and individual fields, the policy measures proposed in the "Opinions" basically cover the entire process and all links of the production, circulation, use, recycling, and disposal of plastic products, reflecting full life cycle management The systematic and integrated nature of the system is conducive to the establishment of a * mechanism for the treatment of plastic pollution.

 

　　Similar to the concerns of plastic pollution control, the "Opinions" also follow the 3R principle, aiming to solve the problems related to plastic product pollution through three routes of reduction, recycling and recycling from the source, namely the restricted route, the recycling route and the alternative route.
In the prohibition route, the "Opinions" put forward the scope of the prohibition, gradually advance the goal of source reduction, and carry out the prohibition work in different regions and steps.
In the recycling route, the "Opinions" emphasized the need to standardize recycling, recycling, and put recycling facilities in key areas to achieve plastic pollution control.
In the alternative route, the "Opinions" put forward measures related to the promotion and application of alternative products.
At the same time, various supporting measures such as finance, taxation, standards, and technology will be further refined and introduced to form a plastic pollution control system with public participation and interaction between the top and the bottom.
In the wave of plastic pollution control, the first wave is not far away, and the back wave has arrived.
To solve the problem of plastic pollution, we need to work together to deal with it.

 

　　Original title: It's time to strengthen plastic pollution control and join hands