With just one month until the EU elections, we appeal to you to make a top political priority of the triple planetary crisis of climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution given the devastating impacts and growing intensity and frequency of climate-related events for ecosystems, health, economies, social justice and cohesion.
NGO-Business Coalition supports the objection to the draft Implementing Act for the calculation of recycled plastic content in single-use plastic beverage bottles
A Plastic Pollution Free EU – Plastics and the EU elections
The EU elections will largely determine what guides EU politics and laws for the next five years. Even though plastic is driving some of the dominating issues of this election, there is a great danger that it will be pushed off the agenda – that’s rubbish! We need decisionmakers who will strive to reduce plastic production, support reuse, eliminate toxic chemicals, and deliver real solutions to the plastic pollution crisis to protect us and future generations.
Plastics’ injustice. A just transition to address an unjust pollution
Plastic proliferation and pollution fuel the triple planetary crisis: climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution. They impact us all, but not equally; thus they exacerbate injustice. A just transition, commonly described as ensuring that the much needed green transition is happening in a fair and inclusive way and leaves no one behind, can both put an end to plastic pollution, guarantee human rights and bring social benefits.
Plastics And Climate. Carbon bombing through and through
Treating plastic waste is an energy-intensive process, creating 193 Mt CO2e (carbon dioxide equivalent) tonnes of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions per year. That’s more than the annual emissions of two Belgiums! These emissions are projected to increase despite improvements in waste management. But plastics don’t only create emissions at the end of their life. Plastic is created from oil and gas and 90% of GHG emissions actually occur at the production stage.
Plastics and Nature entwined. How plastic pollution drives biodiversity loss
Did you know that there is even a new disease impacting seabirds ingesting plastic that has been evidenced and named “Plasticosis”? That is how severe plastic impacts on biodiversity are! It is estimated that close to 2800 different marine species, such as turtles, seabirds, fish, marine mammals and coral reefs, are known to interact with plastic debris, often becoming entangled, trapped or suffocated by it.
Resourcing A Material World. How the EU can fund real solutions
Did you know that the production of plastics requires the extraction of finite fossil fuels? In 99% of the cases, plastic is made from resources such as coal, oil and gas. The remaining 1% are made from crops or forestry resources.
Investment 101 for a Plastic Pollution-Free Future. How the EU can fund real solutions
Though there are private investment initiatives that fund solutions (and false solutions) to plastic pollution, they are not sufficient. Public investments must step-up to enable the systemic change needed to fund real solutions to the plastic pollution crisis. Let’s explore how this can work!
Plastic – The (in)Visible Pollution. Plastic pollutes more than what the human eye can see
Emissions from petrochemical sites, plastic production plants, incinerators and landfills pollute the
air and impact the health of surrounding communities and ecosystems. Toxic substances emitted
during the production process also pollute the soil and the water, with impacts on the food we
grow and water we consume, as well as on biodiversity.