Ending plastic pollution in Caribbean within reach – UN rep

…shifting to circular plastics economy can save US$4.5 trillion by 2040

Despite plastic pollution remaining a significant concern globally, plastic production continues to grow exponentially, reaching about 430 million tonnes.
In Latin America and the Caribbean, about 30 per cent of waste is disposed of in improper facilities like open dumpsites, including 17,000 tonnes of plastic waste per day.
Furthermore, emissions of plastic waste into aquatic ecosystems are projected to nearly triple by 2040. As such, individuals are potentially consuming a considerable amount of plastic every week.
According to United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) representative Jordi Pon, however, this can be improved with a concerted effort across the Region, as he noted that 30 per cent of plastics from short-lived products are avoidable and can be reduced.
Pon made this remark on Thursday during a webinar on “The State of Our Environment: Our Plastic World,” hosted by Trinidad and Tobago-based Carib-Bois and The Cropper Foundation.
“We need to reduce the size of the problem. We need to reduce and consume less plastics, and this is possible by at least 30 per cent,” Pon said.

To do so, he explained that three major market shifts can be made towards a circular plastics economy which is notably a sustainable model where plastics are reused and recycled at the end of their life span.
These shifts are: accelerating the market for reusable products, accelerating the market for plastic recycling, and reorienting and diversifying the market for sustainable and safe plastic alternatives.
“Shifting to a circular economy for plastics can save US$4.5 trillion by 2040 on total costs while improving livelihoods for millions of workers worldwide,” Pon stated in his presentation.
Pon noted that many countries in the Region have taken efforts to reduce or ban the use of single-use plastics.
While this ban has been considered by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in Guyana for several years now, a full ban as such has still not been implemented.
Ronald Roach of consulting firm Unite Caribbean explained that there are several challenges to the development of recycling in Small Island Developing States (SIDS), inclusive of Guyana.
These include high shipping costs, importing ports’ regulations, low global market prices, equipment operation and maintenance costs and limited human capacity.
There are a number of national and local actions, however, that can be taken to improve waste management in SIDS which address governance–legislation, enforcement and clarification of the roles of the public and private sectors; stakeholders–increasing engagement and education–and technology–having appropriate technology and maintenance capabilities.
Roach expressed a need to remove ourselves from the myth that recycling can be a business opportunity on its own. Though that can happen in certain countries based on population and industrial capacity, the case is different for countries within the Caribbean Region, he explained.
“Within our SIDS, there’s a high cost of production and a high cost of equipment operation, and relatively low volumes of these products, the reality is that recycling cannot at this point in time be a viable business operation, and therefore it has to be supported by some external financing,” he said.
“And the question then becomes, who pays for this? Does the Government pay for it? Do the individuals pay for it? Or is that cost applied to the private sector and to the producers who have produced the product which ends up as waste in the first place?” he asked.