Plastic pollution: the UN held hostage by oil-producing states

Emblematic of the irresponsible carelessness of our consumer society, plastics have literally invaded the world in a few decades. Nothing escapes their omnipresence. Admittedly, plastic is convenient to use, lightweight, adaptable to innumerable uses (hence its name). But this ease comes at a high price.

Fragile in our hands, persistent in nature

The biggest problem is the propensity of plastics to very quickly become waste — and their very long persistence in nature. For although plastic is practical, it is not very durable in use. Torn or broken, it is virtually irreparable. And of the half-billion tonnes of plastics produced each year, two-thirds are for single use (packaging, etc.). Depending on the type of plastic, its chemical degradation takes decades or even centuries; during this time it crumbles into ever smaller pieces.

Worldwide, 350 million tonnes of plastics are thrown away each year; less than 20% are incinerated and only 10% recycled, with many limitations and difficulties: plastic is certainly the material least suited to recycling, also because of the great diversity of its chemical formulations, which frequently include ecotoxic compounds.

It is estimated that 19 to 23 million tonnes of plastic end up in lakes, rivers and oceans each year.

Half of this enormous mass is dumped in landfills, 20% go directly into the environment, such as the particles emitted by tire abrasion. And because many landfills are open to the air, waste is found all around, even in the branches of trees. It is estimated that 19 to 23 million tonnes of plastic end up in lakes, rivers and oceans each year; "Le Monde" of 29 November 2024 reports that 229,000 tonnes of plastic are dumped in the Mediterranean every year.

Plastic waste, of all sizes, is now everywhere: in fields, in the wild, in the air, the soil and the water. The sands of beaches are strewn with it and they cover vast surfaces of the oceans, where marine organisms swallow it.

The worst are perhaps microplastics, even nanoplastics; measuring less than 5 mm and often invisible to the naked eye, they are found in food chains and in our food. The UN stated in June 2023 "that each person on the planet consumes more than 50,000 plastic particles per year." Representing 8 to 10% of oil production, plastic shares its curse: plastic and oil are linked. They are as toxic as each other.

A treaty in peril

For several years, a treaty on plastics has been discussed within the United Nations. Knowing that the petrochemical industry plans to triple its production by 2060, it is crucial to reduce the quantities and diversity of plastics put into circulation. But the producers of these materials do not agree.

Very recently, it was thought a consensus would be reached. A dramatic twist and sign of the times: the international conference convened in Busan, South Korea, on this subject ended in failure in the early morning of 2 December 2024. Whereas up to that point, in these international gatherings, efforts were made to at least define the broad outlines of a possible consensus and to map out advances to be specified later, here for the first time it was openly acknowledged that they had not succeeded.

What happened in Busan is extremely worrying because it could foreshadow the bogging down of climate discussions.

It is as if plastics producers, backed into a corner and in the minority in international forums, have now abandoned all double-speak to confront directly, even taunt, the vast majority of countries in favor of action at the source and limiting production.

Relying on the UN principle of unanimity and perverting it - because it presupposes a minimum of goodwill to achieve solutions commensurate with the problem - Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Iran, Russia and China (soon to be joined by Trump's United States) had no qualms about blocking processes that could hinder their business model. That this model sets the entire planet alight matters little to them.

While we know its limits perfectly well, they keep brandishing the false lead of plastic recycling and candidly ask what could replace these materials! As if living without plastic were hell, when the opposite is true. In the age of the circular economy, no non-recyclable material and no non-repairable object should be tolerated.

Do not give up

What happened in Busan is extremely worrying because it could foreshadow the bogging down of climate discussions. Since, a year ago, the agreement was wrested from COP 28 to "transition away from fossil fuels in energy systems, in a just, rational and equitable manner", the fossil lobby apparently vowed not to be caught again. It must be said that oil producers' profits amounted to $2 trillion in 2023, a colossal sum for which they are apparently willing to let the entire planet go up in smoke.

What is left for us to do to avoid this grim fate? And what if we let ourselves be inspired by Gandhi's action in the spring of 1930, when the British colonial power wanted to tax salt? His response was as simple as it was effective: at his call, long columns of people set out for the shore to extract the free salt from the sea. On this model, one could imagine a movement to boycott plastic and oil: if every person, every company, every public authority made sure to use 10% less each year - in ten years, we would be done with plastic!

This article has been automatically translated using AI. If you notice any errors, please don't hesitate to contact us.