World Environment Day: How to beat plastic pollution

The numbers around plastic waste and plastic pollution are stark.

In 1950, the world produced just two million tonnes of plastic. By the start of this decade, plastic production had risen to around 450 million tonnes.

That surge now generates some 350 million tonnes of plastic waste each year.

Of this, around 19 million tonnes are leaked into the environment – 13 million onto the land, 6 million into rivers and coastlines.

This harms the species that inhabit these ecosystems. On the remote island of Lord Howe, scientists claim that the bellies of local birds 'crunch when touched' they are so full of microplastics.

Plastic, of course, has revolutionized many aspects of our lives, contributing significant advances in areas like food hygiene. However, without action to deal with waste plastic, pollution will remain an issue.

That’s why this year’s World Environment Day, on 5 June, is focused on taking collective action to #BeatPlasticPollution. Ahead of this year’s event and Global Plastics Treaty negotiations in August, here are just some real-world solutions that are already tackling the problem head-on.

One way to tackle plastic pollution is to create alternative products that, while offering the same properties, are better for the planet.

Back in 2022, Mi Terro was a top innovator in UpLink’s Global Plastic Innovation Network challenge. Its solution uses food production and paper-making waste to replace microplastics in many everyday products.

This has the benefit of removing fossil-fuel-derived products from the plastic production process, as well as being water-degradable and home compostable.

Developed in collaboration with the UK’s Loughborough University, Plastic Energy’s process takes plastic that would otherwise be destined for landfill and extracts a product that can be used to replace fossil fuels in the manufacture of new plastics.

The industrial technology company is a signatory to the Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s New Plastics Economy Global Commitment and aims to recycle five million tonnes of plastic waste by the end of the decade.

Researchers from a number of institutions around the globe are experimenting with the use of enzymes to break down plastics.

Take, for example, work from the University of Texas at Austin that used an enzyme to break down plastics in as little as 24 hours. By using machine learning, the researchers were able to generate mutations in a natural enzyme that allow bacteria to degrade PET plastics.

You can watch the process in the video below.

Similar work has been underway at the University of Toulouse in France and the UK’s University of Portsmouth, working with the US Department of Energy.

Creating biodegradable plastics is another avenue being explored by both the public and private sectors, allowing plastic packaging to break down.

As Yingxue Yu and Markus Flury write in Nature, such biodegradable plastics are designed to be metabolized by microorganisms into CO2, CH4 and microbial biomass. They’re particularly valuable where recycling and reuse are not feasible.

Innovations in this space have significant advantages, but like conventional plastics, effective testing, clear labelling and effective end-of-life management are still essential to ensure their promise is fulfilled.

Researchers in Japan have developed a plastic that dissolves in seawater within hours, watch the video below:

UpLink Top Innovator CleanHub uses AI to track and trace plastic waste, making the process more efficient and accurate:

Another of UpLink's Top Innovators, GIVO Africa monitors waste flows in real-time using GPS and the Internet of Things to reduce emissions and ensure fair payments to stakeholders:

The Forum has also recently worked with Accenture to improve the traceability and transparency of plastic recycling, using Fourth Industrial Revolution tech.

One of way of reducing the amount of plastic pollution in our ecosystems is to simply reuse plastics at the end of their life cycle, in what is known as the circular economy.

Sykell's asset management platform, CIRCULAR ERP, helps businesses track and manage their reusable plastic containers.

As plastic packaging is one of the biggest sources of plastic pollution, the data this platform provides is crucial in helping to minimize waste.

All of the innovative solutions to produce more environmentally-friendly alternatives or boost recycling won’t stop some plastic from still reaching the environment.

RiverRecycle, also a top innovator in the Global Plastic Innovation Network, aims to capture low-value plastic waste from rivers before it reaches the ocean.

This plastic is then reused, recycled or appropriately disposed of. Just this year, the innovators launched a board made from recycled plastic for use in construction.

Events like World Environment Day are important for raising awareness, but as the examples above demonstrate, vital work is underway year-round to create real-world solutions.

Solving this global problem can't be achieved through technological innovation alone however. Government policy and infrastructural investment are necessary to turn the tide on plastic pollution. Australia have demonstrated how this can be done in this video:

Organizations like the World Economic Forum and its Global Plastic Action Partnership (GPAP) bring together stakeholders from across the public and private sectors, as well as civil society and academia, to help build momentum in tackling plastic pollution.

GPAP is the world's largest initiative tackling plastic pollution, with 25 country partnerships at present.

Through its network of National Plastic Action Partnerships, GPAP facilitates the exchange of best practices and provides practical insights and expertise. Learn more about its work in the latest Annual Report.