Seven out of ten people support the adoption of global strategies to end pollution caused by plastics, which especially affects the oceans, according to the results of a study released this Wednesday by the environmental organization WWF.
Support rises to almost 80% in Latin America, where residents of Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru were surveyed, said the non-governmental organization (NGO) World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF).
The most popular proposed solution among more than 23,000 people surveyed in 34 countries is to hold manufacturers and retailers accountable for reducing, reusing and recycling plastic packaging (78% agree with this measure).
Other proposals accepted by the majority are the prohibition of plastics that are difficult to recycle (77%) and disposable plastics (75%), in addition to the requirement of labels that clearly indicate the possibilities of reuse (77%).
Already 76% of those surveyed also advocate forcing manufacturers to use recycled plastic in the manufacture of various products that contain this material.
“This research is proof that there is overwhelming demand for a global treaty on plastic pollution that holds governments and the companies that produce it more accountable,” said Plastic Free Foundation founder Rebecca Prince-Ruiz, an association that participated in the preparation of the work.
This report is released a week before the start of the first meeting in Uruguay of the intergovernmental negotiating committee on plastic pollution.
This committee will seek to reach a binding agreement to address plastic pollution by 2024, as agreed at the United Nations Environment Program meeting in February.
According to this organization, the increase in levels of contamination by this material represents a “serious global environmental problem that negatively affects the environmental, social, economic and health dimensions of sustainable development.”
In a scenario without interventions, the amount of plastic waste in aquatic ecosystems could triple, from 9 to 14 million tons in 2016 to 23 to 47 million in 2040, according to data from the United Nations program.
WWF estimates that more than 2,000 animal species are affected by the presence of plastic pollutants in their ecosystems.
“The process of negotiating this global treaty will expose differences between countries, and we cannot allow laggards to determine our future,” warned Erik Lindebjerg, WWF Global Plastics Policy Officer.
Source: TSF
