Wherever you live, you've surely noticed in recent years that plastic waste is a problem, and that governments claim to want to address it. The recent climate summit in Brazil also addressed this issue. As a lover of the sea, who enjoys sailing and diving, it's a topic that concerns me. The immense plastic island in the Pacific is not something we can ignore.
Image created by IA
But what are governments doing to solve it? My answer is absolutely nothing. If you watch television or live in Europe, you'll know that specific taxes have been implemented based on the weight of plastic, or that single-use plastics have been banned. There are also recycling policies, like the famous "polluter pays" principle. But all of this is just a way to raise revenue because if you look at the projections for plastic consumption over the next 10 years, you'll see that a sustained increase of 2% per year is expected worldwide.
I would say the policies are misguided because they target the consumer instead of the producer. But the reality is that lobbyists are the ones who really run the world, and the chemical industry has more than enough money to impose its policies on society through corrupt politicians. So the problem won't be solved until they find a way to achieve the same performance as with plastic.