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Thursday, March 14, 2024

Brazil leading plastic waste producer doing “Nothing” to recycle it

Brazil is the 4th largest producer of plastic waste. Environmental activists and international bodies protest that it is not doing enough to curb its large-scale accumulation of plastic waste, and neglecting to promote the culture of garbage sorting and recycling.

AFP |

Standing among sacks of used supermarket shopping bags, soft drink bottles, and detergent containers, Evelin Marcele is scornful of Brazil’s efforts to recycle plastic waste. “Almost nothing,” said the 40-year-old director of CoopFuturo, a sorting center for recyclable material in Rio de Janeiro, where plastic makes up 60 percent of the roughly 120 tonnes of garbage delivered to the facility every month.

Brazil is the fourth biggest producer of plastic rubbish in the world, beaten only by the United States, China, and India, according to a recent report published by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF). But the Latin American country recycles just 1.28 percent of the 11.4 million tonnes it generates every year, which the WWF said was well below the global average of nine percent.

An estimated 7.7 million tonnes of plastic ends up in landfills. “People are consuming more, generating more garbage and the governments didn’t prepare the cities with the infrastructure that was required to deal with this problem,” Anna Lobo of WWF-Brazil told AFP.

Brazilians are huge consumers of throwaway plastic, particularly carrier bags which are free in much of the country and are offered for even the smallest purchase.

“Ninety percent of Brazil’s population has heard about sustainability and say they understand the problems in the environment. In reality, few people change their habits.” The world currently produces more than 300 million tonnes of plastics annually, and there are at least five trillion plastic pieces floating in our oceans, scientists have estimated.

At a UN meeting in Kenya in March nations committed to “significantly reduce” single-use plastics over the next decade. But Brazil is “way behind,” said Marcele as CoopFuturo workers wearing black gloves rummaged through a pile of rubbish bags to find material that could be recycled.

More government investment in infrastructure such as sorting and recycling plants and individual action was needed. “Infrastructure, help we don’t have either,” she complained. Political leaders “are not worried about this, they’re worried about other things.”

Read more: France to set penalties on non-recycled plastic

Brazilians Generate Massive Plastic Waste

Brazilians are huge consumers of throwaway plastic, particularly carrier bags which are free in much of the country and are offered for even the smallest purchase. At supermarkets in Rio de Janeiro plastic bags are often lined with a second one to ensure they do not break. Most people do not bother with reusable shopping bags that are on display and cost as little as 5.50 reais ($1.35).

Buying a fresh juice at one of the ubiquitous bars in the beachside city results in the use of at least one plastic cup and lid and a plastic bag to carry it in. A take-away meal is often accompanied by a plastic packet of plastic cutlery and a plastic carrier bag.

“Right now I don’t have any other way of taking my shopping home,” said Israel Washington as he sat at a bar next to several plastic bags full of groceries. “I should have a (reusable) bag with me but I don’t.” But he also blamed the government. “Their focus isn’t the environment, they are more worried about arming people.”

The Senate is now considering a proposal to outlaw the manufacture, distribution, and sale of throwaway plastic, including straws and carrier bags, across the country.

How Successful is the Plastic Ban?

Legislation introduced in parts of Brazil has had some success in forcing Brazilians to adopt better habits. Rio recently prohibited the use of plastic drinking straws, while Brazil’s biggest city of Sao Paulo has banned petroleum-based plastic bags.

The Senate is now considering a proposal to outlaw the manufacture, distribution, and sale of throwaway plastic, including straws and carrier bags, across the country. CoopFuturo is one of 22 collectives involved in sorting rubbish in Rio, a city of more than six million people.

They receive rubbish from the local government’s Coleta Seletiva, or Selective Collection, service and then sell the sorted material to specialized recycling companies. But of the 40 percent of household waste that is potentially recyclable, Coleta Seletiva and independent collectors only get seven percent, an official said, blaming households for not separating their garbage properly.

Read more: Plastic Kingdom: Fifth largest in the world?

Environmental activists are trying to encourage Brazilians to take responsibility for their waste. But many people still “don’t recognize the problem that rubbish causes in the sea,” said Paulo Salomao, a biologist at Rio’s aquarium. “So far people don’t have the awareness to change their habits,” said WWF’s Lobo. “People don’t stop to think about it.”

Plastic Bans around the World

A recent report by the World Economic Forum noted that Africa is leading the world with its effective implementation of the plastic, with countries like Rwanda, Tanzania, and Kenya amongst 34 other countries imposing heavy fines and penalties to curb plastic wastage.

In Pakistan, the governments of KPK, Punjab and Gilgit Baltistan have imposed a ban on the use of plastic bags.

Even smaller countries, like Vanuatu, a country located in the South Pacific Ocean region, has undertaken a comprehensive strategy to ban unrecyclable plastic and move towards a complete plastic ban. In Canada, Victoria and Montreal have imposed heavy fines on corporations and individuals violating the ban on single-use plastic bags.

Australia, the second largest producer of plastic waste in the world, has implemented a single-use plastic ban across the country, and the leading supermarket chains have supported the ban by providing reusable bags to customers for a price. France leads the European Union’s efforts to ban plastic by announcing a total ban of plastic bags since 2015, and by 2020, France intends to impose a ban on plastic cups and all kinds of cutlery.

In Pakistan, the governments of KPK, Punjab and Gilgit Baltistan have imposed a ban on the use of plastic bags. Last week, Chief Minister Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Mahmood Khan ordered a crackdown against the use and manufacturing of plastic bags throughout KPK, along with undertaking action against all manufacturers producing plastic with non-biodegradable materials.

Read more: KPK launches a crackdown against plastic bags

Earlier in May, the administration of Lahore initiated a new eco-friendly program by introducing tote bags and banning the use of plastic bags across 30 Ramazan bazaars organized in the city.

AFP with additional input by GVS News Desk.