News – Blog
Plastic pandemic: How COVID-19 has impacted the planet
9 July 2021
- Gabriella Kisoi
As well as the obvious toll it’s taken on our health, COVID-19 has also had a detrimental effect on the world’s marine environment.
Did you know, you unknowingly consume up to five grams of plastic each week? That is the equivalent of ingesting a pen or a credit card or two lego bricks on a weekly basis. Shocking, isn’t it?
While you may be wondering how this is even possible, the reality is that plastic is so prevalent in our day-to-day lives that it has now infiltrated the food we eat, the water we drink and even the air we breathe. Through microplastics, a regular can of beer, pinch of salt, and slice of salmon is now contaminated with tiny shreds of plastic.
Since the beginning of the century, plastic production has peaked to a point that we now produce 381 million tonnes of plastic annually, equivalent to the weight of the entire human population. With eight million tonnes of plastic waste entering the marine environment every year, this current rate puts us on track to have more plastic than fish in our oceans by 2050.
Despite the COVID-19 pandemic aiding environmental conservation, with sharp declines in carbon emissions and pollution rates, coupled with increased efforts towards the regulation of wet markets and conservation of wildlife, the same cannot be said for the marine ecosystem.
Through microplastics, a regular can of beer, pinch of salt, and slice of salmon is now contaminated with tiny shreds of plastic.
As of 2020, it is estimated that 129 billion face masks and 65 billion gloves have been in use on a monthly basis. While rightly protecting public health, the world has inadvertently run into a plastic epidemic. Accelerated by a collapse in the oil market and a breakdown of recycling systems, the 300% increase in the usage of single-use plastic during the COVID-19 pandemic is a cause for major concern.
With plastic cheaper to use than ever and a delay in plastic bans in countries across the world, including the UK, London Climate Action Week offers an opportunity to explore a pathway towards a “green, fair and resilient recovery”.
But this responsibility does not rest on any one individual, organisation or sector. In order to achieve sustainable and tangible change, we need to initiate “whole of society action” by inclusively providing opportunities for women and girls to participate in catalysing climate action through innovation. As detailed by Constance Agyeman, Director of International Development at Challenge Works, “when exploring potential solutions or avenues for systems change, we have to put the women involved at the heart of the process”.
As the world awakens to the detrimental impacts of plastic waste mismanagement, and we gear up for COP26 and Africa Climate Week, now is the time for action, now is the time to do more!
