2024-01-29 16:03:34
According to a new study, around half of Europe’s plastic waste is “exported” to other countries, despite the fact that many Europeans believe that thousands of them are being recycled on the old continent.
Despite extremely strict EU regulations on plastic recycling, there is little control of plastic waste transported from the EU to Asian countries such as Vietnam. A significant part of exported European plastics cannot be recycled, so they are transported and simply thrown into nature: the point is that it is not in a European country. That’s the finding of new research by Kaustubh Thapa of Utrecht University, which a In the journal Circular Economy and Sustainability appeared.
Countries where European garbage ends up
“We observed that [Ázsiában] people cook and eat in the recycling plant in the toxic fumes of melted plastic. Children play in this suffocating environment” says Thapa, the head of the research. According to research, 7 million liters of toxic waste water enters the waters of cities every day.
“Although this type of waste trade is profitable for some, shifting the responsibility of waste management from producers to such villages harms people, communities and the environment” adds Thapa.
Thapa’s new research shows the stark contrast between Vietnamese and European policies and the reality of recycling centers. “European consumers are making efforts to sort waste and recycle, but we can clearly see that their efforts are largely in vain” says Thapa. Adds: “Focusing on increasing recycling rates in the EU without systematically addressing the associated human and environmental harm along the entire chain is unethical and unsustainable”.
Researchers still have hope. They believe that outsourcing plastic waste for recycling is possible in a sustainable way. “The European Green New Deal, the circular economy action plan and the ongoing UN negotiations on a legally binding global plastic agreement cannot ignore our conclusions. As we consume more and more and thus produce more and more waste, we must systematically deal with the trade of waste intended for recycling” concludes Thapa.
Published on the BitcoinBázis page.
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