https://ca.finance.yahoo.com/news/wwf-internationals-director-generai-youre-recycling-plastic-youre-fooling-064417869.html
WWF International's director-generaI: If you’re recycling plastic,
you’re fooling yourself
Alanna Petroff
Senior Economics Correspondent at Yahoo Finance UK
Yahoo Finance UK January 22, 2019
People who are diligent about recycling their plastic waste are still a
big part of the global plastic pollution problem, warned the
director-general of WWF International.
In a one-on-one interview with Yahoo Finance UK at the World Economic
Forum (WEF), Marco Lambertini warned that consumers are “cheating” when
they recycle plastic.
“You take your plastic, you put it in the right container, you feel
you’ve done the right thing. But actually, that plastic is not
guaranteed it will be recycled,” he said. “In many countries, that
plastic is going to end up… in the incinerators.”
“You really need to shift your behaviours… We are using too much
plastic. It’s as simple as that,” he said. “The capability to recycle is
quite limited in the world. We’re only recycling 14% of plastics.”
The world produces about 335 million tonnes of plastic per year and
production is growing “exponentially,” warned Lambertini.
n a bid to solve the problem, WWF is urging consumers and companies to
act quickly and cut their plastic production and consumption. Recycling
simply isn’t enough.
Companies including Ikea and Nestle (NESN.VX) recently launched
programmes to cut their plastic waste. Last week, Nestle said it would
drop plastic straws from its products starting next month and was
working on biodegradable water bottles.
British retailer Marks & Spencer (MKS.L) also recently announced it is
working to reduce the amount of plastic it uses by launching a range of
loose fruit and vegetables completely free of plastic packaging in order
to tackle the issue.
“They’re small steps, but we need more dramatic change,” said Lambertini.
Environmental issues are top-of-mind this week at the annual World
Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
A new survey released by WEF found that the top three concerns among
global business executives, politicians, and experts were related to the
environment and climate change.
