SEATTLE (Recycling Monster): According to Kate Melges, Project Leader of Greenpeace USA’s Plastics Campaign, plastic pollution tends to create serious environmental and health crisis. Science has only just started to understand the long-term effects of plastic on human health.
Greenpeace had recently released a report that highlighted the toxic hazards of recycled plastic. As per report, majority of plastics collected for recycling are never actually recycled. The presence of toxic chemicals in recycled plastics makes them unfit for manufacturing food-grade materials. As a result, recycling cannot be regarded as an effective way to end plastic pollution, the report said.
The possible alternative solutions to current plastic pollution crisis include significant reductions in plastic production and increased investments in refill and reuse. The waste management and cleanup activities alone could not be able to solve the plastic waste crisis, the Greenpeace report said.
Commenting on the significance of the Global Plastics Treaty negotiations in Paris, Melges noted that it must match the scale of the plastic production crisis and end runaway plastic production and use.
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