Earth Day 2021: plastics industry vs. climate change

April 22 is Earth Day. "Restore Our Earth" is the international motto of the action day in 2021. The plastics industry in particular can and must do its part to end environmental pollution and restore the earth to health. Since it was founded over 50 years ago, Earth Day has grown to become a worldwide environmental action day in around 200 countries.

Another problem is that plastic is mainly produced for short-lived disposable products such as packaging. These include polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP), polyvinyl chloride (PVC), polyurethane (PUR), polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and polystyrene (PS). This results in a rapidly growing amount of plastic waste. In recent years, only about one-third of plastics have been recycled. Unfortunately, a shockingly high proportion still ends up in the environment – about 32 percent annually, according to the World Economic Forum. The actual advantage of the material's longevity is becoming nature's undoing. Because plastics decompose so slowly, they will remain in the environment for up to hundreds of years and – largely in the form of microplastics – harm ecosystems with all their animals and plants.

Our planet can already be helped a great deal by the correct disposal and, in particular, recycling of plastics. The plastics industry has recognized its responsibility and is taking action: leading plastics manufacturers from Europe, Asia, the Middle East, and North and South America have joined forces in the "World Plastics Council" to fight global environmental pollution with innovative approaches. The Alliance to End Plastic Waste, an international non-governmental, non-profit organization, has also committed itself to this goal. In addition, around 75 organizations and industry associations from 40 countries have already signed the "Global Declaration" for solutions to preserve our aquatic systems. In it, the plastics industry is advancing solutions to marine litter in more than 350 projects.

So a significant rethink has already taken place in the plastics industry. In order to stop plastic pollution, common processes must be replaced by environmentally friendly ones – and this must be done in the long term. Plastics should not only be recyclable, but in the best case scenario they should also be 100 percent recycled – in keeping with a circular economy in which all products and raw materials are used for as long as possible.

Earth Day on April 22 aims to draw attention to precisely this long-term approach. Because every day is Earth Day.