A pregnant wild elephant died in the Marudhamalai foothills of Coimbatore this year after ingesting five kilogrammes of plastic. Significant amounts of undigested plastic scum have been found regularly in the dung of elephants across all 33 elephant conservation sites in India.
And it is not just elephants. The human body contains 1,396 micro and nano plastics with a considerable congregation in the brain. In fact, the brain of an adult often bears a mass that is equivalent to a tablespoon of MNPs. The Minderoo-Monaco Commission, recognised as the sole evaluator of plastic-related health hazards, indicates that MNP contamination is ubiquitous in blood, breast milk, colon, placenta, lungs, spleen, heart, major vessels, meconium, and faeces. Recent researches have shown that MNPs easily cross critical biological barriers, including the gastrointestinal lining, alveolar-endothelial interface, and placenta. The Lancet Countdown on Health & Plastics and The Ellen MacArthur Foundation reported that MNPs contribute to diseases and deaths across all ages, leading to over $1.5 trillion in annual health-related economic losses.
Children are particularly susceptible because of their higher metabolic rates and less developed organ systems, which facilitate greater MNP absorption. Low-income and vulnerable communities bear most of the brunt from the detrimental effects of
plastics. A significant cause of this calamity is the colossal rise in plastic production — from 2 megatons in 1950 to 475 Mt in 2022 (UNEP) — reflecting a staggering 250-fold increase. Forecasts indicate it could escalate to 1,200 Mt by 2060.
Beyond production, plastic waste pollution has significantly worsened in the last decade, with approximately 8,000 metric tonnes now tainting the planet. Recycling rates for plastics remain dismally low at only 9%. Even with the ban on 19 single-use plastic items, India still leads the world in plastic waste pollution, with an annual total of 9.3 million tonnes. Approximately 57% of plastic waste is open-burned, while the remaining 43% is either sent to landfills or discarded into the environment.
Plastics generate over three times more greenhouse gasses than global aviation. In 2022, UN member states unanimously agreed to create a comprehensive, legally binding framework — the Global Plastic Treaty — to control and combat plastic pollution. But the fifth UN conference on plastic in Geneva did not produce a consensus.
The Legislation for Clean Air, the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer, and the Minamata Convention on Mercury all required significant time to be enacted. A global treaty on plastic may thus take time. Among the 183 countries, only Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Russia, China, Bahrain, the US, and India opposed Clauses 3 and 6 of the proposed treaty which call for an outright ban on plastic production.
As the world shifts towards sustainable technologies, petro-states are panicking on account of dwindling fossil fuel sales. In the near term, petrochemicals, particularly plastics, are likely to serve as their key economic driver. Petro-states have hired 234 lobbyists to voice their interests, exceeding the 184 state representatives.
The idea of biodegradable plastic is now a possibility. Authorities should aim for the extensive production of Ideonella sakaiensis, a bacteria capable of breaking down and consuming plastic. India should also look at its own version of the ‘Nipe Fagio’ programme, inspired by Tanzania, to cut landfill waste by 80%. Perhaps a more prudent policy would be to phase out plastic production rather than impose a ban.