Waste not, want not

How sustainable is sustainable? 

There is no universally agreed upon definition on what sustainability is. With multiple and varying views on what it is and how best to achieve a sustainable future, policies also vary widely. But, generally speaking, sustainable development is considered to be: ‘Development that meets the needs of the planet without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs’, according to the Bruntland Report for the World Commission on Environment and Development (1992).

Since then, this basic definition has been redefined many times. Many argued that sustainability has been hijacked and twisted to suit governments and industries that are only interested in doing business as usual. But, times are changing and general concern about the environment is growing considerably. Plastic waste – and its devastating impact on marine life – is a major concern for many. 

Sea of change?

Currently, one waste truck-worth of plastic is dumped into sea every minute, and the situation is getting worse. If nothing changes, production of new plastics will consume 20% of all oil production within 35 years, up from an estimated 5% today. Plastics production has increased twentyfold since 1964, reaching 311 million tonnes in 2014. It is expected to quadruple by 2050. Despite the growing demand for recycling, just 5% of plastics are recycled effectively. A staggering 40% ends up in landfill and a third in fragile ecosystems such as the world’s oceans. 

Following China’s decision to ban imports of foreign recyclable material, the EU is waging war against plastic waste to ensure that every piece of packaging on the continent is reusable or recyclable by 2030. “If we don’t do anything about this, 50 years down the road we will have more plastic than fish in the ocean,” EU Commission Vice President Frans Timmermans recently expressed his concern.