December 7th, 2023
New Middle East Policy brief says Plastic is not the enemy
The Academy of International Business (Middle East-North Africa Chapter) and the Mohammed Bin Rashid School of Government have published a paper this week entitled “ARE PLASTICS THE ENEMY? – PREVENTING THE ACCUMULATION OF PLASTIC WASTE IN THE ENVIRONMENT
https://mena.aib.world/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2023/11/Policy-Brief-Plastics-Final.pdf
The Conclusion is that “Plastics are not the enemy, and should not be demonised. They are very useful products and life today would be impossible without them. The only thing wrong with them is that they can lie or float around for decades if they get into the open environment.”
“Governments can easily intervene by ensuring that all short-life polyethylene (PE) or polypropylene (PP) products shall be made with oxo-biodegradable technology. “Any of this plastic which gets into the environment would then biodegrade much more quickly, leaving no microplastics or other harmful residues. It could still be recycled if collected during its service-life.”
“It is important to distinguish between oxo-biodegradable plastic and plastic marketed as compostable. The latter does not address the problem. If the government does not intervene, businesses and consumers will continue to use conventional plastic, which will not be collected and will accumulate in the environment for many decades before it eventually biodegrades.”