Without dramatically reducing plastic production, it will be impossible to end plastic pollution

A 2021 study16 of Vietnamese recycling concluded that “the typical processes for plastic recycling in craft villages come along with health risks for workers and neighbors and a high potential of environmental pollution.” A 2022 Human Rights Watch report17 documented the health impacts of plastic recycling facilities in Turkey, finding that recycling workers and nearby residents can be exposed to. [...] and Canada in 2022 found a record 390 fires in RECYCLING plastic recycling and waste facilities.30 Another project has mapped fires at plastic recycling facilities globally INDUSTRY since 2018.31 A report from Turkey noted that the number ACCIDENTS of fires at plastic recycling facilities in that country increased from 33 in 2019 to 121 in 2021, one every three days.32 Similarly, in Malaysia a 202. [...] The existing recycling, the Global Plastics Treaty must: discrepancy between the amount of plastic produced and the amount recycled is vast, with the Organisation 1 Achieve immediate, significant reductions in for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) plastic production, establishing a pathway to estimating that only 9% of plastic waste is recycled end virgin plastic production. [...] The situation is only set to get worse as plastic production is forecast to triple by 2060, with only a 2 Promote a shift to refill- and reuse-based minimal increase in recycling predicted.47 The downstream economies, creating jobs and standards in new impacts of overproduction of plastic are well documented, reuse industries and supporting established including harming the health of communities l. [...] systems, the plastics industry continues to argue that the global plastic crisis can be addressed by raising national 7 Require transparency about chemicals in recycling targets and increasing the amount of recycled plastics and eliminate all toxic additives and content in single-use plastic packaging.