�How the plastic straw is connected to the melting of the ice�

The six reasons why plastics are responsible for climate change

What is the relationship between plastics and Hurricanes Sandy and Katrina in the United States, melting glaciers in Antarctica, summer heatwaves and coastal erosion in Australia, and other natural disasters that hit us more often?

We blame climate change for this. However, the contribution of plastic waste and the plastic industry to climate change is often less obvious or, worse, ignored.

Plastic waste surrounds us - it is found in the air we breathe, in the glaciers on Mount Everest, in the water we drink, in the fish we eat, and it has recently been discovered in the human placenta. Plastics also have indirect negative effects throughout their life cycle, the consequences of which are neither visible nor obvious.

As world leaders, scientists, investors and activists gather in Glasgow for COP26, there are six events linking the plastic life cycle to climate change that need to be considered.

MINING AND PRODUCTION

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Most people do not realize that plastics come from fossil fuels. In fact, industrial plastics account for about 6% of the world oil consumption and this percentage is expected to rise up to 20% by 2050. As a result, due to the intensive energy processes required for oil extraction and distillation, plastics production is responsible for huge greenhouse gas emissions.

CONSUMPTION

Most people think that, when plastic is thrown away, it also goes away. However, only 9% of it is recycled worldwide while the rest is disposed of into the natural environment. In fact, South Asia is one of the largest producers of plastic waste, "throwing away" more than 26 million tons of plastic every day. South Asia also has one of the highest waste rates in the world.

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END OF LIFE

When not recycled or disposed of in a controlled manner, discarded plastic waste emits GH when exposed to both sunlight and water. About 18 million tones of plastics from South Asia are mismanaged and, therefore, sail inside the oceans where they emit methane and ethylene due to exposure to sunlight. Polyethylene is the highest emitter of both gases as well as the most widely produced and discarded synthetic polymer worldwide.

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RECYCLING

Although recycling could significantly reduce the impact of plastic pollution on the environment and its contribution to climate change, only 5 percent of all waste produced in South Asia is recycled.

MARINE LITTER

It is estimated that every minute an amount of plastic equivalent to the size of a garbage truck is dumped into the oceans. And that's more than just an ugly sight. Marine plastic pollution breaks down into microplastics and contributes to the climate change effect both through direct GHG emissions and, indirectly, by negatively affecting ocean organisms. Plankton sequesters 30-50 percent of carbon dioxide emissions from anthropogenic activities, but after ingesting microplastics, the ability of plankton to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere is reduced.

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OPEN BURNING

Open burning is a common waste treatment practice in South Asia and throughout the developing world. The amount of waste burned in India and Nepal combined accounts for 8.4 percent of the world's waste burned. The burning of waste in open fires leads to the production of a serious air pollutant called CARBON BLACK which is responsible for half of the visible smog in cities like New Delhi. The global warming due to carbon black is up to 5,000 times more than the one caused by carbon dioxide (CO2).