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COVID-19 SUSTAINABLE LIFESTYLES FOR PLASTICS AND PACKAGING MANAGEMENT DURING A PANDEMIC HEALTHIER AND HAPPIER SOCIETY Mushtaq Ahmed MEMON UNEP Asia and the Pacific Working With the Environmentto Protect People UNEP’s COVID-19 Response COVID-19 Working with Environment to Protect People

The United Nations Environment RESPONSE 1: RESPONSE 3: The medical & Investing to build back Programme (UNEP) stands with the humanitarian emergency better billions of people suffering from the COVID-19 pandemic. The phase immediate priority is to protect RESPONSE 2: RESPONSE 4: them. But UNEP also has a duty to A transformational Modernizing global help nations build back better after change environmental the pandemic to increase resilience for nature and people governance to future crises. Plastic Waste before COVID-19

8.3 billion tonnes of plastic have been produced, using 17 million oil each year

80% remains in or the environment, 100 years for plastic to degrade in the environment, 13 million tonnes of plastic enter ocean each year

1 million plastic , 10 million plastic bought every minute

50% of consumer plastics are single use, and 10% of all human-generated waste is plastic

100,000 marine animals killed by plastics each year 90% of found to contain plastic particles, 83% of tap water Plastic Waste before COVID-19

Source: WED Toolkit 2018 Pandemic and Plastic Waste

An alarming increase in waste plastics and a substantial decrease in its .

Main sources of increased waste plastics are related to the use of plastics in medical and packaging.

The global, regional and national net plastic demand is yet to be assessed in the context of this pandemic. The plastic demand in the medical sector to help in combating the COVID-19 including the face shield (PP), gown (LDPE), vinyl gloves (PVC), disposable , , masks (plastic sheet and non-woven fabric) etc. The vast demand for food delivery or takeout as well as grocery delivery increase PP, LDPE, HDPE, PETE and PS, which are the common packaging materials Pandemic and Plastic Waste

Source: Jaromír Kleme, Yee Van Fan a, Raymond R. Tan b, and Peng Jiang c, “Minimising the present and future plastic waste, energy and environmental footprints related to COVID-19” Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 127 (2020) Pandemic and Plastic Waste

In Singapore, an extra 1,334 tonnes The Control Department of of plastic waste, equivalent to the Thailand recently reported that the weight of 92 double-decker buses, amount of plastic waste, especially was generated from takeaway and plastic packaging, increased by 15% delivery meals during the two-month from 5,500 tonnes per day to 6,300 circuit breaker period of stay-home [because the demand for food curbs, a survey has found delivery tripled]. https://www.todayonline.com/singapore/singapore-households-generated- additional-1334-tonnes-plastic-waste-during-circuit-breaker Pandemic and Plastic Waste

COVID-19 has also led to increase in packaging due to online shopping and home delivery.

There is also change in mindset that packaging and single-use plastics provides “safety”.

The pressure on the governments to address more urgent challenges due to COVID-19, the focus and push on minimizing waste plastics through various measures including banning and charging has gone slow. also got back seat due to the fears of waste plastics being infected and also due to the lockdown. This situation has multiplied the amount of waste plastics being dumped in open environments (marine and land) and its impact on marine life, air quality (due to burning), biodiversity and plantation. According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), about 450 million tonnes of plastic is produced each year, 12 million of which ends up in the ocean. The UN Environment Programme said that if this trend continues with no intervention, the world will have more plastic in the ocean than fish by 2030. The GMS is already a hotspot for waste plastics and its impacts. This increase in packaging and single-use plastics will have a divested impact if not addressed quickly. Lifestyles & Plastics and Packaging Waste Identifying Priorities

Regulatory framework, Public institutional setup, tariff Sector designing, subsidies and guarantees

CIRCULAR ECONOMY

Community Private Willingness to pay, Sector awareness and will, environmentally friendly Financial share, lifestyles technical innovation, managerial role, local knowledge, backward and forward linkages UNEP’s Support on Sustainable Lifestyles for Plastics

Awareness Raising Campaigns (Beat , Breakup with Plastics, Pollution Free Planet, etc.) Goodwill Ambassadors (Messaging, Showcasing their work, Influencers, etc.) Dialogues (SEA of Solutions, Stakeholders’ Engagement, Consumers-Producer Perspective, etc.)

Guidance and Training Assessment, Interventions, Instruments, CounterMeasures, SEA Circular, SWITC-Asia, Green Campuses, Nudging, Take-back

Startups for Low Carbon Lifestyle Challenge Policy Guidance for Lifestyles to address Plastics Policy Guidance for Lifestyles to address Plastics Policy Guidance for Lifestyles to address Plastics Policy Guidance for Lifestyles to address Plastics Policy Guidance for Lifestyles to address Plastics

Winners: Asia Pacific Low Carbon Lifestyles Challenge 2020

Source: UNEP https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ncnbGMQdCc Upcoming Activities with Asian Institute of Technology

1) chains in COVID time – Graph of Industry forecast in 2018-2019 (pre COVID) and in 2020-2021 (with COVID) 2) Plastics in – Pie chart before and during COVID 19 3) Pandemics shifting preferences: Hygiene and Food safety Vs Sustainability 4) Review of Guidelines/Policies for COVID-19 by different countries with implications on plastic management including plastic / reduction effort: Differences, Implications and drawbacks, in key sectors (e.g. food, catering, hospitality) 5) Mixing of healthcare and domestic waste: comprehending the magnitude of issue by data, statistics, and health implications

1) COVID 19 and changes in healthcare plastic A) Introduction to Healthcare plastics and treatment of COVID 19 healthcare plastics. Pandemic-specific plastic management (How diseases like SARS, Ebola and COVID 19 are different from each other) Best Suited plastic treatment technologies for healthcare, Recommendation for future pandemics Infographics - Different technologies, suitability and drawbacks Approximate Quantification of masks, gloves and other plastic products in different countries Informal Sectors and dumped PPEs; health issues associated with disposal of plastics. The Number of people affected overall the world (or) at the risk of getting affected Development of Vaccines and future strategies to control plastic disposal Possible quantification of Plastic vaccines and their way of treatment Recommendations or Instruments to shift back the current changes to achieve Goals Different instruments and their implementations. Possible hurdles in implementing the policy instruments Upcoming Activities with Asian Institute of Technology

1) COVID 19 and / Takeaway Introduction to food packaging and Takeaway containers and changes due to the Corona Pandemic – Amount in Plastics before and during COVID 19 A) Policy Options to tackle food packaging and takeaway containers in different parts of the world A graph showing implementation of policy options at different part of the world. A) Issue of Bulk purchasing and data supporting the growth of sales of products (Panic Purchasing) B) Cancelling Schemes – studies of Food chains, Restaurants and lobbyists taking advantage of the situation A map showing different places and implementation of cancelling the reusable schemes A) Packaging and Disposal Quantification of increase in packaging and disposal in the form of Table or charts A) Innovations in Plastic Packaging Industries (Based on Webinar Reducing Single-Use Plastics in Food Deliveries and Takeaway: Experiences from Europe and East-and Southeast Asia)

1) Industrial Plastic Packaging – Correlation with GDP and changes due to COVID 19 Upcoming Activities with Asian Institute of Technology

1) E-Commerce – Incremental Growth of the Online Platforms and Delivery schemes a) Data showing E-commerce sales data and plastic packaging material disposal b) Short-term and long-term implications – Corresponding to Sustainable Plastic Packaging Goals and change in timeline for reaching the goals – Rationale behind change in resetting timelines

1) Research Gaps A) Quantification of COVID 19 healthcare plastics in Asia B) Policies for handling and reducing plastic disposal during Pandemics C) Rehabilitation of dumpsites after pandemics

1) Solutions and Good Practices A) Policy, technical, financing, and stakeholder engagement B) Business models including startups C) Sustainable lifestyles Priorities and Selection of appropriate Products and Services focusing Discussion on Reduction of Plastics and Points Packaging Waste

Consumer- Quality of Life Producer Nudging Interactive Win-Win Platform

Rethink, Reduce, and Awareness on creating synergy Recycle among individual choices and community choices for zero plastic pollution Thank you!

Mushtaq Memon, Regional Coordinator, Regional Coordinator for Resource Efficiency, UNEP Asia Pacific Office / [email protected]