Plastic Overshoot Day refers to a concept modelled after Earth Overshoot Day, which marks when humanity’s demand for natural resources exceeds what Earth can regenerate in that year. Read here to learn more.
While Earth Overshoot Day addresses overall ecological footprints, including carbon emission, water usage, and deforestation, Plastic Overshoot Day specifically focuses on the overconsumption of plastics and its environmental impact.
Plastic Overshoot Day marks when the amount of plastic waste generated exceeds the worldโs capacity to manage it, resulting in environmental pollution.
In 2024, the global Plastic Overshoot Day will occur on September 5th.
Plastic Overshoot Day
Plastic Overshoot Day aims to raise awareness about the unsustainable rate at which we consume plastic materials and the resulting environmental degradation.
- This concept highlights the day of the year by which humanity has used more plastic than the Earth can sustainably manage and recycle within that year.
- The date is hypothetical and serves as a tool to communicate the urgency of addressing plastic pollution and encouraging more sustainable practices in plastic production, consumption, and disposal.
Each country has its own Plastic Overshoot Day, which is determined by the amount of plastic waste generated and the countryโs capacity to manage it.
Plastic Overshoot Day 2024
- For 2024, Plastic Overshoot Day is projected to occur on September 5th, marking the point when plastic waste produced surpasses the planetโs waste management systems.
- In 2024, 220 million tonnes of plastic waste will be created.
- In 2024, nearly 70 million tons of plastic will end up in nature due to an imbalance between the volumes of plastics consumed and the capacity to manage the plastic at the end of its life.
- Plastic waste has risen by 7.11% since 2021.
- Countries are classified into 6 different archetypes to help readers understand how each country fits into the plastic waste management ecosystem, with associated recommendations tailored to each archetypeโs unique circumstances.
Calculation
Calculating Plastic Overshoot Day involves:
- Estimating the total global plastic production and consumption rates.
- Assessing the capacity of global recycling facilities and natural degradation processes to handle plastic waste.
- Determining the point at which plastic consumption outpaces these capacities.
Implications of Plastic Pollution
Plastic pollution has severe environmental and health implications:
- Wildlife Harm: Animals can ingest or become entangled in plastic waste, leading to injury or death.
- Ecosystem Disruption: Microplastics (tiny plastic particles) permeate ecosystems, from the deepest oceans to the highest mountains, affecting biodiversity and food chains.
- Human Health: Microplastics are found in water sources, food supplies, and even the air, with potential consequences for human health still being researched.
- Waste Management: Excessive plastic waste overwhelms landfills and recycling systems, often ending up in the environment, including oceans, lakes, and rivers.
Mitigating Plastic Pollution
Efforts to push back Plastic Overshoot Day include:
- Reducing Plastic Use: Minimizing single-use plastics, promoting alternatives like biodegradable materials, and encouraging reusable products.
- Improving Recycling: Enhancing recycling technologies and infrastructure, and increasing the recyclability of plastics through design innovations.
- Legislation and Policies: Implementing stricter regulations on plastic production and waste management, and setting targets for reducing plastic use.
- Public Awareness: Educating the public about the impacts of plastic pollution and ways to reduce personal plastic consumption.
Global Response and Action
Various global and local initiatives have been launched to combat plastic pollution, including international agreements to reduce plastic waste, corporate commitments to cut down on plastic packaging, and grassroots movements advocating for more responsible plastic use and disposal practices.
- To mitigate plastic pollution, India must Invest in waste management policies like Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR), suggested the report. Plastics that are not designed for circular use must be phased out, it added.
- India was among the few countries in 2019 to propose a global ban on single-use plastics. The idea was later widened, and the world agreed in March 2022 to draw up a global treaty on plastic pollution by 2024.
- Theย UN Plastic Treatyย represents a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to spark global action against plastic pollution. But to achieve this, the treaty must be adequately scoped, negotiated, ratified and enforced with high ambition.
The success of these efforts requires cooperation among governments, industries, and individuals to enact and support measures that reduce plastic consumption and increase recycling and reuse.
Why in the news?
India is among the twelve countries responsible for 60 percent of the planet’s mismanaged plastic waste though the fast-developing South Asian nation’s per capita plastic waste production is among the lowest in the world, according to a new report.
- The Plastic Overshoot Day report by Swiss non-profit EA Earth Action also said global plastic waste generation has risen by 7.11 per cent since 2021.
- The world is estimated to have generated 220 million tons of plastic waste this year, 70 million tons of which will end up polluting the environment.
- Twelve countries are responsible for 60 per cent of the world’s mismanaged plastic waste: China, India, Russia, Brazil, Mexico, Vietnam, Iran, Indonesia, Egypt, Pakistan, the United States and Turkey.
- Though the report classifies India as a “low-waste-producing” polluter due to its low per capita plastic waste production (8 kg per capita per year), it said the country’s expected mismanaged waste in 2024 will be 7.4 million tons, which is “very high”.
Earth overshoot day
Earth Overshoot Day marks the date when humanityโs demand for ecological resources and services in a given year exceeds what Earth can regenerate in that year.
- This deficit is maintained by liquidating stocks of ecological resources and accumulating waste, primarily carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.
- The date of Earth Overshoot Day is announced each year on June 5.
- The event is hosted and calculated by Global Footprint Network, an international research organization that provides decision-makers with a menu of tools to help the human economy operate within Earthโs ecological limits.
To determine the date of Earth Overshoot Day for each year, Global Footprint Network calculates the number of days of that year that Earthโs biocapacity suffices to provide for humanityโs Ecological Footprint. The remainder of the year corresponds to a global overshoot.
Earth Overshoot Day is computed by dividing the planetโs biocapacity (the amount of ecological resources Earth can generate that year), by humanityโs Ecological Footprint (humanityโs demand for that year), and multiplying by 365, the number of days in a year:
(Earthโs Biocapacity / Humanityโs Ecological Footprint) x 365 = Earth Overshoot Day
Conclusion
While Plastic Overshoot Day is not as widely recognized as Earth Overshoot Day, it serves a similar purpose in emphasizing the need for immediate action to address the ecological impacts of our current plastic consumption patterns.
It encourages a shift towards more sustainable practices and technologies that reduce our plastic footprint and protect the environment for future generations.
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-Article by Swathi Satish
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