60 years after the first piece of plastic made from fossil fuels were invented, plastic pollution has now become a global crisis. Plastic can take up to hundreds of years to break down, and the time it takes to decompose is also dependent on the type of product. For example, a plastic bag takes 20 years to break down, 200 years for plastic straws, 450 years for plastic bottles and 500 years for plastic toothbrushes.
Malaysia ranked the highest among six countries in Southeast Asia in terms of annual per capita plastic packaging consumption. The estimated total annual post-consumer plastic waste generation in Malaysia in 2016 was at 1,070,064 tonnes, which is equal to the weight of almost 10,000 blue whales, and can fill up approximately 76,500 garbage trucks.
Every day, the equivalent of 2,000 garbage trucks full of plastic are dumped into the world’s oceans, rivers, and lakes.
Plastic pollution is a global problem. Every year 19-23 million tonnes of plastic waste leaks into aquatic ecosystems, polluting lakes, rivers and seas.
Plastic pollution can alter habitats and natural processes, reducing ecosystems’ ability to adapt to climate change, directly affecting millions of people’s livelihoods, food production capabilities and social well-being.
UNEP’s body of work demonstrates that the problem of plastic pollution doesn’t exist in a vacuum. The environmental, social, economic and health risks of plastics need to be assessed alongside other environmental stressors, like climate change, ecosystem degradation and resource use.
Greenhouse gas emissions from the plastic lifecycle threaten the ability of the global community to keep global temperature rise below 1.5°C. More than 90% of plastic is made from fossil fuel, and a recent report by CIEL estimates that in 2019 alone, the pollution from global plastic production and incineration will equal the emissions of 189 coal-fired power plants. The same report estimates that by 2050, the greenhouse gas emissions from plastic could make up as much as 10-13% of the entire remaining carbon budget. If the overproduction and consumption of plastic continues uninterrupted, it could account for 20% of the total global oil consumption by midcentury.
These findings are deeply concerning. At Olive Tree Hotel, we have eliminated plastic drinking bottles, single-use miniature toiletries and amenities plastic packaging in our guestrooms to fight plastic pollution. We do our best to stay in line with our motto:
Stay Green, For You, By You
