Dr Mark Pegg considers the options for us as 200 nations fail to reach agreement at the global plastics summit in South Korea 25 November – 2 December 2024.

The plastic dimension

Why can’t we all do more to use plastic in a more sustainable way? The numbers are scary. The United Nations estimates some 8bn tonnes of plastic have been manufactured globally since 1950, but only 10% has been recycled. Go for a country walk or along the beach and you will be lucky not to see an empty plastic bottle to jar your enjoyment of an unspoilt world.

Most plastic degrades slowly in the environment, far too much is single use and a major source of litter. Worryingly, scientists have recently detected micro-plastics in the human food chain. Not even the remotest desert island or Antarctic shore is free of plastic waste and one of the saddest sights of all is ‘The Great Pacific Garbage Patch’ - the largest accumulation of ocean plastic anywhere trapped by currents in a remote area between Hawaii and California.

At the recent global plastics summit in Busan, South Korea, over 200 nations met to thrash out a global treaty on plastic pollution, but the talks stalled. There are deep divisions between nearly 100 "high ambition" countries calling for plastic to be phased out altogether and oil rich, plastic producing nations against production limits, only prepared to support more recycling. There is evidence some multinationals are reining back too. Coca Cola promised in 2022 to have 25% of its drinks sold in refillable or returnable glass, plastic, or refillable containers, but in 2024 quietly dropped this and scaled back its recycled plastic use targets.

Cutting the plastic in business

So, what can we do as individuals and businesses bottom up, if nations are not getting on with it top down? Can we make our impact on this sorry state of affairs? Either throw up your hands and say ‘what can I do, I’m just a tiny insignificant cog in the machine’ or believe ‘every little helps’.

In business we must insist on plastic use as a regular agenda item. Look harder and then look again at the plastic in purchases, day to day office use and services or products the business supplies. Can long life plastic or polystyrene (I think the latter should be banned altogether) in product packaging be omitted, used less, or replaced by green based alternatives like paper and cellulose? Have single use cups been replaced for water or coffee machines? Can bio-degradable or recyclable materials be used instead of long-life plastic?

Often, we can do a whole lot more to recycle the plastic waste that otherwise goes to landfill or incineration. Hands up those who recycle religiously at home but in the office almost everything ends up in one mixed bin or worse in one of those awful plastic sacks that sits weeping liquid on to the pavement outside. Many businesses have a community action day and, if you are short of ideas, the very least any business can do is a litter pick – some gloves, litter pickers and sacks, separating plastic and general waste – clean up the local footpath, park, beauty spot or even that nasty little place no one ever seems to clean up.

What can one person do?

Conscious personal buying decisions can definitely limit the plastic in use. We can choose to buy better packaged products, push back against excess packaging, be pro-active and give feedback to manufacturers and supermarkets to reduce the excess. Citrus and bananas have their own natural protective wrapping. Consumer push back does work and more and more of our home delivery packaging, the recyclable tape, impact resistant packing and protective wrapping, has gone plastic-free.

Local authorities collect and recycle plastic bottles, cans, pots, and containers, albeit in a plethora of brown, green and blue bins, and aren’t now allowed to just export the waste to dump in a third world country. But in real life it is not always straightforward to control what happens if you live in a flat or a multiple occupancy home that is not set up to separate waste properly. Don’t let inertia rule and just accept it: put your foot down, start a communal debate: insist communal recycling containers are provided. Make it a principle that, no matter how basic it is, that where you live is wholeheartedly committed to the discipline of recycling. It is neater and tidier too and you can sleep better knowing you are doing your little bit for more beauty in our streets and beauty spots and to saving the planet.

Mark Pegg grew up and was educated in Derby and then Oxford University. He has been a Chief Executive and Company Director and is currently a Governor of two schools. He is a Companion of the Chartered Management Institute and Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development.