USA | Researchers at UC Santa Barbara and UC Berkeley have introduced a new AI-powered online tool to address the escalating issue of plastic production and waste. This tool offers in-depth insights into how nations worldwide can align their policies with the United Nations' global plastics treaty, currently in negotiation, to combat plastic pollution. Two-thirds of the projected waste is expected to be made up of packaging, consumer products and textiles.
Researchers suggest that a robust UN plastics treaty, incorporating nine plastic reduction policies, could significantly reduce plastic pollution by 2040. The tool indicates that mismanaged waste could be reduced by 89 percent, bringing it down to a more manageable 10 million metric tons annually. Without intervention, plastic production is projected to increase by 22 percent between 2024 and 2050, and plastic pollution is expected to surge by 62 percent during the same period.
It is noted that following a business-as-usual scenario would disproportionately burden less wealthy countries with mismanaged plastic waste. The researchers propose that implementing the recommended policies could minimise mismanaged waste globally, offering a pathway to nearly zero mismanaged waste by 2040.
A collaborative team of plastic researchers, data scientists, and AI researchers from UC Santa Barbara and UC Berkeley developed the tool and underlying analysis. Utilising machine learning, the tool forecasts future plastic production, pollution, and trade trends from 2010 to 2050.
