プラごみ排出量、米国が世界最多

【ワシントンＡＦＰ＝時事】米国のプラスチックごみの排出量は世界で最も多く、他国を大きく上回っていることが、１日に米政府に提出された報告書で明らかになった。悪化するプラごみ問題に対処するため、全米レベルでの対策を求めている。（写真は資料写真）
　報告書によると、米国の２０１６年のプラごみ排出量は約４２００万トンだった。中国の２倍以上に相当し、欧州連合（ＥＵ）加盟国の合計よりも多い。
　米国人１人が１年間に排出するプラごみの量は１３０キロ。次いで英国人が９９キロ、韓国が８８キロとなる。
　報告書「世界の海洋プラスチックごみに対する米国の責任の推計」は、２０２０年１２月に成立した海洋漂流物に関する法律で提出が義務付けられた。
　報告書を作成した専門家委員会の座長を務めた、モントレーベイ水族館の科学責任者マーガレット・スプリング氏は、プラごみ問題は「環境的・社会的な危機」だと指摘。内陸・沿岸地域の共同体に影響を及ぼし、川や湖、浜辺を汚染し、社会に経済的負担を掛け、野生動物を危険にさらし、食料生産に欠かせない水を汚染していると述べた。
　報告書によると、世界のプラスチック生産量は１９６６年の２０００万トンから、２０１５年には２０倍の３億８１００万トンに膨れ上がった。
　１０００種近くの海洋生物がプラスチックに絡まったり、マイクロプラスチックを飲み込んだりする危険があることも分かっている。海洋生物に取り込まれたプラスチックは、食物連鎖をへて人間の口に入ることになる。
　世界全体で毎年８００万トンのプラごみが海に流入しており、その量は「毎分トラック１台分のプラごみを海に投棄するのに等しい」と報告書は指摘。現在のペースが続けば、２０３０年までに海に流入するプラごみは年５３００万トンにまで増加する可能性があるとしている。これは年間漁獲高の約半分に当たる。
　報告書は、全米レベルでの規制を設けるなど新しいプラスチックの生産自体を減らすことを提案している。【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】
〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2021/12/03-12:31）

The United States is by far the biggest contributor to global plastic waste in the world, according to a new report submitted to the federal government Wednesday that called for a national strategy to tackle the growing crisis.
Overall, the US contributed around 42 million metric tons (MMT) in plastic waste in 2016 -- more than twice as much as China and more than the countries of the European Union combined, according to the analysis.
On average, every American generates 130 kilograms (286 pounds) of plastic waste per year, with Britain next on the list at 99 kilos per person per year, followed by South Korea at 88 kilos per year.
Entitled Reckoning with the U.S. Role in Global Ocean Plastic Waste, the report was mandated by Congress as part of the Save Our Seas 2.0 Act, which became law in December 2020.
The success of the 20th century miracle invention of plastics has also produced a global scale deluge of plastic waste seemingly everywhere we look, wrote Margaret Spring, chief science officer of Monterey Bay Aquarium, who chaired the committee of experts that compiled the report.
She added global plastic waste was an environmental and social crisis that impacted inland and coastal communities, polluted rivers, lakes and beaches, placed economic burdens on communities, endangered wildlife and contaminated waters that humans depend on for food.
Global plastic production rose from 20 million metric tons in 1966 to 381 MMT in 2015, a 20-fold increase over half a century, the report said.
Initially, attention to ocean waste focused solely on ship and marine-based sources, but it is now known that almost any plastic on land has the potential to reach the oceans via rivers and streams, the report added.
Research has shown nearly a thousand species of marine life are susceptible to plastic entanglement or to ingesting microplastics, which then make their way through the food web back to humans.
The report said an estimated 8 MMT of plastic waste enters the world annually, the equivalent of dumping a garbage truck of plastic waste into the ocean every minute.
At the current rate, the amount of plastics discharged into the ocean could reach up to 53 MMT per year by 2030, roughly half of the total weight of fish caught from the ocean annually, it said.
Part of the reason is that while the generation of plastic waste in municipal solid waste has exploded, particularly since 1980, the scale of recycling has not kept up, resulting in more and more plastic finding its way into landfills.
The report offered a number of steps to address the crisis -- first among them, reducing virgin plastic production, for example by establishing a national cap.
- Reduce single-use plastics -
Other suggested actions include using materials that degrade more quickly and are more easily recycled, the reduction of certain single-use plastics, and improved waste management, such as techniques to remove microplastics from wastewater.
Improving waste capture technology would stop plastics in waterways, while stemming plastic disposal directly into the ocean itself also remains a priority.
Data collection is also a critical priority, the report added, calling for the US to establish tracking and monitoring systems to identify waste sources and hotspots.
The authors called for the country to develop its national strategy no later than the end of 2022.
This is the most comprehensive and damning report on plastic pollution ever published, said Judith Enk, president of the Beyond Plastics nonprofit.
It is a code red for plastics in the ocean and documents how litter cleanups are not going to save the ocean, she continued, adding it was urgent that policy makers and business leaders read the report and take action.
The finger-pointing stops now. We can no longer ignore the United States' role in the plastic pollution crisis, one of the biggest environmental threats facing our oceans and our planet today, added Christy Leavitt, Oceana's plastics campaign director.