The Gulf Petrochemicals and Chemicals Association (GPCA) today (April 22) marked Earth Day with the release of the 4th Progress Report - highlighting a huge jump in projects worldwide to prevent marine litter from coming into our oceans.

The report, which was released by the Global Plastics Alliance (GPA), a collaboration among plastics industry associations and other allied industries associations around the world, reveals that projects made under the “Global Declaration” for solutions on marine litter, have more than tripled to around 355 worldwide since 2011, said a statement.

Undertaken by 74 associations, including GPCA, in 40 countries from virtually every corner of the globe, the initiatives include beach clean-ups, expanding waste management capacities, global research, awareness and educational campaigns, it said.

In the Gulf, GPCA proactively supports global activities to address marine debris by leading the industry’s effort through various initiatives such as its global flagship campaign Waste Free Environment, it added.

Dr Abdulwahab Al Sadoun, secretary general, GPCA, said: “We welcome the results from the report which highlights the long term commitment and rapidly growing efforts by the global plastic industry to provide a solution for the marine litter challenge.”

“Through the vital role they play in crucial sectors such as healthcare, transportation, food and packaging, plastic innovations are an essential enabler for a better and more sustainable living,” he said.

“In order to truly resolve the challenge of plastic waste, we need to enact a behavioural change that runs all across society and complies with the four Rs: 1) Reduce usage of single use plastics 2) Reuse whenever possible 3) Recycle plastic waste into new products 4) Recover the energy from plastics,” he added.

Al Sadoun continued: “In line with this, we would like to commend the UAE Ministry of Climate Change and Environment for launching the campaign ‘Responsible Consumption for Sustainable Future’ with the theme, ‘Preserving our Environment: Smart Use of Plastic’.”

“This initiative serves as an evidence to the forward looking vision of our leadership in the GCC to improve the community’s awareness through science-based campaigns that will safeguard the environment and educate the public,” he said.

“Once again, collaboration will be key, which is why we need to work together today and adopt sustainable and lasting solutions to address the challenges of tomorrow,” he concluded.

The six focus areas of the Global Declaration are education, research, public policy, sharing best practices, plastics recycling/recovery, and plastic pellet containment, it stated. – TradeArabia News Service