After China, India will release highest volume of microplastics & chemical additives into waterways
A 5-kilometre-long drain has become a dumping ground for the residents of Gautampuri, Bhajanpura and Usmanpur localities in Delhi’s North East district. Single-use plastic carry bags, banned in the country last year, continue to find their way into the drain. Residents complain that the drain choked with garbage is also a hotbed of mosquito breeding activity throughout the year. Photo: Vikas Choudhary / CSE
As many as 217 countries will release 3,153,813 tonnes of microplastics into the world’s waterways by the end of 2024, according to a new report.
China, India, the United States and Japan will account for 51 per cent of this volume, according to the 2024 Plastic Overshoot Day (POD) Report. India will release 391,879 tonnes of microplastics and will be the second leading polluter of the waterbodies after China (787,069 tonnes) in the world, the analysis by Swiss non-profit EA Earth Action showed.
The term ‘microplastics’ refers to plastic particles that are no larger than 5 millimetres. The release of primary microplastics from sources such as tyre abrasion, shedding of textile fibres, pellets production and paint pollute the environment, along with improper waste disposal, the researchers flagged in the report.
The chemical additives in the microplastics accumulate in waterbodies and have serious impacts on human health. “Common additives released from microplastics include heavy metals, polyamidoamine-epichlorohydrins, bisphenol A, brominated flame retardants and per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances,” showed a research paper published in the journal Environmental Pollution earlier this year.
Light, temperature and presence of other pollutants affect the release of these chemicals, which pile up and cause toxicity in bodies of animals that ingest them.
“Some additives cause neurotoxicity, inflammation, metabolic disorders and cancer,” the report mentioned.
In 2024, at least 291,071 tonnes of chemical additives will be discharged into the waterbodies, according to the POD report. Of this, 40 per cent will come from four nations — China, India, the Russian Federation and Brazil, the scientists wrote.
India will release 31,483 tonnes of chemical additives from microplastics and will be the second leading polluter of waterways through this method after China (59,208 tonnes), according to the authors.
The microplastics concentration in Ganga, which forms India’s largest river basin, was found to be more than any other major world river, revealed a study in 2021.
In 2023, India’s Central Pollution Control Board acknowledged the presence of microplastics in its waterbodies, in a report submitted to the National Green Tribunal.
Although the health effects of chemical additives have been acknowledged, India is attempting to reimagine the ‘life cycle of plastic’ at the fourth session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC-4), a conference where countries gathered to discuss the creation of a legally enforceable international plastics treaty.
“Each Party shall promote scientific and technical innovation to prevent the release of plastic into waterways and marine environment,” according to the revised draft of the treaty.
India, classified as the low waste-producing polluters, must focus on developing the domestic waste management infrastructure and invest in waste management programmes, including extended producer responsibility (EPR), recommended the 2024 POD report released ahead of INC-4.
At INC-4, India reiterated its stance that EPR mechanisms should remain within national boundaries and not encompass international supply chains, wrote Siddharth Ghanshyam Singh, programme manager, environmental governance and solid waste management, the Centre for Science and Environment.
The determination of the scope and modalities of EPR should be left to the discretion of each member state. While acknowledging chemicals used in plastic manufacturing, India stated that some are already subject to prohibition or regulation under different conventions.
Decisions regarding chemicals should be grounded in a transparent and inclusive process informed by scientific evidence, said India at the meeting on the global plastics treaty being held at Ottawa.
Global plastics waste management has somewhat improved, but plastic waste generation has risen by 7.11 per cent since 2021, the new POD report indicated.
The world is estimated to have generated 220 million tonnes of plastic waste this year, the reasearchers noted. This means that the improvements in waste management capacity are outpaced by rising plastic production.
So, the assumption that recycling and waste management capacity will solve the plastics crisis is flawed, the authors warned.
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