Plastic waste leakage in Southeast Asia, plus China, Japan and South Korea, could rise by nearly 70% by 2050 without stronger policies, according to a new OECD report.
The Regional Plastics Outlook says plastics use in the region is on track to almost double compared with 2022 levels, driven by rising incomes and living standards. ASEAN member states are expected to see a near tripling.
Plastic waste is projected to more than double, while leakage into the environment could grow by 68%, mostly from ASEAN lower-middle-income countries and China. In 2022, 8.4 million tonnes of mismanaged plastic waste entered the environment.
The report calls the region a “hotspot for plastic pollution”, noting that regional plastic waste grew from 10 million tonnes in 1990 to 113 million tonnes in 2022. Informal and unsafe practices, including open burning and dumping, remain widespread in rural areas of ASEAN countries and China.
Annual leakage could reach 14.1 million tonnes by 2050, with 5.1 million tonnes entering rivers, coastal areas and oceans. Over half of the plastics used in the region have a lifespan of under five years, becoming waste quickly.
The OECD says ambitious actions such as bans on single-use plastics and taxes could cut plastic use by 28%, raise recycling rates to 54%, and reduce mismanaged waste by 97%.
Talks on a legally binding global treaty on plastic pollution resumed in Geneva on Tuesday, after previous negotiations in South Korea collapsed last year amid disagreements over curbing production and improving waste management.
Energy security dominated the opening day of the 25th WPC Energy Congress in Riyadh, as Saudi Arabia warned of a serious response to recent attacks...
One person was killed and nearly a dozen hurt in a fresh attack on Riyadh's international airport on Sunday, S...
The 2026 Paris Motor Show has opened with a clear message: competition is intensifying as carmakers race to embrace electric vehicles, cuttin...
One person was killed and nearly a dozen hurt in a fresh attack on Riyadh's international airport on Sunday, Saudi authorities reported, a day after a strike claimed by Yemen's Houthis killed 13 people and wounded more than 300.
Yemen's Houthis renewed warning to airlines, airport workers, and travellers against using Saudi airports, saying the warning should be taken seriously and that the kingdom “bore responsibility for failed interceptions”, a day after an attack on Riyadh's international airport that killed 12 people.
The Houthi movement has escalated their attacks on Saudi Arabia, targeting the airport in Riyadh and other cities, killing more than a dozen people.
The Kremlin on Monday rejected a 60-day ceasefire idea proposed by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to allow his country to hold presidential elections, saying it wanted an overall peace deal instead.
Ukraine is ready to stop attacks on Russian oil refineries if Moscow also halts strikes on Ukrainian energy infrastructure, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Sunday.
Türkiye’s COP31 presidency has unveiled an action agenda designed to turn climate commitments into concrete projects and measurable results, focusing on clean energy, waste reduction, resilient cities and industrial decarbonisation.
Greenland and Antarctica have shed a combined 11.3 trillion tonnes of ice since 1979, according to the most comprehensive satellite study of the planet's ice sheets to date, with researchers warning the pace of loss has accelerated sharply in recent decades.
The European Union will continue allowing large-scale plastic waste exports to Türkiye despite concerns over recycling rates, environmental damage and the risk of illegal waste trafficking.
Hundreds of thousands of deep-diving turtles, known as olive ridley sea turtles, have arrived on Mexico’s southern coast for one of nature’s most striking nesting events. But conservation officials warn that climate change is making it increasingly difficult for their eggs to hatch.
August 2026 tied as the hottest month ever recorded globally, pushing average temperatures above the critical 1.5°C threshold as extreme weather swept across several regions, the EU’s Copernicus Climate Change Service said.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment