Plastic pollution is an issue that transcends national boundaries, as one of today’s most pressing global environmental challenges directly threatening sustainable development. Around the world, one million plastic drinking bottles are purchased every minute, and 5 trillion single-use plastic bags are thrown away each year. Approximately 70 per cent of all plastics produced to date is now waste and only 9 per cent of this has been recycled. Projections indicate that by 2025 the ocean will contain one tonne of plastic for every three tonnes of fish, and by 2050, there may be more plastic in the ocean than fish, by volume.
At a meeting held during the General Conference of
the IAEA, experts from around the world presented
NUclear TEChnology for Controlling Plastic Pollution (NUTEC Plastics), which
aims to assist countries integrating nuclear techniques with their efforts to
address challenges of plastic pollution. NUTEC Plastics highlights the
available nuclear technologies for recycling plastic waste using radiation
technology, and marine monitoring of microplastics using isotopic tracing
techniques, and aims to facilitate scientifically supported decision making on
plastic mitigation, and disposal measures and
policies.
NUTEC Plastics offers support to countries on two
fronts: using isotopic tracer techniques for monitoring and assessing marine
microplastics and their impact, and radiation technology for innovations in the
plastic life cycle, including recycling. "Radiation technology can improve
plastic recycling, and isotopic tracing techniques help monitor and analyze the
behavior and fate of microplastics in the seas and oceans," said Hua Liu,
IAEA Deputy Director General and Head of the Department of Technical Cooperation,
who provided closing remarks. “Through NUTEC Plastics, the IAEA will contribute
to the global response to plastic pollution, and to a sustainable
solution."
At the
event, the United States of America announced it will provide US $1 million to the
project NUTEC Plastics, as part of its longstanding partnership with the IAEA
to address global challenges.
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Source: IAEA