Mexico City — Plastic accounts for 12 percent of the 2.1 billion metric tons of waste generated across the world every year, an expert on the subject said March 22, warning that garbage numbers could soar over the next three decades if authorities remain indifferent to the phenomenon.
"The amount of waste could increase by 70 percent, which would mean a total of 3.4 billion [metric] tons a year by 2050," Ignacio García Martínez, of the Simón Bolívar University in Mexico City, said.
Speaking on the opening day of Plastimagen Light, a virtual conference and trade show, owned and operated by the Tarsus Group, García said that Mexico City alone produces 13,000 tons of garbage every day, of which only 15 percent is recycled.
Latin America and the Caribbean produced 231 million tons a year, while in North America the total was 289 million tons.
García said the coronavirus pandemic had raised new societal issues.
"Waste such as face masks, gloves, bottles, jars and other items require special handling to avoid the spread of the virus," he said, adding that "garbage collection services must change their normal practices."
It was also essential, he said, for households to separate sanitary items, paper, glass, plastic and biodegradables adequately. "In the case of waste from COVID-19 sufferers, a distinctively colored plastic bag should be used."
Susana Hernández, technical manager at Anipac, Mexico's national plastics industry association, suggested that the disparaging of plastics, especially during the pandemic, was unjustified "because plastic is an ally in the fight against the pandemic."
In comments prior to Garcia's presentation, Anipac President Aldimir Torres said plastic should not be considered garbage. "It's a raw material with a market value," he said.
"One way of taking care of ourselves is through the adequate management of waste, respecting norms for the handling of high-risk waste," Torres said.
Tarsus Mexico's managing director, José Navarro Meneses, launched the event with a speech in which he said the plastics industry "is ready to contribute to the country's development and that of the global economy, both of which have been impacted by COVID-19."
Plastimagen Light, in which 350 companies from 20 countries are exhibiting, is the first Plastimagen branded show for two years. Tarsus plans to host the 23rd edition of Plastimagen México, one of the leading plastics trade shows in Latin America, in the spring of 2022.