Arnav and I Affirm.

C1) Just Stop Oil

Plastics are driving the heart of our oil demand as Anderson 22 explains
Stefan Anderson, "Plastics On Track To Account For 20% Of Oil And Gas Consumption By
2050", November 11, 2022, Health Policy Watch News,
https://healthpolicy-watch.news/plastics-account-for-20-oil-and-gas-2050/ //SG HARM EL-
SHEIKH, EGYPT – As global delegations fight to keep the dream of limiting warming to 1.5C
within reach, plastic pollution contaminating aquatic life, soil quality and the human body, is
skyrocketing. The relentless growth of demand for plastics driven by subsidies for fossil fuels,
coupled with the failure of recycling and waste management systems to keep pace, has set a
trajectory whereby plastics consumption will account for 20% of global oil and gas consumption
by 2050. “One million plastic bottles are consumed every minute,” Ecuadorian Environment
Minister Gustavo Manrique Miranda told COP27 delegates at a United Nations (UN) Conference
on Trade and Development on Thursday. “By the end of our meeting, the world will have
consumed 60 million bottles.”
In fact, plastics will offset ALL of the progress made by our energy transition. Ellinas 23’
Charles Ellinas, "Rising demand for plastics to drive oil and gas use in 2023 [Gas in Transition]",
March 06, 2023, Natural Gas World,
https://www.naturalgasworld.com/rising-demand-for-plastics-to-drive-oil-and-gas-use-in 2023-
gas-in-transition-104026 //SG
The demand for oil and gas continues to increase despite outlooks produced by the
International Energy Agency (IEA) that show it peaking over the next few years. A contributor to
this is the rising demand for plastics globally. Growing populations and rising GDP and
prosperity are boosting demand for petrochemicals. But this is contributing to growing
environmental concerns that are driving major initiatives to curb plastics pollution, by improving
recycling and reducing plastics production and consumption. Plastics consumption by 2050
Plastics consumption increased by 400% since the 1980s and it is still rising exponentially. By
2025, plastic production is expected to exceed 600mn metric tons/year and then double by
2050. Another staggering statistic is that more than half of all plastics produced so far were
made since the year 2000. This growing demand for plastics is driving global oil and gas
demand and it is expected to offset reductions due to the transition away from fossil fuels. IEA’s
Future of Petrochemicals report in 2018 identified petrochemicals as the sector rapidly
becoming the largest driver of global oi…
A ban is needed to gut oil demand, Roberts 20’
David Roberts, "Big Oil’s hopes are pinned on plastics. It won’t end well.", October 28, 2020,
Vox,
https://www.vox.com/energy-and-environment/21419505/oil-gas-price-plastics-peak-cli mate-
change //SG
And Big Oil is working its hardest to make the projections come true: The New York Times
recently ran an investigative piece revealing the industry’s plans to push more plastic, and
plastic waste, into Kenya. Plastics are the thin reed upon which the industry is placing all its
hopes. But a new report released in September by Carbon Tracker throws a big bucket of cold
water on these hopes. It argues that, far from a reliable source of growth, plastics are uniquely
vulnerable to disruption. They are coming under increasing scrutiny and regulation across the
world. Huge consumer product companies like Unilever are phasing them out. And the public is
turning against them. If existing solutions are fully implemented, growth in plastics could fall[s] to
zero. And if that happens, then there is no remaining source of net oil demand growth and 2019
will almost certainly prove to be the year of peak fossil fuels. Let’s look at a few highlights from
the report. Plastics are supposed to drive most oil demand growth The report breaks down the
projections of two widely respected sources of energy data and analysis, BP and the IEA.
Crucially, Kan et al. 23 finds
Mengqing Kan, Chunyan Wang, Bing Zhu, Wei-Qiang Chen, Yi Liu, Yucheng Ren, Ming Xu, 8-
1-2023, "Seven decades of plastic flows and stocks in the United States and pathways toward
zero plastic pollution by 2050," Wiley Online Library,
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/jiec.13427, accessed 2-2-2024 //MVAT
Abstract The United States is the world's second-largest producer and consumer of plastics and
the largest producer of plastic waste. Understanding the sources, drivers, and destinations of
plastic production, consumption, and waste is critical for the United States to develop strategies
toward a zero-plastic pollution future. Here, we characterize the dynamic
material flows and stocks of plastics in the United States for nearly seven decades (1950–2018)
and project the future trajectories until 2050 under various scenarios on the basis of reduce,
reuse, and recycle to explore pathways toward zero plastic pollution. Our estimation shows that
1479 MMt plastics were produced in the United States from 1950 to 2018, 75 MMt waste
plastics were domestically recycled, 139 MMt virgin polymers were exported, and 9 MMt
recycled waste plastics were imported. Currently, about 326 MMt of plastics still remain in the
society as in-use stock, most of which (63%) are in the construction sector. Plastic pollution
would almost double from 37 MMt in 2018 to 86 MMt in 2050 if current consumption pattern and
waste management remain unchanged. Single strategies (i.e., plastic bag ban and extended
lifespan) could only contribute limited reductions (2%–12%) of plastics pollution, and would not
be able to reverse the increasing trajectory of plastic pollution until 2050. Additional measures
are needed, such as improving recycling and avoiding landfilling of plastic waste. Our analysis
can provide critical insights to help the United States develop long-term strategies to mitigate
and eliminate plastic pollution.

C2) Farming Fiasco

Our single-use plastic obsession is polluting our soils. UNEP 21’ contextualizes:
UNEP, "How plastic is infiltrating the world’s soils", December 3th, 2021, https://www.facebook,
https://www.unep.org/news-and-stories/story/how-plastic-infiltrating-worlds-soils //SG
Much of the plastic that finds its way into soil is of the single-use variety, says Pradhan.
Frequent sources include plastic mulch films, which are used around plants to keep the soil
moist, and plastic-encapsulated, slow-release fertilizers, he says. Other plastic products include
films for greenhouses and silage, shade and protection nets, and drip irrigation, says Lev
Neretin, from the Office of Climate Change, Biodiversity and Environment at FAO. Many farmers
are increasingly reliant on agricultural plastics, which Neretin says extend growing seasons,
reduce pesticide consumption, safeguard plants from inclement weather, improve water
efficiency and can boost yields up to 60 per cent. Several of these plastics break down into
particles smaller than 5mm in size, known as microplastics, before disintegrating further into
nanoparticles, which are less than 0.1 micrometre in size. These can then leech into the soil and
groundwater systems. But the problem isn’t intractable, says Kristina Thygesen, a Senior Expert
at GRID Arendal working with UNEP to research plastics in agriculture.“The first step to solving
this problem is to start growing more crops that are a better fit for the climate,” she added.

Fortunately, Affirming saves the soil in two key ways

Subpoint A is decreasing soil erosion

Single use plastic prevents water penetration in soil and therefore increases runoff and erosion.
Rodale Institute-14
Plastics are destroying soil. Anderson 22’ confirms:
Stefan Anderson, "Plastics On Track To Account For 20% Of Oil And Gas Consumption By
2050", November 11, 2022, Health Policy Watch News,
https://healthpolicy-watch.news/plastics-account-for-20-oil-and-gas-2050/ //SG
Since its invention in the 1950s, the world has produced as much as ten billion tons of plastic,
most of which still exists today. The gradual breakdown and dispersal of most of that plastic
material over time has led to the shedding of chemicals and microplastics, which are now
ubiquitous in the bodies of terrestrial wildlife, oceans and fisheries. A 2021 report by the Food
and Agriculture Organization (FAO) found that plastic contamination of farmland from single-use
soil and plant coverings, tubing and other materials, poses an increasing threat to soil quality,
food safety and human health. On the seas, a recent Nature study found that the blue whales,
which typically feed upon krill, may consume
some 10 million pieces of microplastics a day, a taste of what other large fish like tuna and
salmon are likely eating as well.
Two links.
First is soil erosion.

Single use plastic prevents water penetration in soil and therefore increases runoff and erosion.
Rodale Institute 14
Rodale Institute, 04-04-2014, "Beyond Black Plastic,"
https://rodaleinstitute.org/science/articles/beyond-black-plastic/, accessed 1-28-2024 //MVAT
While the use of black plastic is allowed within organic agriculture, it is inherently unsustainable,
as it is a petroleum-based product and is difficult to recycle. Every acre of land farmed using a
black plastic system produces 100-120 lb of waste that typically go to landfills. What’s more, 50-
70% of a field is transformed into an impervious surface when black plastic is used, increasing
the volume of runoff by 40% and erosion by 80%. And when herbicides and pesticides are used
on fields covered in black plastic, the concentration of these chemicals in the fields’ runoff
increases, making environmental and human health impacts even more of a concern. Finally,
the increase in soil temperatures during hot summer days under black plastic mulch has been
found to shift the soil organisms community towards bacterial rather than fungal and increase
microbial stress. Black plastic is also a substantial annual cost to the
farmer at $250-$300 per acre for the material and about $20 per acre for disposal. With
increases in cost of production and climate change, vegetable growers are looking into
profitable and sustainable systems that increase soil health, reduce carbon foot print, and
increase their profits. The Northeast Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (NE
SARE) Program provided Rodale Institute with funding in 2010 to launch a three-year vegetable
trial focusing on cover crop alternatives to petroleum-derived disposable black plastic mulch.
That’s disastrous. Phuong et al. 17
T.T. Phuong *, R.P. Shrestha †, H.V. Chuong * (* University of Agriculture and Forestry, Hue
University, Hue City, Vietnam † Asian Institute of Technology, Pathumthani, Thailand ).
“Chapter 6 - Simulation of Soil Erosion Risk in the Upstream Area of Bo River Watershed”
Redefining Diversity & Dynamics of Natural Resources Management in Asia, Volume 3.
ScienceDirect.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/B9780128054529000060 //MVAT
Abstract Soil erosion has been considered as the primary cause of soil degradation because
soil erosion leads to the loss of topsoil and soil organic matter, which are essential for the
growing of plants. Quantification of soil loss is a significant issue for soil and water conservation
practitioners and policy makers. This chapter presents a comprehensive methodology that integrates the
Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) with a geographical information system (GIS) for simulating
soil erosion risk within a small mountainous watershed that is an upstream area of the Bo River watershed
in Central Vietnam. The spatial patterns of annual soil erosion rate from 2000 to 2010 were obtained. The
results found that the largest amount of soil erosion was 92.33 ton ha− 1 in 2007, followed by 2010
(85.41 ton ha− 1) and 2005 (76.79 ton ha− 1). The average amount of soil erosion from 2000 to 2010 was
62.50 ton ha− 1, which causes high risk in threatening land resource of the whole watershed considerably.
Additionally, the resultant maps of annual soil erosion show a maximum soil loss of
153.48 ton ha–1 year–1 with a close relation to dry agriculture land areas on the slopes higher
than 25%. The spatial erosion maps generated with SWAT and GIS can serve as effective
inputs in deriving strategies for land-use planning and management in the environmentally
sensitive mountainous areas.
Subpoint B is soil quality. Peterson 20
Kate S. Peterson, "Microplastics in farm soils: A growing concern", August 31st, 2020,
192681577469084, https://www.ehn.org/plastic-in-farm-soil-and-food-2647384684.html //SG
Sixteen days into Kirkham's microplastics and cadmium experiment, her plastic-treated wheat
plants began to yellow and wilt. Water had been pooling on the top of the soil in the plastic
treated plants, but to keep her experiment consistent, she had to give all the plants the same
amount of water. "The particulate plastic appeared to clog the soil pores, prevent aeration of the
soil, and cause…the roots to die," said Kirkham. Plants without microplastics, even the
cadmium-contaminated ones, were in much better shape. "It was the plastics that were
controlling the growth more than the cadmium." Another team of researchers reported similar
results. They found that exposure to plastics resulted in reduced weight, height, chlorophyll
content, and root growth of Arabidopsis thaliana, a relative of cabbage and broccoli. In this
study, the researchers used nanoplastics, which are plastic pieces that are less than 100
nanometers in size. For scale, the novel coronavirus measures 60 to 140 nanometers. The full
impact of microplastics contamination in agricultural soils, particularly as concentrations
increase with time, is unknown. However, studies have shown that microplastics possess
physical and chemical characteristics that have the potential to alter soil bulk density, microbial
communities, water holding capacity, and other properties that influence plant development.
Plastics also destroy microbial communities. Rodale Institute 14
Rodale Institute, 04-04-2014, "Beyond Black Plastic,"
https://rodaleinstitute.org/science/articles/beyond-black-plastic/, accessed 1-28-2024 //MVAT
While the use of black plastic is allowed within organic agriculture, it is inherently unsustainable,
as it is a petroleum-based product and is difficult to recycle. Every acre of land farmed using a
black plastic system produces 100-120 lb of waste that typically go to landfills. What’s more, 50-
70% of a field is transformed into an impervious surface when black plastic is used, increasing
the volume of runoff by 40% and erosion by 80%. And when herbicides and pesticides are used
on fields covered in black plastic, the concentration of these chemicals in the fields’ runoff
increases, making environmental and human health impacts even more of a concern. Finally,the
increase in soil temperatures during hot summer days under black plastic mulch has been found
to shiftthe soil organisms community towards bacterial rather than fungal and increase microbial
stress. Black plastic is also a substantial annual cost to the farmer at
$250-$300 per acre for the material and about $20 per acre for disposal. With increases in cost
of production and climate change, vegetable growers are looking into profitable and sustainable
systems that increase soil health, reduce carbon foot print, and increase their profits. The
Northeast Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (NE SARE) Program provided
Rodale Institute with funding in 2010 to launch a three-year vegetable trial focusing on cover
crop alternatives to petroleum-derived disposable black
plastic mulch. While researchers have made great headway in developing and demonstrating
the efficacy of cover crop mulch systems, most of the systems that have been developed rely to
some degree on synthetic herbicides to supplement the weed control provided by the cover
crops. For this reason, researchers at Rodale Institute have been working to develop a cover
crop mulch system in which herbicides are not necessary for weed suppression, furthering the
work of making cover crop mulch a viable option for organic as well as conventional vegetable
producers.
Crucially, Frederick 18
Brian Frederick, 3-30-2018, "Soil Microbes “Key to the Function of Agricultural Systems”,"
resilience,
https://www.resilience.org/stories/2018-03-30/soil-microbes-key-to-the-function-of-agri cultural-
systems/, accessed 1-28-2024 //MVAT
Dr. Nichols double majored in Plant Biology and Genetics and Cell Biology at the University of
Minnesota. She went on to earn a Master’s degree in Environmental Microbiology from West
Virginia University and ultimately a Ph.D. in Soil Science from the University of Maryland. After
graduating, Dr. Nichols started working at the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)
as a Soil Microbiologist. She served as Chief Scientist at the Rodale Institute from 2014 to 2017,
where she examined the impacts that crop rotation, tillage practices, organic production, cover
crops, and livestock grazing have on soil aggregation, water relationships, and
glomalin, a molecule produced by fungi that improves soil productivity. Food Tank had the
opportunity to talk to Dr. Kristine Nichols about how soil microbes affect agriculture and about
some of the trials the Rodale Institute are conducting. Food Tank (FT): What is
the importance of soil microbes to agriculture and how are they affected by different agricultural
systems and changing climates? Kristine Nichols (KN): Soil microbes are key to the function of
agricultural systems. Microbial populations play roles in nutrient cycling, from fixing nitrogen to
solubilizing phosphorus. Some microbes assist in the formation of soil aggregates that improve
pore space in the soil, which allows for higher infiltration rates, better water-holding capacity,
and lowers the compaction that often impedes root growth. Other microbes are involved in
extensive predator and prey relationships that can reduce the prevalence of disease. Many
microorganisms are involved in organic matter decomposition, which releases nutrients needed
by other microbes and plants, while others break down soil minerals for nutrient cycling. Several
organisms play multiple roles in the soil or
have roles that may change based on the microenvironment. Others work in complex consortia
to satisfy functional needs. Different agricultural systems and changing climates impact
microbial communities. Although the impacts of changing climate are felt less directly be
microbial communities, changing precipitation patterns can affect them by creating prolonged
aerobic or anaerobic conditions. Typically, agricultural management practices have more of an
impact on microbial communities.

Overall, for both subpoints preserving American agriculture is key to prevent starvation. Maria-
23
Maria, (2023), "How many people does one farmer feed in a year?", HowStuffWorks,
https://recipes.howstuffworks.com/how-many-farmer-feed.htm. Accessed on 11-9-2023. //AN
To be considered a farm, at least in the eyes of the U.S. Census, a modern farmer must
produce and sell at least $1,000 worth of agricultural products annually. Under this presumption,
there are 3.2 million farmers farming 2.2 million farms on roughly 915 million acres of land in the
United States [sources: EPA - Ag Center, USDA]. Together these farms produce crops for the
more than 313 million people living in the U.S. — but they aren't just feeding America; U.S.
farmers ship their commodities worldwide, exporting more than 50 types of agricultural products.

====With CSIS 23 ====

CSIS ‘23Report By, 10-24-2023, Climate Change and U.S. Agricultural Exports, No Publication,
https://www.csis.org/analysis/climate-change-and-us-agricultural-exports, Accessed on 10-29-
2023 //RC
the United States has historically been a world leader in agriculture. The United States is the
largest export[s]er of agricultural commodities in the world: foreign markets absorb about one-
fifth of U.S. agricultural production. Developing nations [agriculture]with younger populations,
high rise in income, and quick rates of urbanization are driving an increase in demand for U.S.
products.

C3) Plastic Pollution

Much of our single-use plastic waste is exported to countries abroad. Al-Raisi-23 contextualizes:
Ahmed Al-Raisi 23, 06-25-2023, "Plastic waste trafficking: the need to protect our planet and
people from organized crime,"
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/plastic-waste-trafficking-need-protect-our-planet-naser al-raisi-/,
accessed 1-15-2024 | artea
Each year, countries around the world produce approximately 400 million metric tons of plastic
waste which is exported by the largest waste-producing regions like Europe and North America,
to regions with less stringent plastic waste management laws. But this is only the tip of the
iceberg: current reporting systems vastly underestimate the volume of plastic waste that is
traded globally. The illegal trafficking of plastic exacerbates the problem, resulting in global
implications, and intersects with issues of poor governance, corruption, and money laundering.
This waste can also harm both humans and animals as poor management of plastic waste risks
plastic and microplastic deposits on land, in rivers, and in oceans. This year’s World
Environment Day’s theme hashtag #BeatPlasticPollution allows us to
focus on a global issue that not only affects vulnerable communities but also feeds off criminal
activities across the world. From lawmakers to law enforcement officers, we all have a role to
play to disrupt the trafficking of illicit plastic waste. I am proud that INTERPOL is doing its part to
fight plastic trafficking. Over the years, INTERPOL has worked closely with its 195 member
countries to enhance cross-border collaboration and hinder the ability of organized criminal
groups to exploit weakly-regulated plastic trade to commit other offences. One example of
INTERPOL’s work in this field: INTERPOL’s Operation 30 Days at Sea 3.0, which tackled
maritime pollution crimes, found more than 1,000 pollution offences across 67 countries
including the illegal discharge of plastic waste. The 2021 operation culminated in 34,000
inspections at sea and inland waterways and the detection of 1,600 marine pollution offences.
Despite global efforts to curb plastic pollution, the world is producing more single use plastic
waste than ever. Today, fewer than 20% of plastic is recycled globally. The remaining 80% often
is at risk of being dumped in landfills, beaches and oceans, or illegally trafficked across borders.
In 2020, INTERPOL launched a strategic analysis report on emerging criminal trends in the
global plastic waste market. This report not only found evidence of the involvement of organized
criminal groups in illegal trade and management of plastic waste, but also noted that this plastic
waste trafficking emerged due to the relatively unregulated trade regulations and a lack of
paperwork required to transport hazardous wastes in accordance with the Basel Convention.
Over the years, criminal networks have exploited plastic waste trafficking by forging documents
and mislabeling the contents of waste containers, which are expected to carry ready-to-recycle
plastic but instead contain forms of unrecyclable plastic. Illegal shipments were found to be
coordinated, with criminal groups controlling the entire supply chain, rerouting plastic waste
through special economic zones while laundering money. The lucrative nature of the plastic
waste market has resulted in organized criminal groups taking advantage of the market’s rapid
transformations to drive profit. Criminals take advantage of weak waste management systems
and inadequate regulations to conduct criminal activity ranging from the misdeclaration and
concealment of hazardous and mixed waste, money laundering, financial crime, and corruption.
Formerly the world’s largest importer of plastic waste, China closed its doors on imports in 2017,
creating a gap in the market. As a result, countries exporting plastic waste shifted their exports
towards Southeast Asia, a region with weaker regulatory frameworks when it comes to plastic
waste. Criminal groups today exploit the unregulated trade of plastic waste by carrying out other
forms of crime. Furthermore, waste recycling companies have also been found guilty of
involvement in human trafficking and modern slavery operations where people had been
trafficked to work in recycling plants, farms, and factories. Investigations revealed that bank
accounts were opened in the names of the victims to steal their wages. Collaboration is at the
core of INTERPOL’s success. Through our 195-member strong network, we share information
and conduct joint operations to combat and avoid various forms of organized crime, including
crimes linked to plastic trafficking. Law enforcement officers must work together to close the
loopholes that enable the illegal movement of plastic waste across borders and international
waters. INTERPOL’s 19 databases, with more than 125 million records, provide an opportunity
for all our member countries to share actionable data and build policing capacities to help close
the gaps exploited by criminals. Additionally, lawmakers across the world must set and apply
internationally recognized laws and regulations around the transportation of plastic waste and
hazardous material to ensure that vulnerable communities are protected. By targeting the
networks behind plastic waste trafficking, law enforcement can disrupt the operations of criminal
enterprises, deter potential offenders, and reduce the flow of plastic waste into our ecosystem.
Indeed, this specifically targets developing countries and shows no signs of stopping. Phillips-21
furthers:
Anna M. Phillips 21, 11-08-2021, “Trafficking of plastic waste is on the rise and criminal groups
are profiting, report says”, Los Angeles Times,
https://www.latimes.com/environment/story/2021-11-08/report-trafficking-of-plastic-wast e-is-on-
the-rise-and-criminal-groups-are-profiting, accessed 1-15-2024 | artea
Americans like to think they are recycling their plastic takeout food containers, cutlery and flimsy
grocery bags when they toss them into those green or blue bins. But, too often, that waste is
shipped overseas, sometimes with the help of organized crime groups, where it litters cities,
clogs waterways or is burned, filling the air with toxic chemicals. A report published Monday by
the independent Swiss research group Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime,
whose members include current and former law-enforcement officials, sheds new light on how
this waste winds up in poorer countries that had agreed not to accept it. Building on a previous
investigation by Interpol, the new report maps the web of brokers, middlemen, legitimate
recycling companies and organized crime groups that move millions of tons of discarded plastic
from the United States, Europe and Australia move to countries in Southeast Asia and Africa.
Virginia Comolli, the report’s main author, says the illicit aspect of the trade is already a
significant problem and on the rise. “Given the existing trends in terms of our addiction to plastic
— and looking at future projections that it’s likely to increase — we are likely to also see an
increase in these criminal activities,” Comolli added. According to the report, data from the
federal government suggests California is especially culpable. Plastic scrap generated in the
state accounted for nearly a third of all U.S. exports to developing countries this year and is the
main source of banned plastic exports to Malaysia. Jan Dell, a chemical engineer and founder
of the California-based environmental group The Last Beach Cleanup, said part of what’s
driving this flood of exported plastic is that the state has very few recycling plants for its size. It’s
also home to the Port of Los Angeles, the main U.S. entry point for goods from Asia. Once
those shipping containers are emptied, they can be refilled with Californians’ plastic scrap and
send back across the Pacific Ocean at relatively little cost. The report draws on interviews with
law enforcement authorities around the world, waste regulators and industry insiders. It lays out
the tactics that exporters use to skirt international efforts to curb shipments of plastic scrap from
wealthier countries to poorer ones, such as hiding behind multiple shell companies and complex
shipping routes that make it difficult for receiving countries to send the waste back. In 2017,
China announced that it would no longer serve as the “world’s garbage dump” and stopped
accepting plastic scrap shipments. Two years later, more than 180 countries — not including the
U.S., which refused to sign the agreement — pledged to fight plastic pollution by enacting new
control measures. They agreed that wealthy countries could no longer export hazardous plastic
waste to developing nations. The European Union went a step further, adopting more stringent
rules that only allow the export of so-called clean plastic waste fit for recycling to poorer
countries. But tons of low-quality, difficult-to-recycle plastic scrap is still finding its way to
developing countries, in part, Comolli found, because waste exporters are circumventing the
regulations. The report found that legitimate recycling companies and waste brokers have
engaged in fraud, concealing shipments of banned plastic products among other goods, illegally
dumping them and paying bribes to get past inspectors. Exporters have also mislabeled their
cargo so that that the plastic scrap incorrectly appears to be in compliance with international
agreements, disguising it from customs officers. Many of the companies alleged to have
committed crimes aren’t named in the report, often because they haven’t been formally charged
with anything. But one example given of the trends in waste shipping is that of Biffa Waste
Services, one of the largest waste companies in Britain. It was fined 350,000 pounds in 2019,
the equivalent of more than $470,000 today, for shipping contaminated residential waste to
China that it had labeled as paper fit for recycling. Even the shipping routes used to move
plastic waste around the world are often designed to incorporate multiple stops in different
countries, so that by the time an illegal shipment arrives at its final destination it’s not clear
where it came from. This makes it difficult for regulators in Indonesia, Malaysia and the
Philippines — countries that are making an effort to send back banned plastic scrap — to return
them to their origins. “This is nothing other than the traditional cat-and-mouse dynamic well
known to police and customs officials around the word: As enforcement tightens its grip,
criminals look for new ways and places to carry out their activities,” the report said. “In the case
of illicit waste flows, this is likely to translate into greater proliferation of routes towards places
with weaker enforcement capacity.” Asian countries are still the top destination for illicit plastic
scrap. But the report found that Turkey and some countries in Eastern Europe, such as Poland
and Bulgaria, are also seeing in influx. Romanian law enforcement authorities have
acknowledged that organized crime groups are involved in the trade of banned plastics — but
so are seemingly legitimate businesses. The report cites an industry specialist’s account of
large, politically connected cement companies in Romania that are using shell companies to
import banned plastic waste. Turkey has become “a key node” in the trade of banned plastic
waste from European countries, the report said, because of its permissive regulatory
environment, its financial interest in generating revenue from receiving foreign waste and the
presence of criminal groups. Once the waste reaches its destination, Comolli found that
pollution investigators often don’t have the technical knowledge or resources to trace it back to
its source or peel back the layers of shell companies to reveal who is trying to bring the waste
into their countries. Regulators in some countries have been able to form alliances to share
information, but this is still relatively uncommon. Although America is one of the top producers
of plastic waste, regulators in the U.S. aren’t leading the way in this area. Because the U.S.
didn’t ratify the 2019 agreement on shipping low-quality plastic scrap, American companies are
continuing to send waste to countries like Malaysia and Indonesia — even though it is now
illegal for those countries to accept it.
Specifically, Winters-21 quantifies
Joseph Winters 21, 1-1-2021, "Rich countries are illegally exporting plastic trash to poor
countries, data suggests," InvestigateWest,
https://www.invw.org/2022/04/18/rich-countries-are-illegally-exporting-plastic-trash-to-p oor-
countries-data-suggests/, accessed 1-15-2024 | artea
These requirements — which were put in place to help protect communities and the
environment from the planet’s growing glut of plastic waste — are stringent, and they have
contributed to overall declines in the flow of plastic waste to the developing world since 2020.
But the international plastic waste trade is far from being snuffed out, and BAN says that its
ongoing scale indicates widespread Basel Convention violations. For example, the U.S., which
is one of only eight countries that has not yet ratified the Basel Convention, sent more than 800
million pounds of plastic waste to Mexico, Malaysia, India, Vietnam, and other [countries] Basel
parties last year — activity that likely violates the convention’s plastic
amendments, since they stipulate that party countries cannot trade regulated plastics with non-
parties. According to BAN, the only way this would be legal is if all of the plastic shipped by the
brokers who contract with U.S. waste collectors were “almost free from contamination” and
sorted into single polymers, such as PET, the type of plastic water bottles are made from.
Affirming is the only way to stop these colonialist ways. Winters-23 confirms:
Joseph Winters 23, 3-31-2023, "American cities want to recycle their plastic trash in Mexico.
Critics call it ‘waste colonialism.’," Grist,
https://grist.org/accountability/american-cities-want-to-recycle-their-plastic-trash-in-me xico-
critics-call-it-waste-colonialism/, accessed 1-15-2024 | artea
The city was referring to a forthcoming Direct Pack facility for recycling plastic items called PET
thermoforms — clamshells, berry containers, salad boxes, egg cartons, and similarly shaped
containers made from polyethylene terephthalate, one of the seven main kinds of plastic. Direct
Pack already has a recycling facility in Guadalajara that it says can recycle tens of thousands of
tons of PET thermoforms each year, and it’s been constructing a new one in Mexicali, Mexico,
just across the border from California. The facility is great news for plastic companies based in
the U.S., where industry publications say PET thermoform recycling has remained “a struggle.”
These companies face growing scrutiny over skyrocketing plastic pollution, and they have spent
decades trying to convince the public that recycling is the answer. Direct Pack says on its
website that it can give PET thermoforms new life again and again, turning plastic containers
like those thrown away at the Phoenix Super Bowl into a “valuable infinite resource.” But
environmental advocates in Mexico are less excited about the idea of processing more of what
they see as garbage from abroad. “The U.S. shouldn’t send this waste to Mexico,” said Marisa
Jacott, director of the Mexican nonprofit Fronteras Comunes. “We have less money, less
infrastructure.” Rather than engaging in what she called “waste colonialism,” she urged U.S.
companies to stop producing so much plastic in the first place and to stop promoting recycling
as a cure-all to the plastic waste crisis. Direct Pack’s Mexicali facility is part of a larger plan from
the U.S. plastics industry to improve recycling infrastructure for the 1.6 billion pounds of PET
thermoforms that the U.S. and Canada produce every year. Unlike the PET bottles used for
bottled water, soda, and fruit juice, which are among the easiest plastic products to recycle, PET
thermoforms are accepted by just 11 percent of the U.S.’s material recovery facilities, or MRFs
— the plants where mixed materials from recycling bins like paper, aluminum, and plastic are
sorted into bales for further processing. And even that doesn’t mean that those thermoforms will
ultimately be turned into new products; most recyclers are unwilling to buy and reprocess PET
thermoforms because it costs more to sort, wash, and recycle them than to make new plastics.
The main North American trade group for PET container recyclers lists only one facility in the
U.S. that will accept PET-only bales of plastic for reprocessing. The president of another
industry group, the Association of Plastic Recyclers, said last year that PET thermoforms were a
low-volume commodity that weren’t worth the costs of sorting and storage. Given such a bleak
landscape, Ornela Garelli, an oceans and plastic campaigner for the nonprofit Greenpeace
Mexico, said the promise of thermoform recycling is a “greenwashing strategy” from the plastics
industry — a way to justify the continued production of plastics. She said it’s time to stop making
so many plastic thermoforms in the first place, not hold
out hope that more recycling infrastructure will ever be able to keep up with a growing glut of
plastic waste.
Absent a ban on single-use plastics, Wills-19 confirms
Ella Wills, (2019), "Plastic 'kills one person every 30 seconds' in developing countries", Evening
Standard, https://www.standard.co.uk/news/uk/plastic-pollution-kills-one-person-every-30-
seconds-in-developing-countries-report-finds-a4142131.html. Accessed on 2-6-2024. //AN
One person dies every 30 seconds in developing countries from diseases caused by plastic
pollution and rubbish, a report has found. Researchers found that each year between 400,000
and a million people are dying in developing countries from illnesses and diseases like
diarrhoea, malaria and cancers caused by living near uncollected waste and plastic pollution.
The figures were released on Tuesday in a report by international relief and development
agency Tearfund, alongside the Institute of Development Studies, WasteAid and conservation
charity Fauna & Flora International (FFI). Sir David Attenborough, a vice president at FFI, said:
"This report is one of the first to highlight the impacts of plastic pollution not just on wildlife but
also on the world's poorest people. "Humankind's ability to produce this material on an
industrial scale far outstrips our ability to manage it, and as a consequence plastic is choking
our rivers and seas. “We need leadership from those who are responsible for introducing plastic
to countries where it cannot be adequately managed, and we need international action to
support the communities and governments most acutely affected by this crisis.” Globally one in
four people - two billion - do not have their rubbish collected, according to Tearfund. A
statement on the report said: "When rubbish isn’t collected it often builds up in rivers and
causes flooding, which can lead to diarrhoea and a host of infectious diseases. "Often the only
other way to dispose of waste is to burn it in the streets, with the resulting fumes being
extremely damaging to health as well as - in some countries - being the single largest source of
carbon emissions, contributing to climate change."