Asia should implement a tax on non-recyclable plastic waste to manage its staggering ocean plastic leakage problem, said a recycling expert at one of the world’s largest waste management companies. Antoine Grange, Asia chief executive of recycling and recovery at Paris-headquartered Suez, said that the continent could follow the European Union (EU) in implementing some form of penalty to ensure that more plastic is recycled. Currently, only 9 per cent of plastic is recycled globally while the rest is landfilled, incinerated or leaks into the environment. In July, the EU agreed on a tax on plastic packaging waste as part of the regional bloc’s coronavirus recovery package that was slated to be introduced on 1 January 2021. Packaging producers are to fork out €0.80 for each kilogramme. A tax would make recycled materials more competitive with virgin plastic, which is now cheaper than ever to produce. Revenue from the tax could be used to aid pollution mitigation and clean-up efforts, and provide subsidies to prop up the struggling recycling industry.

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