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2020 ICM Weekend 1

Problem E: Drowning in Plastic

Since the 1950s, the manufacturing of plastics has grown exponentially because of its variety of

uses, such as food packaging, consumer products, medical devices, and construction. While there

are significant benefits, the negative implications associated with increased production of plastics

are concerning. Plastic products do not readily break down, are difficult to dispose of, and only

about 9% of plastics are recycled

[1]

. Effects can be seen by the approximately 4-12 million tons

of plastic waste that enter the oceans each year

[1,2]

. Plastic waste has severe environmental

consequences and it is predicted that if our current trends continue, the oceans will be filled with

more plastic than fish by 2050

[2]

. The effect on marine life has been studied

[3]

, but the effects on

human health are not yet completely understood

[4]

. The rise of single-use and disposable plastic

products results in entire industries dedicated to creating plastic waste. It also suggests that the

amount of time the product is useful is significantly shorter than the time it takes to properly

mitigate the plastic waste. Consequently, to solve the plastic waste problem, we need to slow

down the flow of plastic production and improve how we manage plastic waste.

Your team has been hired by the International Council of Plastic Waste Management (ICM) to

address this escalating environmental crisis. You must develop a plan to significantly reduce, if

not eliminate, single-use and disposable plastic product waste.

 Develop a model to estimate the maximum levels of single-use or disposable plastic

product waste that can safely be mitigated without further environmental damage. You

may need to consider, among many factors, the source of this waste, the extent of the

current waste problem, and the availability of resources to process the waste.

 Discuss to what extent plastic waste can be reduced to reach an environmentally safe

level. This may involve considering factors impacting the levels of plastic waste to

include, but not limited to, sources and uses of single-use or disposable plastics, the

availability of alternatives to plastics, the impact on the lives of citizens, or policies of

cities, regions, countries, and continents to decrease single-use or disposable plastic and

the effectiveness of such policies. These can vary between regions, so considering

regional-specific constraints may make some policies more effective than others.

 Using your model and discussion, set a target for the minimal achievable level of global

waste of single-use or disposable plastic products and discuss the impacts for achieving

such levels. You may consider ways in which human life is altered, the environmental

impacts, or the effects on the multi-trillion-dollar plastic industry.

 While this is a global problem, the causes and effects are not equally distributed across

nations or regions. Discuss the equity issues that arise from the global crisis and your

intended solutions. How do you suggest ICM address these issues?

 Write a two-page memo to the ICM describing a realistic global target minimum

achievable level of global single-use or disposable plastic product waste, a timeline to

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