Beijing: Plastic waste leakage to the environment in Southeast Asian countries, plus China, Japan, and South Korea, could increase by nearly 70% if effective measures are not taken, warned a report by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).

According to Anadolu Agency, the Regional Plastics Outlook report indicated that rising incomes and living standards are driving increased plastic usage in the region, which is projected to almost double without more ambitious policies. The member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) are expected to see near tripling in plastic usage.

Plastic waste is projected to more than double, with plastic leakage to the environment anticipated to increase by 68%, primarily originating from ASEAN lower-middle-income countries and China. The region is described as a "hotspot for plastic pollution," with 8.4 million tons of mismanaged plastic waste leaking into the environment in 2022.

The report highlighted that regional plastic waste rose from 10 million tons in 1990 to 113 million tons in 2022. Informal and unsafe practices such as open burning and dumping are persistent in most ASEAN countries and China, especially in rural areas.

Plastic waste is a significant environmental issue, polluting rivers and oceans and posing health risks to wildlife and humans, as microplastics also enter the body. The report projects that annual leakage into the environment in the region could reach 14.1 million tons by 2050, with 5.1 million tons potentially reaching rivers, coastal areas, and oceans.

The countries in the region show wide disparities in waste management capabilities, with plastic use in 13 countries surging almost ninefold from 17 million tons in 1990 to 152 million tons in 2022. As over half of the plastic used in the region has a lifespan of less than five years, much of it quickly becomes waste.

Plastic use in the region may drop by 28% through ambitious actions, including bans on single-use plastics and taxes, which could also raise the recycling rate to 54% and reduce mismanaged waste by 97%, the report noted.

In a related development, talks for an international legally binding treaty on plastics pollution resumed on Tuesday in Geneva, following previous talks last year in South Korea that collapsed due to disagreements over measures on plastic output curbs and plastic waste management.