Why Recycling Plastic Matters?

Plastic pollution is no longer just a distant problem - it is everywhere. Each year, an estimated 11 million tonnes of plastic flow into the oceans alone, on top of the billions of tonnes already produced and discarded since the 1950s. Rivers carry waste across continents, while landfills overflow with packaging that was used for only a few minutes but will persist for centuries. Wildlife ingests plastic bags, fishing gear, and microplastics, while recent studies have detected microplastic particles in human blood and lungs.

This is not only an environmental crisis but also a human health risk. Plastic can leach toxic chemicals, disrupt ecosystems, and contribute to biodiversity loss. Left unmanaged, production and waste are projected to triple by 2060, making urgent action unavoidable.

Part of the problem lies in how virgin plastic is produced. It is a by-product of oil and gas extraction. Logically, as the world shifts away from fossil fuels, we might expect production to decline. Instead, producers increasingly see plastics as a “Plan B” - a profitable outlet for fossil resources when demand for oil decreases. This makes the failure of the UN negotiations in August 2025, which ended without a global plastics treaty, particularly concerning: the world still lacks a binding mechanism to curb production and pollution. That makes local and regional action more important than ever.

Recycling is not a silver bullet, but it is one of the most practical tools we have. By turning waste back into raw materials, recycling reduces the demand for virgin plastics, cuts greenhouse gas emissions, and helps keep harmful waste out of landfills, rivers, and oceans. It supports local economies too: collection, sorting, and processing create jobs and feed materials back into industry, making supply chains more resilient and less dependent on volatile oil markets.

Policy is moving quickly in this direction. Under the EU Green Deal and Circular Economy Action Plan, new rules set ambitious targets for reducing plastic waste and increasing recycled content in products. Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) schemes shift the financial responsibility onto companies, encouraging better design and greater use of recycled plastics.

But recycling also depends on individual choices. How we separate waste, reduce unnecessary plastic use, and support circular systems matters. Everyone - from policymakers and companies to households and consumers - has a role to play.

At RMP, we believe recycling plastic is not just about managing waste, but about building resilience, protecting health and nature, and ensuring the Baltic region contributes to the global shift toward sustainability.