Until the mid-1950s, plastics were precious commodities that were used and treated carefully. But in just 65 years, plastic production has increased by 18,300 per cent – fuelling a relentless convenience lifestyle that produces enormous and unnecessary quantities of waste.
Despite a brief dip in carbon dioxide emissions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the world is still heading for a temperature rise in excess of 3°C this century, far beyond the universally recognised Paris Agreement target of 1.5°C.
Recent years have witnessed an alarming increase in the illegal trade of plastic waste, with high-income countries consuming plastic products and packaging at unsustainable rates, exporting their plastic waste to developing countries with little capacity and infrastructure to manage it.
Vietnam’s timber processing industry is one of the largest in the world, with exports of $11.5 billion in 2019. It relies significantly on imported timber, especially to produce furniture for international markets. To date, a large amount of that timber is procured from illegal sources.
An investigation by the Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA) has uncovered European timber traders evading EU laws to place their products from Myanmar onto the market.
An investigation by the Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA) has uncovered European timber traders evading EU laws to place their products from Myanmar onto the market.