Position papers CASI Maha MUN - United Nations General

Country - Republic of Estonia Assembly

th
Committee - United Nations General Assembly 28 February 2020

Topic – Implementing education systems in recycling and reuse

across the globe
While there is no silver-bullet solution to the toxic tide of plastic surging into our oceans
and lands, recycling must form part of the answer. The problem, many experts say, is that
current processes are not fit for purpose.1
The world produces around 300 million tonnes of plastic waste each year. To date, only
9 per cent of the plastic waste ever generated has been recycled, and only 14 per cent is
collected for recycling now.
The reasons are complex. Not all plastic can be recycled and a lack of public awareness
means plastic collections are often contaminated. This can increase the cost of recycling.
While not on the front line of climate solutions, recycling of waste materials,
wastewater, and wasted energy is a locally available and highly desirable means of reducing
greenhouse gases. One potent greenhouse gas, the methane emitted from landfills and
wastewater, accounts for about 90 per cent of greenhouse gas emissions from the entire waste
sector. That amount is 18 per cent of human-caused methane emissions globally and about
three per cent of total greenhouse gases, according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate
Change.2
We need to change how things are produced in the first place. We take resources from
the ground to make products, which we use, and, when we no longer want them, throw them
away. Take-make-waste.
We must transform all the elements of the take-make-waste system: how we manage
resources, how we make and use products, and what we do with the materials afterwards. Only
then can we create a thriving economy that can benefit everyone within the limits of our planet.
We need to: - Design out waste and pollution, keep products and materials in use,
regenerate natural systems, i.e. we need to move to circular economy.3
Estonia has been paying increased attention to circular economy and ecological
innovation since the start of its presidency of the Council of the European Union during which
circular economy was one of the central environmental topics. The matter was a key discussion
point at the fourth session of the UN Environment Assembly in Nairobi presided by Estonia
from 11th March 2019 to 15th March 2019.
In Estonia, many start-ups are contributing to the revolution in the circular economy of
the textile industry. Ann Runnel, Mission Board for Climate Change and Social
Transformation, took the case of retail garment manufacturers in Bangladesh. With her

1
(UN Environment Programme 2019)
2
(Chertow n.d.)
3
(What is the Circular Economy n.d.)

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Position papers CASI Maha MUN - United Nations General
Country - Republic of Estonia Assembly
th
Committee - United Nations General Assembly 28 February 2020

company, Reverse Resources, she is cooperating with a network of recyclers with a capacity
of over 5000 tonnes per month, they are ready to source their waste transparently through the
new platform. Brands like H&M and Levi’s are among some of the largest parties who are
keenly looking forward to the results of the current pilot projects.4
According to Runnel, the real challenge lies in making the production cycle more
transparent. The recycling processes need to be reversed precisely where waste is created. So
far, all the leftover fabric gets collected into big heaps of fabric and is sorted later; Reverse
Resources will help sort the waste instantly.
There are a handful of companies trying to work out innovative solutions to recycle
existing materials but all of these technologies are either still in lab or experimental phases. ‘In
3-5 years we’ll definitely see this in mass production,’ Runnel predicts.
Another company, Gelatex Technologies is developing an environmentally friendly
alternative to animal skin with imitation leather made from gelatine, a natural collagen taken
from animal body parts like bones and joints that usually go to waste. According to Mari-Ann
Meigo Fonseca, one of Gelatex founders, their technology enables the creation of material that
is chemically identical to real leather, and gives higher value to waste and can make up to 5
times more material from the same animal, she claims.
In other words, Gelatex wants to solve the problem of burning more than 5 million tons
of animal waste by literally sucking the marrow out of the bones and creating a non-woven
textile out of the gelatine mesh that can be produced without using any poisonous chemicals.
Estonia believes that by encouraging start-ups and businesses to solve environmental
problems and encouraging circular economy is the way forward. Education and learning in this
field is ever-changing and constant and politics will follow once the processes are finalised.
Estonia urges the Committee members to highlight the circular economy examples of
their respective and to Chair persons to UNITAR and UNDP to focus on start-ups, SMEs,
informal sector and increase education and awareness for the same.

4
(Ede Schank Tamkivi 2019)

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Position papers CASI Maha MUN - United Nations General
Country - Republic of Estonia Assembly
th
Committee - United Nations General Assembly 28 February 2020

References
UN Environment Programme. 2019. “Plastic recycling: an underperforming sector ripe for a
remake.” UN Environment Programme. 2 Jaunary . Accessed February 27, 2020.
https://www.unenvironment.org/news-and-stories/story/plastic-recycling-
underperforming-sector-ripe-remake.
Chertow, Marian. n.d. “The Ecology of Recycling.” United Nations.org - UN Chronicle.
Accessed February 27, 2020. https://www.un.org/en/chronicle/article/ecology-
recycling.
n.d. “What is the Circular Economy.” The Ellen MacArthur Foundation. Accessed February
2020, 2020. https://www.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org/circular-economy/what-is-the-
circular-economy.
Ede Schank Tamkivi. 2019. “How Estonian startups are contributing to the revolution in the
circular economy of the textile industry.” Invest in Estonia. October. Accessed
Feburary 27, 2020. https://investinestonia.com/circular-economy-of-the-textile-
industry/.

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