Africa: Why Sustainable Alternatives to Plastic Are Struggling to Compete

Plastic pollution is choking the ocean, but sustainable alternatives - including seaweed - remain held back by tariffs, fragmented regulations and the overwhelming market advantage enjoyed by fossil fuel-based plastics.

Only 10 per cent of all plastics produced are recycled, so most plastics will end up littering streets, entering waterways and reaching the ocean. Each year, some 52 million tonnes of plastic waste enter the ocean, where it stays and affects more than 4,000 marine species.

A blue whale, the world's largest mammal, can consume up to 10 million microplastic pieces daily, equivalent to about 43 kilograms.

To tackle plastic pollution, material innovation, increasing alternatives to single-use plastic and reducing production are essential, according to the latest World Ocean Assessment, which was released on Monday.

UN World Oceans Day/Joerg Blessing Manta rays in Bali, Indonesia navigate through plastic pollution. For the past six years, the international community has been working toward a global plastics treaty that could cap plastic production and help "turn the tap off" on an industry valued at more than $1.1 trillion in 2023.

Negotiations are ongoing, with the next round of talks scheduled for 13 to 24 March 2027.

In the meantime, sustainable alternatives to plastics could help to reduce our global dependence, curbing the pernicious effects of plastic pollution on our oceans. However, alternatives must still overcome several major obstacles.

One key challenge preventing sustainable alternatives from competing with conventional plastics is whether they can compete on cost in current markets.

Although the global trade in plastic substitutes reached $485 billion in 2023, growing the sector requires action to address tariff and non-tariff measures, limited market access and weak regulatory incentives.

"The key barrier is an uneven national and trade policy field," the UN Trade and Development agency (UNCTAD) said.

Differences in tariffs are stark. Tariffs on plastic and rubber products have fallen over the past 30 years, from 34 per cent to 7.2 per cent.

Meanwhile, alternatives such as paper, bamboo, natural fibres and seaweed face average tariffs double the rate at 14.4 per cent, "making viable environmentally preferable alternatives less competitive," UNCTAD said.

"Plastics have benefited from decades of market maturation, scale, infrastructure and favourable trade conditions," UNCTAD said.

Amid this favourable climate for plastics, production continues to increase.

UNCTAD Global exports of plastics or goods made from plastic