The Environmental Nightmare

By: Mohammed Ahmed Al-Feelabi
(Environmental Affairs Specialist)

When China announced on May 18, 2025, anti-dumping duties of up to 74%, we, like many optimists, thought that the world’s conscience was beginning to awaken to combat plastic dumping and restore the environment. However, it was nothing more than commercial maneuvers and counterattacks against copolymer imports from the United States, amid escalating trade and political tensions.
They are talking about the impact of trade relations, protecting local industry, and economic impacts, but they are not even talking about the environmental impacts and protecting the air, water, and human bodies from the waste of this industry.

China leads the world in plastic production, producing more than 222 million tons annually. The United States is second with over 92 million tons, while the Middle East, North Africa, and Turkey together produce 83 million tons.
The industry, which began in the 1950s and has rapidly flourished, gaining a positive reputation, particularly in the field of single-use medical products, is gradually revealing to the world that it is spreading unchecked and its negative effects are unchecked, to the point of plastic particles being found in breast milk, the air we breathe, the water we drink, and most types of food.
This has become a nightmare for the world, with indicators indicating a steady increase in production that could triple by 2050.
Because every product produces its own waste, environmentalists everywhere are alarmed by the massive accumulation of plastic waste, coupled with the lack of safe disposal strategies.
Oceans, seas, rivers, and other waterways have become dumping grounds for plastic waste.
Two years ago, the Break Free From Plastic Movement released the results of a global brand audit, which revealed that Coca-Cola was named the world’s largest plastic polluter for the sixth time. PepsiCo came in second, followed by Swiss company Nestlé. Beverage and fast-moving consumer goods companies have dominated the list for years.

India tops the list of countries responsible for the largest plastic pollution in the oceans, followed by China, Indonesia, Brazil, Thailand, Mexico, and Egypt.
Egypt is ranked seventh, ahead of the United States, Japan, and the United Kingdom.
Can the treaties that have been formulated help rid the world of this nightmare looming over our environment, by regulating production and ensuring safe disposal? How can positive awareness-raising help, given the achievements of reuse and refilling in many countries around the world