Plastic has become the workhorse of the modern economy and is found in all aspects of modern life, but while providing significant benefits, the current use has many drawbacks, the International Labor Organization director general Guy Ryder said Monday.
He said in a statement, released before World Environmental Day: "More than 32 percent of plastic packaging escapes collection systems. Most of it ends up in landfills, dumps or simply in the environment -- in cities, in the oceans or farmlands."
The ILO head said that the challenge is to transform the "make-use-dispose" plastics' economy into a circular economy, based on recycling.
"We also need to reduce our consumption of single-use or disposable plastic," he said.
This will not only reduce the environmental damage that plastic pollution is causing but will also open new opportunities for decent work.
The ILO's World Employment and Social Outlook: Greening with Jobs 2018 report suggests that a sustained 5 percent annual increase in recycling rates for plastics, glass, wood pulp, metals, and minerals can generate around 6 million additional jobs across the world.
The waste management and recycling sector already employs over 500,000 people in Brazil and about the same number of workers in Bangladesh with the majority women, said the ILO.
However, the ILO said the "sad reality" is that the handling of plastic waste, as well as e-waste and other fast-growing solid waste streams, remains largely part of the informal economy in many countries.
"Workers face serious decent work deficits, such as work-related hazards, discrimination, stigmatization, violence and harassment, low earnings and long working hours," said Ryder.
They often are not legally registered and are not protected by labor laws, with no access to social protection benefits.
