Standards play an important role in tackling plastic pollution by setting guidelines and requirements that help reduce the generation of plastic waste,promote recycling,and ensure environmentally sound management of plastic products throughout their life cycle.Here are several ways standards contribute to mitigating plastic pollution:-

1.Waste Management Standards:-

a)Treatment and Disposal: ISO 14001 on environmental management systems includes guidelines for waste treatment processesses,ensuring that plastic waste is managed in an environmentally responsible manner.

b)Collection and Sorting:- Standards outline the requirements for packaging to be compatible with existing collection and sorting systems,promoting more effective recycling.

2.Marine environment standards:-

a)Microplastics: There are emerging standards focused on measuring and mitigating the release of microplastics from products,such as ISO /TR 21960 which deals with the environmental aspects of microplastics.

b)Marine Degradability:-Standards provide methods for assessing the degradability of plastics in marine environments,helping to ensure that materials do not persist in the ocean.

3.Product -Specific Standards:-

a)Packaging: Standards specify requirements for packaging recoverable through composting and biodegradation ,ensuring that packaging contributes less to plastic pollution.

b)Consumer Goods:Standards for specific consumer products such as electromotive parts,electronics and other consumer products to reduce plastic use and enhance recyclability.

By implementing these standards ,industries and governments can systematically reduce plastic pollution and its environmental footprint.