“We never thought we would run out of sand, but it is starting in some places,” said Pascal Peduzzi, climate scientist with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), during a webinar organized by Chatham House.
As Peduzzi says, no one thought there would be a lack of this raw material that we believe is found everywhere in limitless quantities. However, for people working in the glass and other construction sectors, the lack of sand is already a reality that’s having a major impact.
Although the shortage of sand, essential for glass production, was anticipated before the current pandemic hit the planet, it’s nonetheless true that the industries that depend on this raw material have been the most affected by the start of mass vaccination.
Billions of vials and syringes are needed to vaccinate the world’s population, vials and syringes that are made of glass. Which is why the scarcity of sand is a cause for concern.
On the one hand, for governments and pharmaceutical companies, because they can’t supply all the vaccine doses needed within the desired timeframe. And on the other, for the other industries that depend on this raw material and which are seeing a major shortage of supply and significant price rises.
