Consumer discipline is key to solving plastic waste pollution
November 18, 2022
We cannot deny the fact that improperly discarded plastics have become a global concern, polluting our oceans and harming marine life.
However, we also cannot deny the fact that plastic made life more efficient, healthier, and safer. They are not just used as packaging for daily consumer products. They are also used in the health, infrastructure, textiles, transportation, and communications sector, among others. Eliminating them will not be the most sustainable solution, especially when we still lack available alternatives that can provide the same benefits as plastics.
Plastics are not the problem per se. Plastic pollution is caused by consumers’ throw-away behavior and their inability to segregate at the source.
A survey commissioned by the Stratbase ADR Institute to Social Weather Station last October 2021 found that although 65% of Filipinos dispose of their garbage such that it can be collected by garbage collectors, 26% still resort to burning it. Even worse is the dumping of waste into individual pits done by 18% of Filipinos.
An estimated 135,000 tons of plastic waste pollute oceans traced to the inhabitants of informal communities improperly disposing of their waste to waterways (2017 Ocean Conservancy Report),
Through the years, we have seen how waste management has transitioned from being a government-alone responsibility to a shared one. Achieving the realistic goal of a healthier environment requires a holistic approach— one that does not lead to higher costs for both consumers and the environment.
Another survey commissioned by the Stratbase ADR Institute to Pulse Asia Research Inc. in September 2022 found that 86% of Filipino adults agree that the private sector plays a crucial role in accelerating the country’s economic growth. More specifically, 19% of Filipinos believe that private investors can manage natural resources and take care of the environment.
There is a need to address the country’s waste management gaps by promoting circularly modeled and science-based private sector best practices. This circular ecosystem integrates technological innovations to make plastics recyclable, adapt environment friendly manufacturing process, ensure proper waste disposal, then recycles and/or repurposes plastic waste back into the ecosystem. Big industries are now embracing this strategy.
As for us, consumers, we must remember that proper waste disposal is a matter of discipline- individual behavior that only we, as individual stakeholders of this planet, have full control over. We must also do our part to save our world.