CAN we end plastic pollution? Plastics have been polluting land and bodies of water and threaten marine life and human health.
Plastics are ubiquitous components of the world’s consumer culture. They symbolize the throwaway culture that we have developed. We cannot go business as usual as it pollutes our oceans and water, and even the air when burned.
A 2016 report, “The New Plastics Economy: Rethinking the Future of Plastics” by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, showed that the world produced 20 times more plastic in 2014 (311 million tons) than it did in 1964 (15 million tons) and at this rate, oceans are expected to contain more plastic than fish (by weight) by the year 2050.
In February this year, a male sperm whale was found dead off the coast of Spain. It was determined that the whale was killed by gastric shock to its stomach and intestines after ingesting 64 pounds of plastic.
Meanwhile, according to Ocean Conservancy, the Philippines is one of the top sources of plastic trash dumped into the sea with 2.7 million metric tons of plastic waste and half a million metric tons of plastic-waste leakage per year. What must we do?
In the Senate, the proposed Plastic Bags Regulation Act under Senate Bill No. 430 aims to strictly regulate the production, importation, sale and use of plastic bags. This proposed measure discourages the use of plastic bags and encourages the use of native reusable bags made of organic or recycled materials, and reusable containers made of glass or non-toxic and non-hazardous materials.
But we go even further. Environmentalist and senator Loren Legarda proposes the promotion of a “circular economy” in which resources are used for as long as possible and the use of non-renewable resources is minimized, and to ban the use of microplastics.
According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, microplastics are small plastic pieces that can easily pass through water filtration systems and end up in the ocean, posing threat to the aquatic life and human health. Microbeads is a type of microplastic that are added as exfoliants to cleansers, toothpaste, beauty products, and shampoo.
On a personal and practical level, each of us can limit our use of plastics, which is doable. We can strictly implement segregation of waste in our homes and workplaces, and stop using plastic bags and other disposable utensils. We should instead use reusable containers and cloth bags when going to the market and doing grocery.
We should all make conscious efforts to change daily routine and practices to produce a positive impact on our environment. We need to reduce wastage and veer away from a throwaway culture, because the waste that we produce, especially plastics that take hundreds of years to degrade, will affect both our environment and human life.
