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Turtles, seabirds, seals and whales are well-documented victims of plastic pollution out of control, but when did you last see a video of a person who was suffering from the global plastic crisis?
You would be forgiven if you thought that humans were somehow immune to this tragedy because their stories are so rarely broadcast. Our social media rightly overflows (at least mine) videos of turtles with straws stuck in the nostrils or pictures of dead birds and whales with plastic for single use in their stomachs. This cover is heartbreaking and essential, but it does not tell the whole story of the plastic pollution crisis.
Both in the world and in our own countries, garbage often arrives in communities without the money or support of the government to protect itself. We must be aware that plastic pollution is a major problem. environmental justice problem.
A new research collaboration between Greenpeace East Asia and the Global Alliance for Alternatives to the Incinerator (GAIA) has detailed the flow of "recyclable" plastics around the world and its impact on the population.
Pile of plastic in Malaysia © Greenpeace
1. Plastic waste arrives in countries that are not ready to stop it – or manage it.
In early 2018, China stopped accepting waste from the world, including plastics, paper and textiles. Previously, Chinese recyclers had accepted recycled plastic waste from major global exporters – United States, United Kingdom, Germany and Japan – to meet the country's demand for materials. All this has practically ceased in 2018 and waste has started to flow into Southeast Asia.
First, he headed to Thailand, Malaysia and Vietnam, all of which have restrictions in place to prevent the entry of plastic waste. Once they managed to slow the flow, they were routed to the next victim: Indonesia, in particular.
GAIA investigated the impact of plastic waste flowing into these communities, where it discovered stacked waste ten feet high, poisoned crops and open plastic combustion, which seriously affects people living nearby, because toxic gases are released into the air when the plastic burns.
Froilan Grate, executive director of the Global Anti Incineration Alliance, Philippines, shows a package of Nestlé products scrapped on a shoreline filled with garbage along Manila Bay in Navotas City, Philippines. © Greenpeace
2. When they fail to export plastic waste, they often end up in vulnerable communities.
Not knowing where to export their plastics, many exporters from North America and Europe have seen garbage accumulate at home. The news showed that he was accumulating in less affluent and more at risk communities. There, it becomes a public health problem. The recycling system only works to target vulnerable people – around the world and around your city.
Christine Ponce Garcia, head of general affairs for Nestlé in the Philippines (center) receives a letter of request and a "Philippine People's Bill" outlining the costs of Nestlé's single-use plastic packaging. / Green peace
3. Plastics are produced for private wealth.
Companies like Nestle and Unilever are taking a significant profit from single-use plastic packaging, while selling the myth of recycling as a solution. However, anyone who has seriously thought about the issue can see that recycling will never handle the amount of plastic that surrounds our daily lives.
In addition, remember that plastic is itself made from fossil fuels and that the fossil fuel industry is pushing for this to happen. try to maintain the status quo plastic single-use instead of fixing the problem at the source. It is only by stopping the production of single use plastics that we can remedy this crisis. But these companies are trying to keep you in the dark by saying that recycling can solve the plastic pollution crisis and ensure their profits at the expense of citizens, right now, today.
Learn more about GAIA's field research here and read the Greenpeace East Asia report right here
Kate Lin is a senior activist of Greenpeace East Asia, based in Hong Kong.
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