It’s time to wake up. On Global Climate Day of Action, VICE Media Group is solely telling stories about our current climate crisis. Click here to meet young climate leaders from around the globe and learn how you can take action.In 2020, single-use plastic has become a double-edged sword. Face masks, PPE suits, and gloves are essential to protect healthcare workers on the frontlines, but the increase in disposable materials is disrupting already overwhelmed waste management systems. The problem doesn’t just come from hospitals, but homes too. People continue to avoid public spaces, turning to online shopping and food deliveries that arrive in plastic containers. These unsustainable practices have long been seen as problematic, with the largest amount of plastic waste coming from the packaging industry. But it is only getting worse.
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In July, a public opinion research conducted by YouGov and sponsored by international conservation non-profit Oceana found that Amazon users in the United States have been shopping online more since the beginning of the pandemic. This, even though over 40 percent of the 1,286 respondents acknowledged that they were “bothered” by the extra plastic packaging they were receiving.In the Asia-Pacific region, 58 percent of consumers increased their online shopping frequency during the pandemic, according to a survey by software company Adobe. Another by U.S.-based management consulting firm McKinsey & Co found that Asian countries showed a 16 to 70 percent increase in online spending on food.Global watchdogs such as the World Economic Forum (WEF) flagged this surge of dependency on plastic, both in the medical industry and shopping, in May. The increase in single-use plastic is bound to trigger “new public health crises,” said the WEF report, especially in developing nations, where mismanaged waste either collect in town centers or leak into rivers and oceans. This is especially worrying, given that the world was already disposing of 29 million metric tons of plastics into the oceans every year, even before the coronavirus outbreak.The average online shopping package looks like this:
The average food delivery package looks like this:
More often than not, these packages contain single-use materials like bubble wrap, foam meal trays, or disposable cutlery. When not disposed of properly, these eventually devolve into microplastics that end up in the oceans, the soil, sea animals, and eventually, our bodies.
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Recent studies have shown that an average human adult eats and breathes at least 50,000 particles of microplastic a year. In fact, they’re accumulating inside human bodies at an alarming level.Some studies found that Asia produces over 50 percent of the world’s plastic, while Southeast Asian countries are known to be major contributors to land-based plastic leaking into oceans. These are brought on by various factors like poor waste sorting mechanisms and disposal systems, along with population growth and increasing demand for consumer goods that come with plastic packaging. But it’s far from a regional problem. Many of the plastic packaging used in Asia come from multinational companies based in western countries. Environmental organizations have also pointed out how Asian countries have become a “dumping ground” for waste from rich western countries.Countries in Asia have responded to the problem in various ways, some more effective than others.Around 27.8 million metric tons of solid waste is generated in Thailand — a country of approximately 69 million people — every year. Of that, plastic waste accounts for 12-13 percent.Waste management experts have warned that Thailand is becoming “the garbage bin of the world” because of the huge amounts of plastic waste they imported from countries like Japan, Hong Kong, and the U.S. Today, it is counted among the top five countries for throwing plastic waste into the oceans.
Thailand
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In 2017, the country pledged to reduce its plastic waste by 2030. Early this year, they even banned single-use plastic bags in major stores, and are contemplating banning plastic waste imports entirely by 2021. However, since the pandemic started, the government admitted that the fight against plastic waste has “gone back to square one” because of increased food orders. Delivery services such as Line Man and Grab reported 300 to 400 percent growth in order numbers during the beginning of lockdown.To tackle plastic, the Thai government vociferously favour waste-to-energy plants, but some experts believe this would only encourage plastic use and more imports of waste. There is a plastic bag ban, too, along with an unusual decision to censor plastic bags on television.
Singapore
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