LAST MONTH was a season of shopping sprees. Plastic bags became ubiquitous once again. And so we ask, “How’s the Iloilo City government’s implementation of the ordinance banning the use of non-biodegradable plastic bags?”
A 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.
The Philippines, China, Indonesia, Thailand, and Vietnam are considered among the top contributors of plastic trash dumped into the sea. These five countries spew out as much as 60 percent of the plastic waste that enters the world’s seas, according to Ocean Conservancy.
As the problems of pollution, environmental degradation and severe weather shifts escalate, all sectors of society must act with urgency. Citizens should make conscious efforts to change daily routine and practices to produce a positive impact on our environment. Companies must change their economic mindset, wasteful production processes and packaging methods — from the use of seemingly cost-effective plastic bags into investing in long-term reusable and recyclable bags which are more sustainable in the long run.
By outlawing the use of plastic bags and other non-ecologically sound packaging materials, we substantially reduce our waste generation, thereby cutting waste management costs and lessen related environmental risks such as flooding and marine pollution from happening as plastic bags usually end up littering the streets and dumpsites, at the same time, polluting our waterways such as rivers and seas.
Plastic bags have become ever-present components of the world’s consumer culture. These non-biodegradable bags symbolize the throwaway culture that we have developed. But we cannot go business as usual as it clogs our canals and pollutes our oceans and water, and even the air when burned.
