The daily average of single-use plastic waste in Bangkok increased from 2,115 tonnes to over 3,400 tonnes in April 2020. In Southeast Asian countries such as the Philippines and Vietnam, the recycling of waste was halted by more than 80 percent due to the lockdown. Even before the waste accumulated during the pandemic, only nine percent of all plastic packaging material was disposed of and about 12 percent was incinerated. The remaining 79 percent of the waste gets deposited in the dumping sites and in the natural environment.
Plastic waste destroying marine life
Much of this waste, especially plastic, goes into the ocean. According to a 2018 study by UN Environment, about 13 million tonnes of plastic waste accumulates in our oceans a year. Plastic pollution in the ocean is a major problem in many countries, at an estimated cost of $2,500 billion per year. About 267 species of marine animals have been adversely affected by ingestion or other causes of plastic waste, including turtles, whales, fish and seabirds. However, this number will be higher as only smaller species are studied.
The weight of the waste will be more than the fish
Humans are also ingesting plastic while eating these animals, which is the cause of health risks such as cancer and infertility. This waste is engulfing a vast area of the ocean and plastic is coming to the shores. About 80 percent of the waste is land-based and may have reached the ocean through rivers and other waterways. If current trends continue as calculated, by 2050, plastic will weigh more than fish in the oceans. The Mekong River runs through three of the six most plastic-polluting countries – China, Thailand and Vietnam – and several Southeast Asian countries have become the world’s dumping grounds for plastic waste.
fish dying by eating plastic
As the ‘Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives’ underlined in 2019, waste continues to lead to contaminated water, poor harvests and respiratory diseases in Southeast Asia. Fish are eating plastic. Several kilograms of plastic are found in the stomachs of dead whales in Thailand and Indonesia. The regional administration is not working towards marine plastic pollution. There is no plastic prevention treaty with internationally binding targets and timelines. The fossil fuel and plastics industries have managed to overcome policies that restrict plastic consumption through plastic bags, etc. Instead, these well-funded industries have invested in marketing strategies aimed at persuading consumers to take responsibility for their own waste.
The challenges of tackling marine plastic pollution are enormous
Collective action of governing bodies in Southeast Asia has been limited. In January 2019, ASEAN countries agreed to tackle marine debris and plastic pollution in the region with the Bangkok Declaration. Yet ASEAN itself recognizes that the challenges of tackling marine plastic pollution are enormous and difficult to overcome, especially when it has its own geopolitical culture of not interfering in the domestic affairs of individual countries and focusing on cross-border environmental issues. Emphasizes a non-confrontational approach to giving.
Waste of rich countries accumulating in Southeast Asia
Asia accounts for 75 percent of globally exported waste, often from wealthy countries that do not have domestic processing capacity. For example, the UK exports about 70 per cent of its plastics. Since July 2017, when China began banning the import of plastic waste, Southeast Asia has become a waste-collecting destination for rich countries. China’s ban has more than doubled the amount of imported plastic waste in countries such as the Philippines, Malaysia and Indonesia. The waste management of many of these countries is not up to global standards. In many places household waste is not segregated. Many Southeast Asian countries are unprepared to deal with the growing burden of plastic waste.
(Danny Marks, Dublin City University)