Name: Monica Q.
Malig
Year/Section/Strand: 11 – Love (ABM)
Project Name: Position Paper
Date Accomplished: April 18, 2021
PLASTIC OR LIFE: IT IS TIME TO CHOOSE
Who does not have engraved in their memory that sea turtle suffering with a plastic straw embedded in its
nose, or that albatross protagonist of the famous documentary "Albatross" by Chris Jordan, feeding his chicks
with plastic objects that they mistake for food, or that whale in whose autopsy they found, nothing more and
nothing less than, 40 kilos of plastic that caused his agonizing death? As an animal lover, this is just one of the
reasons why I am pro to single-use of plastic ban worldwide.
Plastic is one of the worst pollutants and consequently one of the most serious threats to the health of the
planet. In fact, single-use plastic products are polluting most ecosystems. Now, to aggravate the situation, there
are thousands of masks that, unfortunately, are often thrown on the ground as if they were easily disposed of in a
natural way. Plastic pollution is a huge problem, which is growing every day, nationally and globally. In
particular, microplastics are invading our seas, our rivers, and the water we drink. The time has come to take
concrete action to combat the spread of plastic materials that are harmful to the environment. We are convinced
that we have the necessary strength, as consumers, to initiate a change based on sustainability and responsibility.
An issue linked to that of plastic waste reduction is that of plastics considered bio-based, compostable, or
biodegradable. An immediate effect of the ban on the marketing of single-use plastic products such as plates and
glasses is the spread on the market of biodegradable, compostable, and bio-based plastic products, such as
shopping bags, packaging and, glasses, which are promoted as a greener solution. Compared to traditional plastic
products for consumers. But how environmentally friendly are they? However, a briefing from the European
Environment Agency (AEA) says that clearer labeling and better consumer awareness of the correct disposal of
these plastics would be needed. Since the 1950s, 8.3 billion tons of plastic have been produced on our planet.
Every year, at least 8 million tons end up in fragile ecosystems, such as oceans, where, to date, it is estimated that
there are more than 150 million tons of plastic away. In some African countries, the disposal of this material is
extremely difficult, due to the lack of adequate infrastructure and the lack of a waste management culture. In
cities like Douala, the economic capital of Cameroon, 600,000 tons of plastic waste are produced every year that
flow into the waterways that run through the city. The result? Real rivers of plastic with a devastating
environmental impact.
Governments appear to consider plastic bags and products foamed plastic like those single-use plastics
due to their presence that’s easily observable in the environment such as the bags that are carried by the wind,
have attached to fences or trees, or are floating in the rivers. Some of the features that make these commercially
successful, such as their prices, durability, and resistance, are also harmful to the environment (when not are
properly managed) and are difficult to recycle.
The transition from reusable materials to disposable materials, with the health emergency, has been
justified as a matter of hygiene: plastic packaging protects the public health by keeping the contents safe and
sealed and discarding the items, immediately after use, protect consumers from infections. But a team of 119
scientists from 18 different countries has published a paper claiming that reusable containers are safe.
Epidemiologists, virologists, biologists, and doctors have compiled this statement which encourages restaurants
and people to continue using reusable containers as long as public health requirements are met; washing reusable
containers is much safer than relying on disposable ones.
Scientists explained that most people don’t bother cleaning single-use containers assuming they are safe
but the virus can come into contact with any surface, including single-use containers. There are fears that plastic
manufacturers are now using the pandemic to delay the ban. In order not to frustrate the efforts made to date on
the environmental level, it is necessary to have virtuous behaviors, as consumers and as companies. To deal with a
health emergency caused by the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, however, attention must be paid to one of
the most serious environmental emergencies, excessive use of disposable plastic.
Some might ask, “What about using biodegradable plastics?”. Many governments declare conventional
plastic bags illegal, allowing only the use and production of "biodegradable" bags. "Biodegradable" plastic items
often do not degrade automatically in the environment, and in particular, they do not degrade in the ocean. These
require prolonged exposure to high temperatures above 50°C. Such conditions are met within incineration plants,
but rarely in the natural environment.
The cost of failure to take action will be: if we do not improve our consumption patterns and our waste
management practices, by the year 2050, there will be approximately 12 million metric tons of plastic trash in
landfills and in the environment. Although, probably, many of the consequences that the plastic plague will bring
us in the future, are not even glimpsed, the truth is that if it continues like this, the degradation of marine
ecosystems is assumed as unstoppable, with the serious planetary repercussions that that would entail. Among
other things, the oceans feed us, regulate our climate and generate most of the oxygen we breathe, and their
destruction would cause an irreversible impact on all species, of course, including humans. The urgent change that
can save the planet is simple if we all propose it because we know that "Many small people, in small places, doing
small things, can change the world."
