Plastic pollution is a big problem in Southeast Asia. According to a 2021 study, six ASEAN members generated a total of 31 million tonnes of plastic waste annually. Much of these plastics enter the environment, causing major environmental problems.
The causes of plastic pollution are simple. There are more of us today and we are getting richer, causing us to consume more. Our waste management infrastructures cannot keep up with our rising consumption, causing large amounts of plastic wastes to leak into the environment. The recent COVID-19 pandemic also exacerbates the problem as people consume more single-used items such as masks, plastic utensils, takeout containers and hand sanitizers.
Plastic pollution results in serious consequences to our lives and livelihoods. Thae Su Aye, the Rural Program Manager for Thant Myanmar and the guest speaker for our second Green Warriors workshop, shared about the threats plastic pollution brings. She detailed how plastic waste endangers the our health. Plastic breaks down and releases toxic chemicals which can cause cancer and impair growth, especially amongst children. Second, plastic threatens our economy. Many tourists visit our countries for our beautiful beaches, contributing to more than a tenth of our economy. Plastic waste destroys and dirties our beaches, deterring tourists and threatening our jobs. Third, plastic pollution also results in climate change. Both their production and decomposition causes climate change to worsen. The impacts of climate change we will face (as discussed in our previous article) will be more common and severe.
Recognising the problems plastic pollution causes, many Southeast Asians (including Recycle Dalat and Thant Myanmar) are doing our best to reduce it. As part of Recycle Dalat’s project, we will be collecting plastic waste and ensuring that they are recycled. We will also help to instill a habit of plastic recycling into Dalat youths, making them sustainable citizens. We will be sharing our tips and tricks to become sustainable citizens in our next article, so do look out for it! Until then~