Banning plastic and save the planet has been at the top priority in the last couple of months. We see that the uses of plastic alternatives have started to increase. Do you think we should help people from every parts of the world to benefit from what we are doing. The answer would be yes, similarly knowing what others are doing to save the planet and intern speed up the process of reducing the carbon foot print as well as saving our water ways from these pollutants.
Lets see the current situation of plastic waste emergency
The following video is chosen especially due to the impact it has created on the internet. The emergency to stop plastic waste is not just a hoax, it is real. Take a look at this video and you can imagine if this happens in your neighborhood then what would you do?
What we have plastics fitted with
- Electronics – Computers, laptops, Tablets, Calculators.
- Housing & construction tools
- Sports goods
- Agricultural goods
- Rain accessories ( rain coats, wellies umbrella etc)
- Packaging
- Furniture
- Transport industry vehicles
- Just as the demand on one side goes down the demand on the other side starts to climb equally
Circulation interrupt could result in the following shift in the economy
Plastic products uses would go down massively. This will result in having only specific types of plastics in use that are for durability purposes. It would affect the plastic industry hugely. If the plastic company owners that are into producing single use plastics could be highly impacted. Even overall plastic industry could get a big hit. Owners would not be able sustain this change if they are not prepared early. Making a shift into other category would be their choice.
Asian Plastics production is the highest following by Europe being the second largest. The Shift in the behavior due to interruption of plastic waste imports by China, India, Indonesia and other countries have started already.
Dependency shifts to another area
The need to high production of alternative product manufacturing raw material would increase. It means more metal, high demand for wooden products. Increased production of glass items and less plastic products mostly recyclable only. Millions of people that are employed in the plastic industry would have to look for alternative employment in other sectors. Other materials market demand increases and would create more jobs for people.
People that are unemployed will have to look for alternative industries to work. Due to not enough skill in other industries these job force will have to accept low wages. This will lead to pressure on the families that they look after.
Bin Bags we use could be a big problem as we would not be able to transport the rubbish safely
Good news is that it would mean the entire rubbish could be simply dumped in one big container. Either biodegradable artificial plastic bags or Bags like the ones we use for a kitchen Kaddy could be used. The drawback is that these are not very strong enough to hold the entire household rubbish. The impeccable quality of a plastic is that is more lighter, stronger and flexible at the same time.
Growing of more trees will be one of the best choice
This means more business for the plant nurseries and tree sellers. We will massively need to grow more trees in this scenario. More emphasis on wood, paper and not on plastic. Either we grow more trees or keep using recycled paper. Same thing with the wooden products. They can be turned into other items rather than one use only.
The air and water pollution would go down massively as well if it all takes effect. Prices for Aluminum, steel as well as other metals could rise due to the increasing demand.
Dependency on water would soar up and consumption increases
As it is production & recycling of plastic requires water. If this chain is broken then a slight increase in the demand can increase the consumption of water in other sectors. Growing of more plants and trees will require more water as well. Not that they need to wait for someone to come and water them all the time but small plants and trees would need care. Glass and paper industry will need to use more water as the demand for the products will increase.
Massive attention on water conservation will need to be implemented. As it is many pilots projects are underway in the middle eastern and Sahara Desert regions. It could mean going in totally full scale.
This means water suppliers could increase their bills. In other words the water bills over all could go even higher. So in order to level up the cost if prices are increased for the public in general could mean the expenses are shared. Rather than only one sector being affected public overall will have to empty their pockets to a certain extent.
Business owners that purchased a huge stock made of plastic products could lose
E-commerce business will get a small hit in the plastic products too. The small business online sellers that purchased huge inventory of plastic products will have to either discard them or give it for free. This could be the issue because buyers will have options to purchase more environmental friendly products than plastic ones. One option would be if governments help small businesses with recycling their existing plastic by buying them at a cheaper rate or provide them with an alternative. This could curb the losses to a great extent and could give some relief to business owners.
Rapid growth of inventions could be the key to handle plastic waste efficiently
We saw many new and different ways how plastic waste is transformed to something useful in our earlier posts. Places such as Kenya, India, Pakistan, United Kingdom, Netherlands and in fact majority of the countries have people came up with new ways to use waste plastics.
The amount of inventor and recycled plastic designers we came across are not enough. We will be needing more of these, especially if additional skills are taught in the schools to help new influx of designers. This will help in how to use the existing plastic waste to control the waste and not harm the environment.
These machines are designed to clean the ocean from trash
This is a great idea! We need this everywhere.#pollution #endplasticpollution #ocean pic.twitter.com/znweEbZJS0
— Rebecca Herbert (@Environment2022) April 23, 2019
Reverse engineer the plastic waste to transform it into fuel
Either countries will need to look for ways to tackle the plastic waste by decomposing it with the help of bacteria that eat plastic. Another option is plastic waste transforming in to fuel which can be consumed by the vehicles. This means only the last couple of vehicles that drive on fuel and then absolute shut down of the single use plastics. Also that even the recyclable plastic production goes down.
If the attention is placed on the sustainable energy then fossil fuel dependency is going low. It means machines that require petrol or diesel could be highly affected until as they can no longer sustain high price.
This could create business opportunities for many. The question where doing this will create more pollution is up for a debate.
Banning and closing illegal imported plastic recycling facilities.
Who is to blame for the huge amounts of plastic ?
Should we blame or continue and do something to save a climate change catastrophe. Blaming the culprits is not going to help but doing something to stop and eliminate the process that pumps out single use plastics & other pollutants is going to help.
Many parts of the world where we see that the river waters are polluted and the water ways are full of plastic waste is largely due to the ignorance & careless attitude. Educating businesses and showing them how cheap & efficient it could be to stop polluting the rivers and oceans can help & go a long way.
Main outcry by the businesses is that government needs to do something about the existing situation. What can be done if the people are not going to do something about it themselves.
Opinion Area:
It’s not about which country has the highest amount of plastic waste.
It should be which country tries to dodge its plastic waste and dump it somewhere else. Because here the scene is different. The countries that getting plastic waste through the ships full of waste plastic many time is not just because this country actually generates so much rubbish but it is actually that these countries have been trying to transform the sender country’s plastic waste and make them reusable. In this process they get loads of single use plastic which can not be used and they end up in the dump yards or landfill.
The dirty truth is that thousands of tonnes of plastic recycling from British households ends up stockpiled as far away as Hong Kong. But why is our waste being dumped across the planet? #PassOnPlastic
Watch the full documentary here: https://t.co/9uwuKyVpgT pic.twitter.com/ibpHmVdyQo
— Sky Ocean Rescue (@SkyOceanRescue) 19 May 2019
Correct knowledge to people is more important then what seems obvious by the video presenters shows only waste and not know where this waste has come from. By taking the steps to stop importing the plastic waste in Asia has been a big help to their people as it will give them a chance to show and help their people.
We know that air pollution level in China India & other Asian countries is so ginormous that it has started to affect the children more than adults. In fact over the years we have seen that smaller countries are more creative in handling plastic waste.
Countries that took the initiatives on plastic waste
Present status on actions taken by countries
- Kenya known for its entirely recycled plastic waste boat.
- India Banning plastic bags with a fine
- Malaysia banning and closing illegal imported plastic recycling facilities
- China bans plastic waste imports
- Extinction rebellion UK
What will happen to the boating & shipping industry that uses a loads of plastic too?
Where do the plastics come into picture and can it be replaced?
The is one question that requires an answer which is item specific. That is smaller bass boats, fishing boats and trawlers have a different amount of plastics as compared to the Yachts, container ships as well as a huge vessel. Plastics used by the fishing vessels as floats etc are also going to be in the picture.
The What is the solution either- Either designers come Eco friendly fishing gear is the best choice. There will be more of manufacturing in Eco friendly fishing gear. Items such as bio degradable fishing nets would save the day. There also could be a concern about the expense and the durability of these products.
The Lunch and snack boxes that we give to our kids
Replacing the plastic snack boxes to a metal or a wooden would be a great idea. Just as it used to happen in the good old days, Not so old though. Even the school bags that kids carry to the school and back home. These bags can be made of cloth as well there are already such products in the market that help a lot. Only countries with heavy moisture and cold, in these places thick cloth bags could not be suitable due to the water. However, summer is a good opportunity in these places.
What will happen to the clinics & hospitals that use enormous amounts of plastic?
This is a matter of huge debate that we have to find out another better way. The way which keeps our medical tools & instruments hygienic and secure. The answer lies in the way the artificial plastic that would be generated. The durability of it and the hygiene aspect of it. Since, some packaging are made of crustacean shells, the question arises if they are going to be as good as plastic or easily tampered.
Even if we use a recyclable plastic do you think it can save us from chemicals that can penetrate our food when heated. The answer would be no. May be if someone has tested it with a new way of eliminating the chemicals completely then we are are waiting for it.
Which items are most obvious to still continue using plastic?
It could be in a different form but still continue to use it. They are possibly
Life safety – accessories
Hospital medical equipment
In vehicles – Boats, ships, airplanes,cars and other two wheeler, although there’s always a room for change.
Items such as tyres and synthetic clothing also would be one of the reasons that are contributing to this
Which materials are going to be more in use as this movement progresses
- Wooden
- Glass
- Metal
- Cloth
- Plant fibers
- Environmental friendly plastics made from animal or plants
- Bio degradable items (natural fibers )
As a result of the shift in one part of the items there will be a high demand in another type of usage items.
What you can do with the existing items that has already been purchased?
There are plenty of options out there, take some inspirations. From Melting plastic through a proper procedure to making interesting items out of it. We mentioned this in our earlier post on 21 best ways the ocean plastic waste is used. If you are a business owner like us and if you have already purchased a high amount of plastic raw material let us know. Let us know if something has worked for you. There is a huge opportunities for the manufacturers and product designers here, as the people are shifting their outlook.
Pros and cons of taking this action on stopping plastic
There are many cons of stopping the plastic. In other words negative points too. The biggest is that it will take us back many years as a lot of technology and fixes would need to be figured out. Most importantly the computers we use and the wires that are used to get us the internet connection and even electricity.
The fact that i mentioned earlier that we need to have more intentions happening in this field would make the process smoother. If also this point is emphasized in the Universities, colleges and other educational institutions. This is just like before we stepped on the moon, no one knew if we could ever travel to the moon on a space ship and land on the moon this way. Same is the case with plastic stopping worries as to what we will do without it.
