Plastic is suddenly in vogue
PLASTIC suddenly seems to be in fashion.
Last week – coincidentally just a few days after the Philippines announced it had come to terms with Canada for the return of several dozen containers of smuggled trash sent from the latter more than five years ago – most forms of plastic and mixed plastic waste were added to the Basel Convention, meaning that their trade can be restricted by receiving countries.
The new pact, which was signed by 187 countries, applies the restrictions to every form of plastic and mixed waste except for polypropylene, polyethylene, and polyethylene terephthalate (PET), which are the easiest kinds of plastic to recycle.
The US, the world’s biggest producer and consumer of plastic, is not a signatory to the Basel Convention, which has made it the target of bitter and probably well-deserved criticism. However, it will still be obliged to abide by it as its exports of plastic waste can be refused by destination countries.
The US has been exporting most of its plastic waste to China and Malaysia, but both of those countries have already initiated bans on waste imports. Other countries in South and Southeast Asia are following suit; Thailand and Vietnam have recently begun to crack down on waste imports, Indonesia is reportedly considering it, and the Philippines is being urged to do so by various environmental advocates.
Even though the Basel Convention does not actually confer any new authority to control waste imports for any of its signatories, it is a worthwhile symbolic measure. It stigmatizes excessive reliance on plastics as well as waste exports. From a practical point of view, it will force countries to apply greater effort toward developing better waste management within their own borders.
That, however, will present serious problems for countries like the Philippines for two different reasons. This country has an enormous appetite for plastics, and thanks to geography, is among the top five sources of plastic pollution in the oceans. Solid waste management and recycling services are woefully inadequate, but the extent of the industry as it is creates a large number of informal livelihoods. Reducing plastic use to a degree that has a noticeable impact on the amount of waste the country generates will require lifestyle changes that are probably beyond the grasp of most of the population. And developing environmentally sustainable waste management and recycling infrastructure will eliminate tens of thousands of lower-class jobs.
If the Philippines follows the lead of neighboring countries and bans waste imports, which seems likely, it will prevent repeats of problems like Canada’s wayward trash, or other smuggled shipments of waste that have turned up in other ports across the country, but it will still leave a huge domestic waste management challenge. And it is not necessarily one that the Philippines can solve at its leisure; with global attention focused on the issue of plastic waste, the country’s dubious reputation as a large-scale ocean polluter is going to become more than an embarrassment.
The idea has already been raised by more than one commentator (and by this one more than once), but the current intense interest in reducing the risk of the planet choking to death on plastic waste may provide an opportunity for the Philippines. Developing a large-scale recycling and reprocessing industry is already a necessity for dealing with the amount of waste generated domestically, and it would not be too far a leap beyond that to create an industry that would be a sustainable export destination. Processing recyclable plastics, e-waste, and even low-value refuse suitable only for use in waste-to-energy systems can all be done with current technology without posing grave risks to the environment, and at a profit. With the new restrictions that are being imposed by other countries, a virtually limitless supply of raw materials is assured.
In order for the opportunity to bear fruit, however, the country needs to move past the “not in my backyard” mentality that dictates much of its approach to environmental policy. While that is not always a bad perspective, it stymies development that would produce better results. For instance, the blanket prohibition against waste incinerators is preventing the development of controlled incineration and waste-to-energy options. That might be tolerable, if the ban was not completely mocked by the virtual non-enforcement of the Clean Air Act and the blind eye turned to the open burning of trash. Likewise, resistance to the development and expansion of landfills – which is obviously not a desirable option, but is still better than doing nothing – encourages open dumping.
The Philippines has often presented itself as the victim of the rest of the world’s bad habits, but the new global focus on plastic pollution is at least a partial response to the country’s lament. A more proactive approach than “victimhood” is now called for.
Email:ben.kritz@manilatimes.net
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