Beat Plastic Pollution

Sara Kachwalla (United Arab Emirates)

Honorable Mention

Few materials are as representative of mankind’s destructive impact on the environment as plastic. From invading the bowels of our most endangered species to drifting into the very depths of our cosmos, plastic has permeated both Earth and beyond.

Although first created in 1907, plastic was not widely used until the 1950s and pioneered an irrevocable shift in how we packaged and consumed goods. These synthetic polymers quickly revolutionised mass production, allowing us to transport millions of goods in ways we previously could have only imagined. Coming from the Greek verb plassein which means ‘‘to mould or shape’’, plastic’s novel malleability allowed it to become the epitome of modern material science.

From plastic straws to plastic bags, plastic ushered in an era of consumption reigned by the convenience of disposability. The effect of plastic was beyond transformative; it urged us to re-define our relationship with almost every single aspect of our daily lives. Even our popular culture was infiltrated with Lego and the Barbie doll becoming cultural and fashion phenomena. Perhaps no song lyric better captured the material revolution than Barbie Girl’s catchy lyrics ‘life in plastic, it’s fantastic’ and by the late 1990s, plastic had become an irretractable part of the human experience.

Yet life in plastic soon came under scrutiny with environmental watch groups realising plastic’s inability to decompose threatened the delicate eco systems in our oceans and resulted in mountains of garbage piling up in landfill sites. Our voracious appetite for mass consumption increasingly began to reveal its vicious effects.

But plastic should not be blamed. Although the material is criticised for its damaging environmental impact, we often forget that plastic has also allowed us to make radical inroads in the fields of modern medicine, electronics and transportation. It is not plastic itself but the way we use it that threatens the environment. Ultimately, cutting down on plastic waste in the 21st century means propelling a profound shift away from the rampant, disposable consumerism that has become so central to the average lifestyle.

Our solutions need to reflect this. We focus too much on tackling plastic waste after it has already materialized rather than asking ourselves why we produce so much of it in the first place. Change needs to be holistic, beginning at the institutional level but crucially ending in our households and businesses. Many of these changes can be easily adopted. For instance, using reusable grocery bags, water bottles, cutlery and thermos cups instead of their plastic counterparts could eliminate considerable amounts of plastic waste usually generated every day.

On a macro level, certain policy solutions should be relatively straightforward. For instance, cracking down on single use plastic, micro beads, and limiting the use of plastics that cannot yet be recycled. Some countries have already led the way by banning plastic bags, implementing taxes and investing in innovative waste management initiatives. But the sea does not respect a country’s borders and whilst some governments have made a concerted effort to tackle plastic waste, the global community still has a long way to go.

Perhaps lessons can be learned from the lives led by simpler communities which albeit extreme in their own right, remind us that humans need to re-connect more intimately with mother nature. For example, deep in the Amazonian forests of Colombia, the Kogi tribe understand the Earth as a living being and humanity as its children. In our few interactions with the isolated tribe, the Kogi people have warned that mankind’s exploitative actions are weakening ‘‘The Great Mother’’. We need to re-examine our relationship with Mother Nature by respecting it for its generosity, not pillaging it for its abundance.

Recent initiatives have laid testament to the fact that we have the capability and the creativity to devise inventive solutions to this complex problem. Projects like Plastic Bank and Seabin not only inspire but also emphasize the fact that solutions are out there, we just have to be willing to find them.

The question now remaining is whether like plastic, mankind is capable of moulding its own consumption patterns into a more sustainable future. Can we change our ways or will we allow the material we lauded so greatly for its malleable freedom to shackle us instead?