Does separating garbage in the USA and Europe help oceans near Asian countries?by Khushi Chindaliya | 29-12-2020 19:51 |
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 Does separating garbage in the USA and Europe help oceans near Asian countries? On a scorching afternoon, an American or a European can be seen walking on the busy roads or enjoying at the beach. They may feel thirsty. So, they stop at local stores to buy a disposable plastic water bottle. They use the bottle to drink the water and then toss it away. The time taken to drink the water is just a small moment in the long history of this bottle – till it gets decomposed in the environment after it is thrown away. This discarded bottle is likely to find its way to a waterway and ultimately enter the ocean where it may take up to 450 years to decompose, through the process of photodegradation (Cho). The process converts the plastic into the form of microplastics. The microplastics in the ocean may travel along with the waves to enter seas and oceans of Asia and Africa. An albatross flying in South Africa may misidentify these microplastics (resin pellets) as fish eggs and feed it to the baby albatross, who may get killed from the plastic consumption. In America, alone, 1000 plastic bottles are opened in a second (Barrett). The used plastic bottles are thrown away in garbage cans over 60 million times in a day and 35 billion times in a year (Franklin 62). Out of the total plastic garbage discarded in America and Europe, less than 10% and 35% gets recycled annually, respectively (Park). Most of the debris found floating in the ocean consists of plastic materials. Plastic breaks into smaller pieces at varying rates until it gets converted into toxic chemicals that would exist indefinitely in the ocean. The example illustrates that oceans, spread across the world, are interconnected to each other. It is crucial to understand that the environment precedes human existence and does not abide by the man-made or social constructs of countries and continents. If a plastic water bottle is thrown in America then it does not only affect the ocean there, but it also has an impact in oceans near Asia and Africa. Thus, the effects of disposal of plastic waste into the ocean in the western hemisphere can be seen in the eastern hemisphere and vice versa. Therefore, the blame game between countries on who is responsible for plastic waste becomes irrelevant as the tremors created by dumping plastic waste at one space will be experienced everywhere. The lack of proper plastic waste management in America and Europe can also have effects on oceans near Asia. For Instance, the U.S. and Europe largely relied on China which was once considered as ¡°the world's largest dumping ground¡± for recycling its plastic waste. 70% and 95% of waste collected in the U.S. and European Union, respectively, was exported to China using shipping containers (Katz). As a result, China was responsible for dumping more than 9 million metric tonnes of plastic waste each year into the ocean making it one of the top countries that dump maximum marine debris per year (China¡¯s ban). In 2018, however, the Chinese government implemented the ¡°National Sword¡± policy restricting imports of most plastic materials as they could not recycle the extremely dirty plastic waste cost-effectively. Decades of reliance on China restrained the development of infrastructures and markets in America and the European Union. Thus, the U.S. blamed China for creating a shock wave across the world through its policy. Heng Kiah Chun, a campaigner at Greenpeace, retaliated by stating that no country deserved to be a dumping ground for the rest of the world. The displaced plastic from these countries was channelized to countries across South Asia. Companies in many countries such as Indonesia, Malaysia and Vietnam began buying plastic waste to recycle it for profit. However, they sent back a large number of shipments to Europe and North America on receiving non-recyclable plastic litter contaminated by diapers and electronic devices (Niranjan). The to and fro movement of shipping containers also added the risk of intentional as well as unintentional disposal of plastic litter into the ocean. The confrontations and the retaliations did not aid in solving the problem. The incident helps in understanding that when garbage is properly reduced and separated at the source, in this case, in America and Europe then the pressure on the Asian countries to recycle this waste generated becomes easier. It would aid in reducing the plastic litter dumped into the ocean and, thus, will not only help oceans near Asia but also the oceans across the world. If the garbage was maintained properly and kept separated at the source, in America, then the problem would not have arisen in the first place. In an interview Lawrence Loh, an associate professor at the National University of Singapore, said that ¡°In the long term, the problem has to be solved at source. North America and Western Europe must take clear and conscious efforts to reduce waste. Rather than looking for the next place to dump waste, advanced countries should bear the responsibility of cutting on waste generation through sustainable practices.¡± (Lee) Ocean pollution is a global problem. It requires a strong individual effort as well as collaborative international effort by countries spread across the world. To face the challenge, countries need to come together and work together instead of playing blame games. According to a study in 2015, 8 million metric tonnes of plastic is dumped in the ocean each year. If immediate remedial actions are not taken by all the countries then this plastic leakage might grow to 17.5 million metric tonnes per year and cumulative build-up could reach 155 million tonnes by 2025 (Jambeck et al). Plastic debris can kill aquatic organisms in various ways: they may get strangled by plastic fish nets or consume plastic which may result in organ failure. If appropriate remedial actions are not taken then soon high quantities of plastic debris in the ocean will significantly impair and hamper the marine life. This will impact not only the quality of life but the world economy as well. Thus, it is essential that countries work individually to reduce plastic litter by employing efficient and effective plastic waste management techniques and work together with different countries to reduce the marine debris floating in the ocean. Works Cited Barrett, Colleen. ¡°The Truth About Your Bottled Water Habit¡± Refinery 29, 7 December 2015, https://www.refinery29.com/en-us/plastic-water-bottle-bad-environmental-effects. "China¡¯s ban on imports of 24 types of waste is a wake up call to the world – Greenpeace¡± Greenpeace South East Asia, Greenpeace.org, 29 December 2017, https://www.greenpeace.org/eastasia/press/1008/chinas-ban-on-imports-of-24-types-of-waste-is-a-wake-up-call-to-the-world-greenpeace/. Cho, Renee. ¡°Our Oceans: A Plastic Soup¡± State of the Planet, Earth Institute| Columbia University, 26 January 2011, https://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2011/01/26/our-oceans-a-plastic-soup/. Franklin, Pat. ¡°Down the Drain: Plastic water bottles should no longer be a wasted resource¡±, 2006, https://www.ecowatch.com/bald-eagle-nest-eggs-massachusetts-2646125390.html. Jambeck, Jenna, et al. ¡°Plastic waste inputs from land into the ocean¡±. Science, vol. 347, no. 6223, 13 February 2015, pp. 768-771, https://science.sciencemag.org/content/347/6223/768. Katz, Cheryl. ¡°Piling Up: How¡¯s China Ban on Importing Waste has Stopped Global Recycling¡± Yale Environment 360, Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, 7 March 2019, https://e360.yale.edu/features/piling-up-how-chinas-ban-on-importing-waste-has-stalled-global-recycling. Lee, Yen Nee. ¡°The world is scrambling now that China is refusing to be a trash dumping ground¡± cnbc.com, CNBC, 16 April 2018, https://www.cnbc.com/2018/04/16/climate-change-china-bans-import-of-foreign-waste-to-stop-pollution.html. Niranjan, Ajit. ¡° Whose Fault is Plastic Waste in The Ocean?¡± dw.com, DW, 31 July 2019, https://www.dw.com/en/whose-fault-is-plastic-waste-in-the-ocean/a-49745660. Parker, Laura. ¡°Here¡¯s How Much Plastic Trash is Littering the Earth¡± National Geographic, 20 December 2018, https://www.nationalgeographic.com/news/2017/07/plastic-produced-recycling-waste-ocean-trash-debris-environment/. |
