Plastics are not as inherently bad or evil as we think. With environmental awareness and good practices, plastics can be environmentally friendly.
“Paper or plastic?”
We often hear these choices when we do grocery shopping. It’s popular enough to be depicted frequently in movies and TV shows, too. In deciding between these alternatives, we weigh on choosing one over the other. And when it boils down to the environment, plastic loses by a landslide… right?
Well, not necessarily.
As consumers, we are bombarded with information that plastics are just plain evil. The images that pop out of our head when we talk about plastics are littered coastlines or landfills with heaps of plastic waste. Given this scenario, we assume that the burden-free decision is to choose paper.
However, paper is not as burden-free as we think it is. In reality, paper manufacturing is intensive in energy use and carbon emissions. It emits a higher amount of carbon emissions than plastics when manufactured. Choosing the paper option may just shift our problem from plastic litter to higher carbon emissions. Simply banning plastic packaging and pushing for paper packaging might not be that ideal of a solution.
Okay… so does this mean we should always choose plastic? Well… there is no clear answer. Each packaging material has its own trade-offs. What we can do, however, is to look at what makes plastic the mascot of environmental pollution to begin with.
Let’s look at the lifecycle of plastic packaging. Where do we encounter these images of littered coastlines and filled-up landfills? These are caused by the poor disposal. Due to the convenience of single-use packaging, they are thrown away mindlessly, and almost always end up in places they’re not supposed to be, like in the ocean or in urban waterways… But what if we have good channels to divert plastic wastes properly or, better yet, recycle them? In other words, we seriously need to focus on the management of plastic wastes.
The escalating and persistent issue of plastic waste management demands a multi-stakeholder approach. Retailers, manufacturers, consumers, and policymakers are all part of an ecosystem that produces, consumes, uses, and disposes of plastic packaging.
What can these stakeholders do?
Recently, the Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) Law has been institutionalized in the Philippines. EPR is a mechanism that holds producers accountable for the lifecycle of their products, with a heavy focus on plastic packaging. For now, it covers big companies and mandates them to implement programs to manage their plastic packaging waste.
Meanwhile, a few retailers have been implementing takeback schemes, through which wastes from consumers are collected for recycling, for reusing, or for proper disposal. To encourage participation, incentives are sometimes offered. We have also encountered zero-waste retailers where products can be bought package-free. These types of retailers encourage consumers to bring their own reusable containers to put the products in.
These initiatives shift product end-of-life responsibility from consumers to producers.
But what about us consumers? Is there something we can do?
Of course! As consumers, we can REFUSE, REDUCE, REUSE, RECYCLE – a hierarchy of choices that we can do as we consume products.
When we REFUSE, we avoid plastic waste whenever possible. This can be done by saying no to single-use packaging, supporting package-free products, and being mindful with consumption choices in general.
REDUCE means lessening our overall consumption, which can be done by evaluating our needs, cooking more at home, and lessening online purchases that use too much plastic packaging.
REUSING means finding a new purpose for things that we already have. Carrying reusable items such as ecobags, repairing instead of replacing (buying a new one) clothes with minor issues, choosing durable products that last long, and creatively upcycling things are just some of the ways to reuse. Some plastic conatiners are actually quite durable. For example, the microwavable containers we get from take-outs can be reused or repurposed as a general container.
Finally, participating in RECYCLING efforts initiated by retailers and manufacturers can be done by properly disposing of recyclable plastic wastes like plastic bottles. Some require that these bottles be cleaned and dried before disposal – following these instructions can ensure that recyclable materials will be recycled and not end up in landfills.
Plastics are not as inherently bad or evil as we think. With environmental awareness and good practices, plastics can be environmentally friendly.
Dr. Ivan Gue is the Chairperson of the Department of Mechanical Engineering, Gokongwei College of Engineering, De La Salle University. Dr. Jonna C. Baquillas is an Associate Professor at the Department of Marketing and Advertising, Ramon V. del Rosario College of Business in the same university. They are engaged in research and projects focused on circular economy, sustainability transitions, and sustainable consumption and production.
The views expressed above are the authors’ and do not necessarily reflect the official position of DLSU, its faculty, and its administrators.
