We’ve accumulated so much plastic globally that since 1997, oceanographer Charles Moore was alarming people about the sea of plastic his boat had crossed for hours. Today, we know this floating sea of plastic as the Great Pacific Garbage Patch which contains more than 80,000 tons of plastic waste that spans approximately 1.6 km²–bigger than the Vatican City. While the plastic pollution crisis is a global crisis, the Philippines plays a key role in the worsening, and also the bettering, of the major ecological problem we have at hand. According to SEA Circular, the Philippines generates an annual of 280,000 to 750,000 tons of plastic waste that enters the oceans through coastal areas. That’s the weight of roughly 3,636,364 up to 9,740,260 humans or 254,546 up to 681,818 great white sharks. The Philippines has been dubbed as one of the world’s worst offenders on marine plastic pollution, generating up to 36% of the global ocean plastic pollution. But how did we start producing so much plastic waste? And how can we prevent the worsening of marine plastic pollution?
With all the economic problems that Filipinos have been confronted with, we adapted and developed our tingi-tingi culture to be able to easily access and purchase just the right amount of products we need. It's no doubt that tingi-tingi culture has permitted us to purchase affordable, small portions of products. The consequence? Tons of plastic polluting our planet, literally. The single-use sachets are lightweight and, without effective and efficient waste management systems, often fly around until they end up in our waterways such as rivers, canals, and bays along our coasts. From our coasts, the plastic waste ends up accumulating in our seas and oceans, and disrupts the health of our ecosystems, ultimately leading to the loss of biodiversity and ecosystem degradation. Over time, the plastic waste accumulates into big masses such as the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, but it doesn’t just damage ecosystems on the surface. Our single-use plastics are hurting our planet more than they’re making our lives more convenient.
According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources, plastic waste releases microplastics and toxic chemicals that destroy the delicate balance of our ecosystems, especially our marine ecosystems. Plastic is not biodegradable, but due to exposure to wind, solar radiation, and water currents, it does degrade into small bits of plastic known as microplastic that get mistaken by animals as food and cause many animals to starve while others get contaminated with toxic chemicals. The damage plastic does to our environment doesn’t stop there. New studies have shown that people are ingesting microplastic every day, and we’ve yet to figure out the health implications of our plastic contamination because scientists have not found any person who has no microplastics in their body and who can participate as a control group for their research. But it’s not just microplastics that do big damage to our environment, it includes macroplastics too. In fact, they estimate that up to 88% of total plastic leakage into the environment actually comes from macro-plastics. That means, there’s no way out of this mess except to clean it up and prevent it from happening again.
Confronted with the ecological crisis that our plastic waste creates, Filipinos are also in the best position to help combat the plastic pollution problem! Last September 29, we had the privilege of joining a beach cleanup headed by MAD Travel. [INTRODUCE MAD TRAVEL’S COASTAL CLEANUPS] Coastal cleanup efforts are of the utmost importance because they prevent plastic waste from accumulating and further polluting our oceans. By spearheading coastal cleanup drives, MAD Travel has made it easy for us to work together to do good for our planet and our local communities too. Dealing with the plastic pollution crisis is a daunting task, but it’s a task that gets easier to do with a community of fellow earth-protectors!
Every effort counts, and with the amount of innovations accessible to us today, it would be a disservice to participate in cleanup drives but continue to generate so much plastic waste. Coastal cleanups are an integral first step for a community to help keep the planet clean. The next important step is to live #PlasticFree! EcoNest PH is proud to be a member of the Philippine Alliance for Sustainable Solutions. As a company, our mission is to supply fully biodegradable and compostable packaging materials to prevent further damage to the environment caused by plastic pollution. And as a member of the Philippines Alliance for Sustainable Solutions, we are proud to be a reliable ally and companion in the struggle for climate justice by working to create a Circular Economy to ensure that the waste we create feeds the earth instead of pollutes it.
So, if you’re an advocate for developing a truly sustainable future, join the movement to go #PlasticFree and #LiveSustainably! Join MAD Travel’s next cleanup drive, and swap out plastic for our fully compostable and biodegradable packaging materials. Order your eco-friendly packaging needs at our Lazada or Shopee stores! Get in touch with us by emailing hello@econestph.com to learn more about EcoNest PH’s truly sustainable solutions!
