18/07/2022
BAN ON SINGLE USE PLASTICS, WHY?
Plastic, especially single-use plastic, is increasingly becoming a global environmental threat. Plastic pollution has become a major development challenge across the world. In Ghana, recent statistics show that the country generates about 1million tons of plastic waste annually but local waste management infrastructure has not kept the pace, resulting in large quantities of mismanaged waste. This situation has led to collaborative effort from various stakeholders to introduce sustainable solutions to the problem.
Lots of solutions to the plastic problem has been implemented but it has become increasingly clear that these solutions on its own cannot end the ongoing plastic waste crisis.
Recycling is one of the most common and widely known solution to plastic waste crisis. But in recent time, it has become increasingly clear that we cannot recycle ourselves from the ongoing plastic waste crisis. We must be mindful that plastics recycling has its shortfalls. Only 9% of plastics ever produced has been recycled. With the increasing rate of plastic production without a corresponding increase in the rate of recycling, there’s an urgent need for businesses and governments alike to champion other answers to the crisis.
Jonah Fisher a BBC environment correspondent report stated that, according to the Big Plastic count survey report by recycling does not work! “Pretending to sort this with recycling is industry green-wash”. The Big Plastic Count authors stated that not all plastic is equally easy to sort and recycle. Data from Recoup, a plastics charity, suggests that 61% of plastic bottles are recycled, 36% of plastic tubs and just 8% of plastic films.
Other strategies suggested by stakeholders to end the plastic waste crisis included a behavioral change of citizens. But for behavioral change to be effective as a solution to the plastic waste crisis, there is the need for enactment of laws that will streamline the attitudes of citizens. When laws are in place, people tend to act according to it. This is the reason why we at JCS GPO believe a ban on the importation and production of single-use plastics is the most sustainable solutions to this global environmental threat. The most effective solution is to have laws and regulations in place. Most countries and states in the world have instituted policies to ban the use of single-use plastics. Taiwan aims to stop all production of single use plastics by the year 2030.
A combination of upstream and downstream solutions is needed to end this global crisis. For example, introducing sustainable alternatives to single-use plastics by the government and making it compulsory for everyone to use them will go a long way to help in the ban of single-use plastics advocacy. This is because plastics is in and has become a part of our daily lives.
As individuals, we can also do our part by spreading awareness of the threat that plastic waste has become and thinking of new ways we can reduce our reliance on plastics.
JCS Investments call for the ban on single use plastics by the year 2025 due to the devastating it continues to create.
Source: https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-62126757
