Plastics for good!

Contribution by Plastic Maker Hubs to 'Plastic pollution. Too much of a good thing', The Economist, 3rd March 2018

Implying that we don’t need to worry too much about plastic waste, as long as the East is fixing its waste infrastructure problem, is a disappointing conclusion for an otherwise well researched and balanced article. Nor is the (rather explicit) incitation of West-East finger pointing helpful in moving closer to finding a solution for the plastic waste problem. This is a missed opportunity.

1.    How tidy is Europe?

Most of the plastic in the ocean comes not from tidy Europe’, is quite a statement. Percentage wise, this might be true, but wouldn’t we expect this in view of the difference in population numbers? There is a lot of room for improvement, as the European Commission explains e.g. In 2014, less than a third of Europe’s plastic waste was recycled, another third ended up in landfills, and from the rest only the energy was recovered. (source: https://ec.europa.eu/environment/waste/pdf/plastic_waste_factsheet.pdf). Even in the United States and Europe, with advanced collection systems, 170,000 tonnes of plastics leak into the ocean each year. (Source: Ellen MacArthur foundation https://www.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org/assets/downloads/publications/NPEC-Hybrid_English_22-11-17_Digital.pdf)

2.    When East and West meet

Positioning the plastics problem as a problem of the East easily forgets that the origins of this waste problem can be traced back to 1800s starting with the invention and production of plastics in the US, UK and the rest of Europe. Plastic production surged during and after the second World War (e.g. up to 300% in the US). Companies involved since the earliest days are industry leaders like BASF (Europe) and Dow Chemicals (USA).

Indeed, the current practice of the West exporting waste to the East shows that it is not helpful to contrast the ‘tidy’ West vs the ‘dirty’ East. What’s more, in addition to the work of the many waste pickers, the informal recycling economy achieves recycling rates that are in some cases twice those in the West [e.g. London vs Mumbai], however, they get very little monetary and societal recognition for doing so (a waste picker in Mumbai is earning $2-3/day).

3.    And when systems meet

Of course, it is helpful to put the negative impact of plastics in context by comparing the negative externalities of plastics with air pollution, overfishing and nitrates pollution. To conclude, however, that plastic is therefore not one of the worst problems contradicts with the comments and statements in the article itself. Indeed, the article acknowledges that the absence of evidence of health implications due to plastics isn't evidence of absence of the potential threat, and that plastics are “not trouble-free". We agree with the author's suggestion that “further research is needed”.

The fact that when compared with some of the other big system challenges, the plastics waste problem seems to be less big, is not a reason to relax, not the least because it contributes to some of our Planet’s other systemic problems!

4.    Redefining the perception and economics of plastics

The author should be praised, however, for helping to improve people's perception of plastic as a material to further reinstate that maybe it's not the material as such, but our usage of that material that makes it a problem. It is therefore regrettable that the article’s solution so explicitly points the finger at the ‘other polluters’ in Asia. Suggesting that the western style of waste management – which cannot be adopted easily by most countries - is the only solution, is a testimony of very linear thinking and not a realistic way forward.

A constructive way forward includes “closing the tap”, which is about re-innovating the plastics supply/value chain in its entirety. Fundamentally, it’s about redefining the value of plastics- accounting for the negative externalities of virgin plastics, and the positive externalities of recycled plastics. Can we turn plastics into a force for good by creating a positive impact, not just in the environmental sense or in providing the commercially driven ecosystem for recycled plastic, but also in providing opportunities to improve livelihoods of the displaced waste warriors, the waste pickers?

Of course, Asia has an important role to play, but so has everyone in the plastics value chain, including consumers who can vote with their ‘plastic’.

At Plastic Maker Hubs (@plasticmakerhub) we aim to divert plastic waste from landfills and oceans by intercepting it before it even reaches there, by transforming plastic waste into cool designer products made by waste pickers. These products are not just fashioned as recycled but also designed to be recyclable. By doing so we are not only reinforcing the circular economy, but are also enhancing livelihoods of women waste pickers.

Many of the article’s arguments cannot but lead us to conclude that currently plastics waste IS an issue. What we are facing now, is an issue of our collective creation—East and West alike, and to point fingers at each other ISN'T the best approach. By improving the use (and re-use) of this material, we have a chance that today’s problem becomes a "non-issue" going forward!

Co-founders Plastic Maker Hubs: Truus Huisman – Brussels, Belgium; Deepesh Pancholi – Mumbai, India; Mahima Sukhdev – London, UK; Aparna Veerarouthu – Bangalore, India