As Bangkok Drowns in Infections and Plastic, Volunteers Divert COVID-19 Era Trash Article Bangkokians rarely sort trash, often leaving soup-splashed, rotting, toxic messes on the street for garbage collectors and scavengers, who are only able to resell a fraction to be recycled. The environmentally-conscious who do sort their waste must send specific types of material to volunteer initiatives out of their own pocket. Some of these initiatives have diverted plastic into recyclable items, including PPE suits for frontline health workers, even as the capital drowns in COVID-19 and plastic. By Asaree Thaitrakulpanich
The Dilemma of Waste during COVID-19 Pandemic Article While Thailand has prioritized measures to contain the spread of COVID-19, environmental concerns have been sidelined. Despite an overall reduction in waste, the amount of plastic and harmful microplastics have skyrocketed in the kingdom, with a weak pre-existing waste sorting and management system. By Teirra Kamolvattanavith
Newly launched Plastic Atlas Asia edition provides an Asia-focused overview of the plastic waste crisis Press Release A series of succinct articles and infographics providing an overview of the key issues behind Asia’s plastic pollution crisis.
Philippines: Banning Single-Use Plastics at the National Level and Strengthening Existing Laws Needed to Curb Plastic Pollution Crisis Article Single-use plastics have been in the spotlight for the past years because of its impact on our environment. It pollutes throughout its lifecycle beginning from extraction, refining, and ending in their disposal in the oceans and waterways, soil, and in the air we breathe through burning or incineration. In fact, it does not only impact our environment but also our health, livelihoods, food and wildlife. Further, plastics do not biodegrade. Instead they slowly break down into smaller pieces of plastic called microplastics. By Jed Alegado
Plastic Atlas Demonstrates Scale of Plastic Pollution Crisis and Solutions for a Zero Waste Future Press Release Today, the Heinrich Böll Foundation and the Break Free From Plastic movement have published the international English edition of the Plastic Atlas, holding launch events in the European Parliament in Brussels (quotes EC-FVP Frans Timmermans, MEP Bas Eickhout further down), and in Washington D.C. and Manila.
Plastic Atlas Plastic is ubiquitous: we use it for life-saving medical devices, clothing, toys and cosmetics; we use it in agriculture and industry. But we also know the growing risk of plastic waste in the environment, landfills and the oceans. pdf
Plastic Wastes Pose Threats on Vietnam’s Environment Article Plastic waste is considered a global environment problem and Vietnam has been listed as one of the heaviest countries struck by it in the world. Some actions have been implemented to fight against the issue such as “White pollution”. However, changing awareness and behavior remain biggest challenges. By Le Dinh Tuyen
Plastics, Fossil Fuels and Desire: A Dive into the Complexities of a Plastic-Free World Article Plastic is a brilliant invention. Through its uses in medicine, public health and in urban planning, it has likely saved many lives. A right relationship with it begins with acknowledging the importance of plastic. At the same time, a lot of the ways we use plastic today is non-essential. In fact, one could argue that by designing plastic to be used in such a careless and thoughtless way is disrespectful of the invention itself. It could be out there saving lives, but instead it is used to carry potato chips for 12 minutes. It is not the plastic that is the problem, but the way we choose to design it, source it, produce it and use it. By Melody Tay Xi Ching
Plastic Problems in Southeast Asia We all know that plastics crisis endangers our future, especially for the next generation. We have to do something starting from now, even it is just a small step. Be more responsible and mind your consumption pattern. Let this movement against single-use plastics become bigger and bigger so it would be heard by the government and industries and could pressure them to make impactful actions for a better future.
Laos Needs Another Revolution but This Time with Single-Use Plastic Like in any other country, plastic is widely used and it is everywhere to be found in the Lao PDR, a landlocked country in Southeast Asia with a population of 7 million people. Plastic has become part of our modern life. Yet as omnipresent as it is, our ever-increasing reliance on single-use plastics, our throwaway culture and poor waste management system have created a huge problem. By Vannaphone Sitthirath
