Plastic waste: Voluntary initiatives alone are no longer

enough

By Hendro Johannes

Published on November 11, 2021 (The Manila Times)

As a result of rapid economic growth coupled with the lack of waste

management infrastructure, the East and Southeast Asian regions are recognized

today as the biggest contributors of marine plastic pollution. This issue takes part

in the ongoing COP26 in Glasgow, reflecting its urgency and relevance with the

leading climate issue. In fact, the situation is getting worse since the Covid-19

pandemic hit the world. The pandemic has changed people's consumption

behavior such as the exponential increase in personal protective equipment like

the surgical face mask and the shift from eat-in to take-away and delivery food

consumption. From a business viewpoint, it can be a huge advantage to explore

new business ideas, but from an environmental standpoint, the shift will result in

an increasing amount of plastic waste.

To tackle the adverse effect, governments are advocating initiatives like

using alternative materials and applying voluntary extended producer

responsibility (EPR) schemes. But in reality, businesses tend to "avoid" such

voluntary initiatives. During a public forum co-hosted by the Asean Secretariat

and the Economic Research Institute for Asean and East Asia in June 2021, Iris

Chang, regional head of sustainability at Grab, one of Southeast Asia's largest

online service providers, said the company has a pilot program to replace plastic

food containers with more sustainable materials, such as paper, which degrade

more rapidly. However, the transition has proven to be challenging.

Eco-friendly packaging

Chang explained that there are four key aspects that make it difficult for

food and beverage merchants to adopt more eco-friendly packaging. First,

price, as merchants are sensitive to costs and sustainable containers can cost four

to five times more than plastic packaging. Second, design, as many Asian cuisines

are covered with sauce and need watertight food delivery boxes. Third, lack of

standards for genuinely eco-friendly containers which allows for "greenwashing,"

causing restaurant owners to be unsure which materials are better than plastic.

And fourth, the absence of regulatory requirements. Restaurant owners can be

less motivated to switch their packaging type if it is not mandatory.

Furthermore, a report published by the Changing Markets Foundation

discovered that many big businesses have lobbied for these voluntary initiatives
as a tactic to delay and derail progressive legislation, while distracting consumers

and governments with empty promises and false solutions.

Giving the option to voluntarily adopt eco-friendly business practices is no

longer enough. There should be structural incentives for both the retailers and

consumers to 'pay more, do more' for the genuinely eco-friendly packaging. At

the same time, disincentives should be applied for the non-compliant parties.

Tommy Tjiptadjaja, co-founder and CEO of the Indonesian green tech

social enterprise, Greenhope, at the same public forum, affirmed that while

entrepreneurs and innovators are developing new methods and technologies,

governments must work in parallel to provide a holistic and contextual policy

framework as well as a road map that considers stakeholders' inputs, incentives

and disincentives. According to Tjiptadjaja, environmentally conscious

entrepreneurs should not be left to their own devices and instead should be

assured that the government is working alongside them.

Businesses and Consumers

 Government can offer incentives for the businesses which participate in

positive business practices. In the forum, Kentaro Inukai, president of Pana-

Chemical, an EPS (popularly known as styrofoam) recycling system provider in

Japan, explained that since EPS disposal is costly in Japan and illegal dumping

results in costly penalties, Japanese businesses are motivated to invest in

adequate machinery for their recycling systems, which can minimize the cost for

plastic waste disposal. To further promote this trend and encourage companies

to purchase recycling machinery, governments can offer incentives, such as

subsidies for the acquisition of such equipment, argued Inukai.

From the consumer side, Supatchaya Techachoochert, co-founder of Refill

Station, the first bulk store in Thailand, has witnessed improvements in the public

awareness of plastic pollution in Thai society compared to half a decade ago,

where such understanding was dominated by the expat community. To create

momentum for a more sustainable business environment, all stakeholders must be

on the same page, and this includes the consumers' mindset, she said. In

conjunction with the incentives and disincentives towards the business sectors,

education and awareness raising is crucial to change the way consumers choose

their suppliers too. Offering rewards in the form of discounts, cashback, or special

gifts could further translate the mindset into practice.

Such mechanisms can progressively lay the foundation for mandatory

initiatives down the line. Well-designed mandatory EPR schemes under

progressive legislation could be developed with transparent modulated fees,

polluter-pays principle and reduction targets, and funding for better alternative

materials.

The private sector across the region has initiated positive business practices.

However, none of them offers a one-size-fits-all solution. Understanding their

strength and weaknesses as well as informing the policy makers of the initiatives

that can be effectively implemented in the local context is the key. The pandemic

has accelerated the rate by which we generate plastic wastes, and we are under

increasing pressure to find a holistic solution. Failure to act fast will risk hindering

the regions' efforts in combating marine plastic pollution.

The parts of the position paper includes the introduction, opposition, stand and
conclusion with the introduction being the first part as always as it introduces
the concept or the idea of the subject, then next are the main ideas or the main
points of the paper as it is a position paper both stand and opposition should be
included, not just only your opinion about the subject, and lastly the conclusion,
it will summarize everything about the paper and bring it to an end.