Three-Part Solution to Plastic Waste
By: Eric Shepperd
Tags: Ecology, Plastic Pollution, Environment, Waste

As I see it, the solution to waste (especially single-use plastic) consists of three interrelated changes: material, economic, and cultural. Unfortunately, as much as one may value the environment, buying “eco-friendly” products and eco-theatre like the much celebrated plastic straw ban are nothing but feelgood greenwashing. The problem is systemic, and no amount of consumer choice can hope to address it; we need fundamental change.

The simplest is the material problem: how to distribute consumable products without disposable packaging. In essence this is a logistical problem: developing a system for efficiently returning containers to producers so they can be reused. Ideally, industry could come together to devise a selection of appropriately-sized, standardized, interchangeable, durable containers with changeable labels to replace what is used now. It would then be up to government to establish a return process through curbside pickup or the like. A similar system already exists for beer bottles: a standard brown glass bottle is reused dozens of times before it is retired and recycled. For products where this would be infeasible or overkill, biodegradable plastic-like materials do already exist — but would again require infrastructure for industrial compost. The primary challenge here is to ensure the replacement packaging is not a net-negative impact on environmental resources, but a motivation to actually adopt this system is a precondition for its existence.

This is the essence of the economic problem; the disposables industry exists because it is profitable. Cheaply-made packages that can be discarded and then made anew are often the least expensive option for manufacturers, with a substantial impact on the bottom-line. The products themselves are also influenced by similar logic: selling a single, well-made widget that lasts a lifetime yields far less revenue than a series of single-use, poor-quality, unrepairable items. Planned obsolescence (especially in the infotech industry) entails necessary waste, often with no plan for responsible recycling. The root of this problem lies in the externality of environmental factors. Industry rarely, if ever, has to pay full price for ecological services and the damage they cause. Carbon taxes, waste stewardship fees, and harsh tariffs on natural resource exploitation are a start, but the natural behaviour of a capitalist economy quickly outstrip well-meaning efforts like these. To really effect change in this regard, we need to adopt an economic system commensurate with a full world — one without the accelerating treadmill of debt-based growth as its highest ideal.

Such an economic shift would necessarily be accompanied by a cultural shift. We’re socialized to think nothing of these kinds of purchases, and still somehow picture ecological catastrophe as occurring in our grandchildren’s time (spoiler: we’re those grandchildren). Through entertainment and advertising, we’re taught to valorize having cool stuff, to collect consumable experiences, and to shop away depression. It’s a culture of unconstrained consumption, and unconscious disposal. Consider, for example, the major holidays of the year: each with its own collection of disposable decorations, paper plates, candy wrappers, and glitter (seriously, glitter is a *huge* environmental problem). The apparently-compulsory gift giving of Christmas alone results in millions of tons of non-recyclable wrapping paper each year, in addition to the often pointless and thoughtless gifts themselves. To be clear, I am not arguing an individual solution involving consumer choice; these are cultural memes intentionally created by the industries that profit from them. If there is a solution here, it’s a mass shift in consciousness — a culture of life rather than one of spectacle and consumption. There are hints of this change being already underway, but it needs to take form in a cohesive, powerful solidarity — unshakable in the light of the problems we face.

Unfortunately we’re too late to avert a serious environmental crisis. The rest of this century is going to be challenging between global warming, ocean acidification, ecosystem collapse, desertification, and an overwhelming deluge of trash. We do, though, still have an opportunity to prevent some worst-case scenarios, and make the recovery process easier. The sooner we change course, the better.