The Plastic Age

So, let’s discuss a topic which everyone seems to be worrying about at the moment— TRASH!  In the world of hashtag activism, one trend is really beginning to make a difference as well as gain momentum in areas of the world which need it the most.  That’s right, I’m talking about #trashtag— the newest and hottest trend to parade its way across social media.  Now, facebook and twitter were inundated years go with the #icebucketchallenge, a movement which raised a significant amount of money and awareness for ALS.    Other notable movements involve #metoo, #blacklivesmatter, #arabsping, and #shoutyourabortion— all of these began on twitter and facilitated a discussion which left the digital world and transcended into the sphere of physical reality.

The #trashtag movement is not so much a civil discussion or financial fundraiser— instead it is a physically engaging one, activism which leaves the keyboard and manifests itself in the form of trash collection.  For years I have worked with trash cleanup and awareness, my most recent group being “Get Trashed” in St. John, USVI which was headed by my two close friends Erin Lieb and Tonia Lovejoy. 

Traveling around the world has given me a perspective many people might not possess; I have seen how international diplomacy has dampened the spirits of Bahamnians as they watched their beaches be littered by the lack of trash management in Haiti— the currents of the ocean pushed Haitian waste on to the Bahamian beaches and the locals felt powerless to mitigate trash which originated from a foreign country.  I have seen hurricanes destroy my home and the debris be tossed everywhere with little to no location for trash to be disposed and the result being an “accidental” fire in the dump which destroyed much of the toxic debris—this led to lower income Tortolans inhaling toxic smoke for weeks as they lived down wind of the dump.  I have lived In the Philippines and seen the ex-pat community scream racist remarks from the safety of their screen as they blamed locals for the lack of education and availability of waste management.  I have seen recycling which never leaves an island and politicians pose in front of a trashed area and hire others to remove it for the photo-op of being a “progressive” candidate who cares about the environment.

The trash debacle is one which is becoming worst and worst as the population of the Earth surges and our dependence upon plastic deepens.  However, at least we have allowed for the discussion and recognition of the problem, that is the first step to fixing any problem at hand.  Recently, I had a post on reddit go viral, I’m now the number two most popular post of all time for R/Philippines— what’s interesting was the backlash I received from trying to do some good in the world. 

Ex-pats scoffed at my efforts, complained about the locals, blamed other people, and in general just degraded me for having the audacity to have a perspective of hope, rather than that of defeated acceptance.  My main argument was the disregard towards the necessities which are required for waste management to be effective— it’s not the local’s fault they do not have the money to afford what the west can afford to manage their waste.  With that in mind, the ex-pat community as whole neglects that a good bit of the west sells their trash to SE Asia to be disposed of; basically most of the countries in the world are shuffling their trash to foreign countries to be disposed— essentially just sweeping their trash under the rug.  Only a select few countries such as Sweden, Germany, Wales, Switzerland, South Korea, and Singapore have effective waste management and recycling; unsurprisingly, these are also countries which are highly developed and have substantial GDP.

Who would have thought money would be an indicator as to how waste is both created and managed!  Another aspect which pertains to waste creation is single use plastic and let me tell you, the lower income countries of the world are burdened by this necessity.  When I use the word necessity it is in pertinence to the financial well-being of the people of residence.  For example, people in the Dominican Republic, Haiti, Thailand, the Philippines and most other developing countries simply can not afford to buy in bulk which means they purchase what they can afford, as a result the popularity of single use plastics is rampant.  Plastic is a cheap method of preserving, packaging, and protecting products for consumers— the problem is not the people, the people recognize plastic is a problem, however their wallets simply can not afford the luxury of biodegradable packaging.  Being able to be concerned about the environment is a privilege most people simply can not afford— if it comes down to being able to pay for their children’s education or an “Eco-bag,” realistically which one do you think people are going to choose? 

The blame game is a mentality which does nothing to help, it does not matter who put the trash where, news-flash, we have ALL been trashing the planet since the industrial revolution started back in the late eighteenth century.  I assure you, a whole lot of western folk have done a lot of damage to the Earth and blaming others for a crisis we have all created will get us nowhere.

Instead, I argue we must work together to try and make a more affordable option for packaging, allocate international aid to developing countries so they can progress more rapidly than the invisible hand of capitalism is allowing, and advocate education rather than blame and accept that education is also a privilege— people do not know what they don’t know and that is simply not a reason to blame anyone.  The Earth will survive even if humanity destroys itself, so caring about the Earth is a bit of an exaggeration, this is a biological problem and as many tests have shown, every marine specimen which is tested shows positive for plastic in its system.  Simply stated, now we are beginning to consume the trash we have created.

In 500 years from now, if humans still exist that is, archaeologists will have records on the Stone Age, the Ice Age, the Bronze Age, the Iron Age— we will be the Plastic Age.

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