Beauty Queens and Grassroots Activists Go All Out for Eco-Alternatives to Plastic Bags
Beauty queens and grassroots activists for environmental
protection today marked the 10th International Plastic Bag Free Day with a
joint appeal to replace single use plastics (SUPs) such as plastic bags with
eco-friendly alternatives.
To raise awareness on the environmental impacts of SUPs
and the need to embrace change, the EcoWaste Coalition, Miss Earth Foundation,
Mother Earth Foundation, Cavite Green Coalition, Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives, Sagip Pasig Movement and the Samahan ng mga
Mangangalakal ng Scrap sa Capulong went
to Farmers Market in Quezon City to
encourage consumers and vendors alike to ditch the ubiquitous plastic bags and
other SUPs, which are often used for a few minutes but can last and pollute the
environment for up to 1,000 years.
Joining community activists in promoting bayong and other
reusable substitutes to plastic bags were Miss Air Philippines 2018 Zahra Bianca Saldua
and Miss Water Philippines 2018 Berjayneth Chee.
“It’s high time for all sectors of the society to break
our craving for plastic bags and other single-use disposables that have become
a bane for the environment, especially our oceans which are now choking with
macro and microplastic waste,” said Chee.
According to scientists, “there are 5.25 trillion pieces
of plastic debris in the ocean. Of that mass, 269,000 tons float on the
surface, while some four billion plastic microfibers per square kilometer
litter the deep sea.”
“Aside from polluting the oceans, plastic bags that end
up being burned or buried in disposal facilities also emit harmful pollutants
that can contaminate the air we breathe and the soil where we grow our food,
posing threats to human health,” added Saldua.
According to the report “Plastic & Health: The Hidden
Costs of a Plastic Planet,” all plastic waste management technologies “lead to
direct and indirect exposure to toxic substances for workers and nearby
communities, including through inhalation of contaminated air, direct contact
with contaminated soil or water, and ingestion of foods that were grown in an
environment polluted with these substances.”
“Toxins from emissions, fly ash, and slag in a burn pile
can travel long distances and deposit in soil and water, eventually entering
human bodies after being accumulated in the tissues of plants and animals,” the
report said.
For her part, zero waste campaigner Ochie Tolentino of
the EcoWaste Coalition challenged national and local governments to ban the
manufacture, importation, distribution and use of single-use disposable
plastics to stem the "plasticization" of the environment.
“National and local authorities need to enact aggressive
measures to fight plastic pollution that will hopefully bring about deep
changes in the way producers and consumers think, behave and live,” said
Tolentino.
“We urge the 18th Congress to end the production and consumption
of SUPs by enacting a national law complete with an ambitious phase-out plan
toward a society free of SUPs such as plastic bags, straws, stirrers, cutlery
and polystyrene beverage and food containers,” added Sonia Mendoza, Chairman,
Mother Earth Foundation.
While pushing for behavioral and policy reforms, the
EcoWaste Coalition and the Mother Earth Foundation also emphasized the need for
industries to switch to sustainable packaging, design toxic chemical additives
out of processes and products, and assume full responsibility for the retrieval
and recycling of their goods at the end of the product life cycle.
The Cavite Green Coalition, EcoWaste Coalition, Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives and the Mother Earth Foundation are members of the
Break Free from Plastic Movement, a global movement envisioning a future free
from plastic pollution.
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