EcoWaste Coalition Calls for Genuine Zero Waste Solutions this Global Recycling Day

18 March 2024, Quezon City. The global recycling day being held every March 18 is a day for celebrating the role of recycling towards our greener future. However, for the toxics-free and zero-waste watchdog EcoWaste Coalition, this is the day to contend and emphasize to industries and consumers that plastic recycling is no longer enough in managing global plastic pollution.

According to Break Free From Plastics, less than 1 out of 10 products made with plastic packaging is being recycled. This is since the advent of plastic production in the 1950s. Meanwhile, a Greenpeace USA report in 2022 stated that mechanical and chemical recycling of plastic waste fail because plastic is extremely difficult to collect, virtually impossible to sort for recycling, and environmentally harmful to reprocess. To add, it is often made of and contaminated by toxic materials, and is not economical to recycle.

Aside from recycling, companies perpetuate quick-fix false solutions like waste incineration, cement kilns, bioplastics, and downcycling which generate high volumes of highly hazardous waste and toxic emissions.

“It is time for us to put an end to the myth that plastic recycling is a long-term solution to our global plastic pollution. Several studies have shown that recycling, a common solution by communities in managing plastic especially single use packaging is no longer working. Even the most industrialized countries find it difficult to properly collect and recycle plastic, moreso the developing countries with no proper waste management infrastructure. Industries championing various recycling schemes is a marketing ploy to fend off plastic regulation and efforts in lessening the plastic pollution problem. Instead of recycling which is an example of a downstream solution, we need a more upstream solution by calling for a reduction of plastics production and passing national policies on banning Single-Use Plastics (SUPS).” Ninya Sarmiento, Campaigner, Plastic Free Pilipinas.

Hence, EcoWaste Coalition is appealing to industries to lessen the manufacture of plastic and eliminate the toxic chemicals in plastic production to halt the escalating problem of plastic waste in the environment, especially in the world’s oceans. Furthermore, the group calls for an urgent transition from a throw-away culture to a more sustainable and circular economy, with reuse and refill at its core. In moving towards a circular economy, the government is urged to establish and mainstream zero waste stores or refilling stores to veer away from unnecessary plastic packaging materials and bags, while consumers are encouraged to patronize these stores. There is a common but differentiated responsibility in addressing this global issue. It can and should be addressed by all sectors.