Always. In our village in Cambodia where we work plastic is pervasive. There is no running water. No clean water. We’re in a drought. Many people live off $2 a day. Bottled water is necessary. The markets sell little snacks. Some are wrapped in palm leaves. Some come in plastic bags. There often isn’t time, money or education outreach to buy reusable produce bags. Capitalism by the developed world won the plastic battle here too. They had to compete against cheap imports. In countries just like here, the only way to afford to eat is from single-use items. In other places, there isn’t access to fresh foods.⠀
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Even sadder, the plastic then causes even more problems. In Cambodia there isn’t recycling. Across the world it needs to be burned. Everybody burns it here. The toxins are breathed in each and every day inhibiting development and organ functioning. It traps people. It ruins tourism. It kills endemic species and local populations. It collects around the home, swirls in the toxic leeched riverways from landfill, and overwhelms communities.⠀
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Countries that produce a lot of plastic or are manufacturing products that require it, are often sending them to developed countries for the end user to benefit whilst they suffer the consequences. ⠀
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Poverty trumps plastic.⠀
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The solution isn’t to try to force everyone in poverty to stop using plastic. We can’t even make that happen in privileged spaces with access to a lot more. It is to advocate for legislation so that companies aren’t allowed to create products that negatively impact our environment so much. It is to resolve inequality and address racism, colonialism, and all the underlying reasons for poverty. It is to invest heavily in countries that don’t have basic necessities AND support renewables and environmental protection. It is to make sustainable solutions the norm and ensure they’re affordable and accessible. ⠀
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Our world loves bandaid solutions but we’re in multiple environmental crises. We need to actually start resolving the roots of issues.
