Plastic is a Global Concern

The plastic waste problem is global, and a recent story caught my eye about how solutions exist when the will to change is strong. Vanuatu is an island nation in the Pacific Ocean, comprising just over 300,000 people across 83 islands. A few decades ago, a lagoon in the Erakor village was a beautiful area to fish and swim. A local leader now describes the area polluted with plastic: “We used fishing nets to pull some of the (plastic) trash out, but we didn’t know how to get rid of it all. We couldn’t conquer it, there was just too much.” (The Guardian, June 2024) Pacific Island nations are subjected to plastic from imports packaged in plastic, single-use plastic, and ocean currents that carry massive amounts of plastic waste onto island shores. Since there are no effective ways to manage plastic waste, it has polluted areas that were natural paradises just a few decades ago.

                The government of Vanuatu created laws in 2018 that prohibited certain single-use plastics, including plastic straws and plastic bags. Food is often wrapped in banana leaves, and an update to the law in 2020 banned additional single-use plastic, such as plastic cutlery and fake flowers. These banned plastic items constituted 35% of the island’s waste and now make up less than 2%. In other words, the government’s laws have drastically reduced the plastic waste on the islands. Laws are critical for solving problems, and according to the island leader, “Since they started the ban, you can see the lagoon has become cleaner.”

                Most of us live in more expensive areas and are not subject to the plastic waste generated by others around the world. According to Statistica, the United States exported 920 million pounds of scrap plastic in 2023. The New York Times reported in 2021: “Data shows that American exporters continue to ship plastic waste overseas, often to poorer countries, even though most of the world has agreed to not accept it.” Our plastic waste – even the part we carefully recycle – might pollute other places worldwide.

                   In Time Magazine’s story “Inside Fiji’s Fiery Battle Against Plastics,” a resident of Fiji stated, “Plastic rubbish is the worst kind. It is everywhere. It makes our country look so bad. I don’t want it to be a pollutant in our neighborhood, so I collect it and burn it so I can get rid of it.” “Less than a third of Fiji’s plastic waste is locally produced. The rest drifts in with ocean currents from as far away as South Africa and Mexico. It must be disposed of, wherever it comes from, and (hazardous) burning is often the simplest option.” Plastic-free July is a great time to reduce plastics. Consider contacting elected officials about addressing the plastic waste problem.

Julie Peller, Ph.D., is an environmental chemist (Professor of Chemistry at Valparaiso University ). She has been writing a weekly column called The Green Junction for the past seven years and is helping to move the call of Laudato Si to action forward. Her Research Interests are advanced oxidation for aqueous solutions, water quality analyses, emerging contaminants, air quality analyses, Lake Michigan shoreline challenges (Cladophora, water, and sediment contaminants), and student and citizen participation in environmental work.