Waste Colonialism Beware

 

Recently I have seen this infographic circulating on social media. While it may serve its purpose to inform and call to action, it is also misleading. The Philippines does throw an alarming volume of plastic into rivers and seas but by no means the biggest plastic polluter to the world's waters.

Ocean Conservancy, the NGO that published the 2015 report that purportedly found five Asian countries topping the list of the world's worst plastic polluters, has since issued a retraction and apology. Critics point out that the report was a case of "waste colonialism", which creates a false narrative that puts more blame on end user populations in developing countries as mainly responsible for the extent of plastic pollution in the world, while downplaying the overproduction of plastic and exportation of plastic wastes by big business from developed countries.

Here's a link: https://www.theguardian.com/.../ocean-conservancy-ngo...

Nevertheless, the battle to stem plastic pollution continues, beginning with personal lifestyle changes, corporate social and ecological accountability, and public policy reforms especially in banning single use plastics and curbing plastic dependence with more sustainable practices and alternatives.

Here's a more accurate infographic.