Look around and you will see it but might not notice it. It is inconspicuous but omnipresent. According to National Geographic, four hundred and forty million tons of it were manufactured in 2015. By 2050, this number is expected to double. From coastal countries, about eight million tons of it enter the ocean. It is plastics, a familiar parasite.
Two years ago, Justin Hofman’s photo of a tiny seahorse went viral. The image is striking. An yellowish brown seahorse, about as long as an unstretched hairband, grips with its tail a baby pink ear-bud, carrying it like it is its companion. And, it is not just the tiny beings, plastics are a threat to whale sharks, too — the biggest fish in the sea. All they need to do is to ingest a plastic bag. And, in the sea, plastic bags are increasing and whale sharks decreasing.
The battle against plastic pollution is, at the moment, similar to a seahorse fighting a whale shark. Still, this is a fight that needs to be fought.
“It is ridiculous. I think, around the world, 9% of plastic gets recycled. We have to step it up in terms of getting recycling systems,” says Andrew Almack, the founder of Plastics for Change.
- Next time you purchase anything made of plastic, ask yourself if you are supporting responsible supply chains.
- Drink with your mouth; not with a straw.
- Just inform yourself about plastic; you will understand it is a personal issue.
- Segregate waste at the household level. Once you do that, the rest of the supply chain becomes much easier.
Plastics for Change, started in Bengaluru in 2015, provides technical assistance to brands and manufacturers to replace the use of virgin plastic with ethically sourced recycled plastic. Last year, it was the winner of Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Inclusive Innovation Challenge for Income Growth and Job Creation in Asia. It is also certified by the World Fair Trade Organisation.
The idea for Plastics for Change sparked within Andrew when he, to work on a thesis, flew from his motherland, Canada, to a few South Asian countries. “I witnessed heart-wrenching levels of poverty and plastic pollution.” He saw a connection between the two. “People weighing less than 40 kilograms and struggling to find food. Plastic falling to the wayside and winding up in our oceans. As I observed more, it hit me. Plastic is a valuable resource — could these people make an income off collecting it? From that moment, Plastics For Change was born.”
When he visited India, he decided that he would establish his organisation here. “I travelled around cities like Mumbai, Coimbatore… and thought India is a good place for Plastics for Change. Because there are hundreds of millions who live below the poverty line and then coupled with quickly growing consumption rate of plastic.”
Andrew, for the most part of the last four years, has been staying in Bengaluru. When asked what made him stay, he jokes, “The food here is delicious.”
“I go back to Canada every year for Christmas. But feel useless there. I don’t have the opportunity to address two problems (of poverty and plastics) together... I love the work here.”
The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) estimated in 2015 that Indian cities generate about 15,000 tonnes of plastic waste per day and nearly 40% of India’s plastic waste is neither collected nor recycled. “Yeah, it is not acceptable. But at the same time it is difficult. All growing municipalities are dysfunctional over the world. So that’s why it’s so important that the leaders of our brands make the decision to use recycled material.”
Andrew Almack spoke at the TEDx Bangalore event on October 20
Published - November 12, 2019 04:47 pm IST
