Post by account_disabled on Mar 9, 2024 11:10:15 GMT
If people did not have to buy drinking water in bottles, a large amount of plastic waste would be diverted, which otherwise ends up in the oceans.
The problem of plastic pollution dumped into the world's oceans is large and daunting, for which countless solutions have been offered:
Improve collection services! Build better recycling facilities! Force companies to redesign single-use packaging! Tell people not to buy it! The advice goes on and on…
All of these suggestions are important and play a role in reducing ocean plastic pollution, but there's one idea that could make a bigger dent than the rest: Fix local drinking water supplies and eliminate the need to buy plastic water bottles. single use only . This could be the most effective way to reduce household plastic waste, especially in developing countries.
This recommendation was made by Chile Mobile Number List the authors of a new Blue Paper that examined strategies to address plastic pollution "in the context of an already stressed ocean." It was commissioned by the High-Level Panel for a Sustainable Ocean Economy, which has representatives from 14 countries that support the United Nations sustainable development goals.
"It addresses a different problem than the one we have in North America, where many people are in the habit of drinking bottled water, even though their tap water is perfectly fine. These people can sometimes be convinced to change their ways, the public narrative around plastic water bottles has changed in recent years, shrouding it in stigma. But for people in other parts of the world, who can't drink water from their taps, plastic plays an important role. "That's where governments must intervene."
An estimated 2 billion people are forced to buy drinking water in plastic bottles because local tap water supplies are unsafe. So it's no surprise that hundreds of billions of water bottles are produced annually and thrown away soon after use.
This often happens in places with limited collection and recycling services, meaning bottles pile up on land, eventually washing into water.
The management of wastewater and rainwater is necessary to prevent plastic containers from reaching rivers and therefore the sea, when they are discarded. A better local water supply would eliminate millions of people's dependence on plastic bottles. Other experts agreed, calling for urgent action to improve water supply and sewage services around the world, which could save people from poverty and disease, as well as reduce plastic waste.
The Guardian.
Easier said than done, of course. Even in Canada, there are indigenous communities in the north that lack drinking water and it is a national shame. But it is surely not impossible, especially if it became a priority for governments and a matter of international pressure. Indeed, as WaterAid's Jonathan Farr told The Guardian :
Resilient or prosperous countries cannot be imagined without safely managed water supplies. We also cannot have oceans that have any chance of recovering from the current influx of plastic waste
A review of drinking water would have to be accompanied by:
Better waste collection and recycling.
Disposal of wastewater and solid waste.
Small deposits on bottles to encourage returns.
Education campaigns about why it is now safe to use tap water.
However, think about the scale of ocean plastic pollution currently occurring – 8 million metric tons, or the equivalent of one truckload of garbage dumped into the ocean every minute – and fixing the problem seems less extreme than doing nothing.
The document contains a list of additional recommendations to reduce plastic pollution in the ocean that includes improving wastewater and stormwater management, implementing improvements in coastal areas, practicing radical efficiency of resources and the improvement of material recovery processes.