Over the past couple of days, a misleading graphic on marine plastic pollution has been circulating on social media.
The visual material, based on a 2021 research paper by Lourens J J Meijer (formerly, with The Ocean Cleanup) and team, presents several Asian countries as top contributors to ocean plastic wastes without context and acknowledgment of what creates this scenario.
This harks back to the false narrative that #BreakFreeFromPlastic members countered for several years, finally leading to the retraction and apology from Ocean Conservancy in 2022 for their report that presented Asian countries as top ocean plastic polluters and promoted false solutions.
Since then, BFFP member Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives (GAIA) has been stewarding a process of restorative justice with movement leaders in the Philippines, Indonesia, Viet Nam, and other Asian countries.
“We failed to confront the root causes of plastic waste or incorporate the effects on the communities and NGOs working on the ground in the places most impacted by plastic pollution,” said Ocean Conservancy in its retraction.
The ocean conservancy opines that pinning pollution on one region only winds up eclipsing and obnubilating the outsized role that developed countries, especially the United States, have played and continue to play in generating and exporting plastic waste to this very region.
It is imperative to recognise that plastic pollutes across its lifecycle—from extraction of fossil fuels to manufacturing of single-use plastics, as well as polluting disposal technologies, and Global North countries dumping waste in Asia, Africa and Latin America.
Annual brand audits around the world have consistently shown the same top corporate plastic polluters globally.
Corporations must take accountability for the single-use plastics they produce which end up polluting the environment and harming human health.
Perpetuating the misleading framing that countries in Asia are the main contributors to plastic pollution in the oceans distracts from the real causes of plastic pollution as well as the solutions we need.
"Developed nations have been shifting their responsibility for waste management to under-resourced nations," said Mageswari Sangaralingam of Consumers' Association of Penang (Malaysia).
"Besides dealing with our own waste, we now have to manage other people's waste which potentially leads to leakage into the environment. Plastic pollution does not respect borders. We must end waste colonialism, and stop injustice." She added.
"Exporting plastic wastes to countries in Asia is just another form of colonialism, harming the most vulnerable communities," said Aileen Lucero, National Coordinator of Ecowaste Coalition (Philippines).
She also said, “Letting corporations continue their business-as-usual practices will simply propagate false solutions to the plastic waste crisis and will not bring us any closer to addressing the climate crisis and social injustices."
The coordinator of Vietnam Zero Waste Alliance believes the endeavours of western countries for waste treatment in Vietnam is mendacious.
“They are investing and profiting from recycling and treating their plastic waste in Vietnam where plastic waste is still being imported into our country [even when] environmental and social standards are very low," he said.
"The profits of these corporations and investors are exactly the external costs incurred by our environment and people," he added.
"At least we have 100 cities to ban single-use plastics now and the reuse revolution is on the rise. The zero waste cities also happen in some cities. Why are they always focused on blaming Asia when Asia is a home for zero waste solutions?" said Rahyang Nusantara, deputy director of Gerakan Indonesia Diet Kantong Plastik.
Continuing the false narrative that Asian countries are the world’s top plastic polluters ignores the role of the Global North in plastic overproduction and waste dumping.
Pushing false solutions, like incineration, waste to energy, and chemical recycling only distract and derail efforts to address the plastic crisis. BFFP urges all governments and corporations to end waste colonialism, and to support the Global Plastic Treaty.
Governments have the opportunity to bring systemic change through a holistic approach in tackling plastic pollution across the whole plastics value chain, focusing on prevention rather than cure, and providing effective solutions.
