Introduction
Often, the modern benefits of civilization create convenience for people and cause irreparable damage to nature. In the last ten years alone, more plastic products have been produced worldwide than in the previous century. The exponential increase in the amount of industrial, unique, and household waste makes us think about the problem of garbage removal and disposal. One modern city resident throws out about 1 ton of various waste per year, which needs to be put somewhere (Chen B. et al., 2021). In the conditions of megacities, the formation of spontaneous dumps should not be allowed, so there will always be work for companies involved in garbage removal.
Notes from history tell that at the beginning, about two centuries ago, an industrial revolution took place in England, as a result of which the first manufactories using machine labor were born. Progress occurred rapidly, which allowed the first factories to evolve into giant enterprises, where human labor is used in a minimal amount. Such rapid progress in science and technology has one significant drawback: the global garbage pollution of the native planet.
Disposable tableware, bags, packaging, bottles, and various containers are the most common types of plastic waste that companies produce every day. Only ten percent of its volume is ultimately recycled and reused in everyday life (Chen B. et al., 2021). Consequently, the garbage may be hiding out in landfills, but the effects on our environment are in plain sight. Garbage is one of the main contributors to our pollution issues. Garbage pollution affects our land, water, and air.
Background and Consequences
The industrial revolution gave rise to various types of production globally, which over time sought to use more efficient and cheaper materials. The pursuit of efficiency turned out to have adverse effects on the planet and nature: greenhouse gas emissions and pollution of the Earth increased significantly. Now that global warming is already affecting the problem, many federal authorities are required to regulate the operation of industries (Narethong, 2020). Most large companies set goals and operations for the transition to environmentally friendly technologies, materials that can be recycled entirely.
The American environmental researcher Chris Dearmitt in his book The Plastics Paradox, proposes, first of all, to separate the concept of garbage from the concept of waste (2020). Garbage should be considered an unnecessary object thrown in the wrong place, not in a particular container, which leads to clogging of the environment where it is left. In this case, the same unnecessary item should be considered waste but left in a specially equipped place, such as a garbage container (Dearmitt, 2020). This terminological approach allows us to separate garbage from waste and recognize the fact that the environment is polluted exclusively by garbage left by man. According to statistics, in the US, 85% of garbage arises due to individual human behavior (Ahmann, 2019). However, of all single-use items with a short lifespan – the ones usually thrown away the fastest – 83% end up in designated waste collection areas, and 17% end up thrown anywhere, i.e., become garbage (Ahmann, 2019). Of this 17%, half of the volume of garbage is lying around the waste collection points, which indicates, although unsuccessful, still the intention of a person to get correctly rid of unnecessary things.
Disposable bags clog city sewer systems and create flood threats, and plastic debris litter beaches, and recreational coastal areas, hurting the tourism industry. Factories producing plastic products release up to 400 million tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere per year, and approximately 800 animal species are now threatened with extinction due to eating and poisoning plastic (Walker et al., 2019). It is known that plastic decomposes for about two hundred years. Once in the ground, plastics break down into small particles and release chemicals added to them during production into the environment. It can be various chlorine chemicals, such as toxic or carcinogenic flame retardants. Micro granules of plastic and its chemicals seep through the groundwater to the nearest water sources, which often leads to the mass death of animals.
Attempts to stop the catastrophic trend have continued since the middle of the 20th century. Even then, environmentalists sounded the alarm about the growing “Great Garbage Patch,” which currently, according to various estimates, covers up to one percent of the Pacific Ocean. According to UN environmentalists, about 13 million tons of plastic waste enter the ocean every year (Walker et al., 2019). Plastic makes up 80 percent of all debris in the world’s oceans. Under the influence of sunlight, it breaks down into tiny particles; plastic microgranules accumulate persistent toxic substances on their surface (Walker et al., 2019). Undecomposed plastic bags end up in the stomachs of marine mammals and birds. Ecologists have calculated that tens of thousands of birds, whales, seals, and turtles die every year from this (Quispe-Mamani et al., 2021). Animals die of suffocation, or indigestible debris accumulates in their stomachs and interferes with their work.
This problem is social because to eliminate it, it is needed to do only three things: clean up, promote garbage collection, and create conditions for convenient and widespread garbage collection. All three of these activities are entirely dependent on the person and, as a result, are in the area of responsibility of people. The consequences affect nature first of all, but human life lies in continuing this influence. People eat fish from the ocean, which is polluted; people breathe poisoned air. If nothing is changed, then the effect of garbage can be highly damaging in the future.
Points of View
It is logical to assume that those regions are more responsible for garbage pollution where there are more industries. These countries include Asian ones: China, Thailand, Vietnam, and many others. Over the past decades, China has gained dubious fame as one of the direst environmental situations. In January 2020, the authorities unveiled a plan to phase out non-degradable plastic in certain areas and replace it with new materials by the end of 2025 (Tong et al., 2020). Restrictive measures have already affected large cities of the Celestial Empire: by the end of December, shops, restaurants, pharmacies, and other places that serve the mass consumer must completely abandon plastic bags, cutlery, and drinking straws. In reality, China is facing a problem where the authorities’ will alone is not enough. Difficulties in producing and importing household waste for recycling have been going on for more than forty years, and it takes years to change this process entirely. So far, the authorities are putting forward a plan without harsh punishments for violators, but to achieve a result, it is necessary to move on to more drastic measures after a while.
However, the US is also one of the leaders in producing plastic waste. This problem was exacerbated during the pandemic when personal protective equipment was added to the waste (Nwogugu, 2021). The country is trying to get rid of waste through exports and landfills, but these are far from the most effective measures from an environmental point of view. The ocean suffers the most in this region: although the population of the United States is much smaller than India, for example, they come next in the ranking of water pollution with garbage (Anderson & Leal, 2019). Because of this, coastal residents are forced to eat poisoned fish and sometimes even walk on a mountain of plastic. The environmental problem affects, explicitly or indirectly, everyone – from ordinary residents of the region to manufacturers under pressure from the authorities and the global community.
Solution
The decision was born during China’s refusal to partially import plastic waste, on which many European countries and countries in North America were dependent. This decision provides that the import of plastic waste must now be carried out in other countries, not only Asian ones. Advanced economies such as the UK and the US can invest in developing manufacturing industries in emerging economies, which can generate many jobs. In addition, countries that have been able to recycle waste with environmental technologies will also be able to work with their waste, reducing ocean, air, and environmental pollution. Government officials will improve their economy through promising developments, and ordinary people will get cleaner land and jobs.
China’s political decision should not mean that the “problem” of plastic waste will move to other countries or be buried in landfills. Instead, this opportunity should be a starting point for developing sustainable plastic waste management practices and increasing recycling levels in waste-exporting countries. Green legislative solutions for industry allow governments to use this opportunity to get rid of plastic waste where it is generated. Plastic waste regulations demonstrate how green industrial policy can directly affect our daily lives (Chen D. et al., 2021). While research on green industrial policy is somewhat scarce to date, the United Nations Environment Program and the Partnership for Action for Green Economy are leading the way in providing data, insights, and concrete advice to policymakers, enabling them to implement these transformations in their countries (Unuofin, 2020). Therefore, according to this decision, there are already certain developments at the supranational level.
The share of waste imported into China is approximately 8 million tons every year, going to other countries. Such a large volume is unlikely to be immediately pulled by any other state except China, and therefore preliminary measures are required for the UK and the USA. Governments and authorities also have a role to play by investing in recycling and waste management, and the UK government is already drawing up a plan (Jefferson, 2019). The ban exposed systemic weaknesses in recycling processes in the United States. The National Recycling Coalition said the ban exposed problems stemming from dirty recyclables (Yoshida, 2022). The introduction of single-stream recycling in the United States, which mixes paper, metal, glass, and plastic, means that a significant proportion of recyclables are less clean and less valuable by about 45%. Some developed countries have responded to the ban by sending their waste to Southeast Asian countries such as Thailand and Malaysia, and some Chinese recycling entrepreneurs have set up factories in neighboring countries to generate income from this new business (Jebe, 2020). The new industry has promising growth rates. Moreover, it can be stimulated by the federal authorities of various countries.
When it comes to state and scientific sources pursuing shared interests, there is no doubt of reliability. The only obstacle to achieving the goal is time. The strengths of such sources lie in their unanimous agreement on pretty large targets: weaknesses – the absence of the only correct solution in practical implementation and the lack of such experience. Future research lies precisely in the plane of applied application, including economic and political nuances. A positive ethical result is to increase jobs in environmentally significant enterprises and develop a critical and promising business area. However, as a result, production may not fully realize the processing in their economic interests, which are above environmental ones. A negative result suggests the intervention of foreign countries in the economy of developing countries’ various buildings in the regions. This development of events can lead to various conflicts, loss of production, and violation of agreements, again to the detriment of nature.
Conclusion
Garbage pollutes the planet, and to stop this adverse effect, the authorities’ involvement is needed. One possible solution lies in the plane of economics and politics: China provoked the need to develop this infrastructure in other countries by refusing to accept waste imports. The development of the recycling industry in developing countries will allow recycling their garbage in return for polluting the earth and oceans and cooperating with the UK, the USA, and other developed economies through investment. However, to fully solve the problem, an integrated approach is needed that changes the culture of consumption in the self-consciousness of each person.
References
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