When a whale in Thailand was found on the beach dead after swallowing 80 plastic bags (about 8 kilograms), the world was aghast.
But to Darrell Dean Blatchley, it was nothing new. The handsome American, who is behind the D’Bone Collector Museum in Davao City, has seen first-hand cases of such scenario. There are more than 100 terrestrial animal species displayed in the museum. More than 500 aquatic animal species, including dugong and marine turtles, can be found inside the museum.
“Of the 3 known whale and dolphin skeletons on display in the Philippines, our museum cleaned and assembled 2 of those,” he says. “Worldwide there are 83 species of whales and dolphins. The Philippines has 27 and the Davao Gulf alone has at least 18. On display in the museum are 14 species.”
Every animal displayed has a story. There’s Mercy, a dwarf sperm whale, which died in a fish net. Another one is a false killer whale named Alcoholic because he was found dead with a bottle of alcoholic beverage inside the stomach. Another marine mammal died after eating a piece of plastic wrapper.
“It’s high time for Filipinos to know that the plastics they are throwing anymore will not only clog the canals during rainy season but most of them end up in the seas, which can be eaten by various marine creatures,” Blatchley deplores.
This was the reason why the Philippine Network of Environmental Journalists, Inc. (PNEJ) – in cooperation with the Internews’ Earth Journalism Network – convened a reporting workshop on plastic pollution in the Philippines for Filipino journalists across the country last week.
“We believe that the media plays a crucial role in focusing the attention of the public and policymakers in addressing this pressing problem environmental concern for positive action,” explained Imelda V. Abano, the PNEJ president.
It is estimated that an additional eight million tons of plastics goes into the oceans every year –this is in addition to the more than five trillion pieces of plastic estimated to be littering the oceans currently.
“The larger pieces of plastic injure, impair, and kill wildlife, while the disintegration of plastic debris and the manufacturing of microbeads are wholly poisoning marine ecosystems,” declares The TreadRight Foundation, an environmental group based in Singapore.
According to a report by the World Economic Forum, if nothing is done to push back against the deluge of plastics currently overwhelming the world’s oceans there could be more plastic in the oceans than fish by 2050.
“Plastics are a clear and present danger to the future of our planet,” says Céline Cousteau, TreadRight Ambassador.
But what environmental groups in the Philippines concern most are those single-use plastics. Examples include plastic bags, straws, coffee stirrers, soda and water bottles and most food packaging. The country’s so-called “sachet economy” has also contributed to the proliferation of plastics. Products sold in single-use sachets include instant coffee, shampoo, cooking oil, food seasoning and toothpaste. Once they’re used, they are just thrown away.
In a news dispatch, British Prime Minister Theresa May dubbed the single use plastic items one of “the greatest environmental challenges facing the world.” Barry E. DiGregorio wrote in an article that “disposed plastic materials can remain in the environment for up to 2,000 years and longer.”
Associated Press quoted Sherri Mason, chair of the geology and environmental sciences department at the State University of New York at Fredonia, as saying: “We have to confront this material and our use of it, because so much of it is single use disposable plastic and this is a material that doesn’t go away. It doesn’t return to the planet the way other materials do.”
Environment Secretary Roy Cimatu agrees. “Plastic, particularly those for single-use packaging, has greatly contributed to the degradation of the environment,” he points out. “Plastic pollution continues to poison our oceans and injure marine life. When not properly disposed, they clog waterways and cause flooding.”
In areas where tourism is booming, he says he will encouraged hotel and other establishments to use dispensers for their liquid soap, shampoo and conditioner; while stores will be asked to sell condiments like soy sauce, vinegar and cooking oil through refilling stations.
“Let us go back to basics,” the environment head urged. “We used to bring a glass bottle to the sari-sari store when we buy cooking oil and vinegar. Let’s do the same now.”
Eligio Ildefonso, the national solid waste management commission executive director, supports a ban on single-use plastic items throughout the country.
“Single-use plastic is what its name says, for single-use,” he said. “It cannot be recycled and reused; people have no motivation to recover it. It has no further use so it should be discouraged.”
Instead of plastic bags, Ildefonso encourages the use of eco-bags when buying wet and dry goods. “Eco-bags can be reused; you can wash them; they do not contribute to solid waste,” he pinpointed.
In a report released a few years ago, the Ocean Conservancy singled out five countries where majority of plastics originates: China, Indonesia, the Philippines, Vietnam, and Thailand.
“As rapidly developing economies, these countries are now passing through a typical stage of economic growth as consumer demand for disposable products grows more rapidly than the waste management infrastructure,” the report said. (To be concluded)
