Deep in the jungles of Thailand, in the small village of Karen /cah-rii-ang/ two mountains of water bottles lay side by side. One, a disheveled mess lying destitute, the other a mountain of sand-filled bottles. Six girls kneel over a pile of wet, granular dirt: a bamboo stick in one glove and an empty bottle in the other. Chatting and giggling, they fill the bottles with handfuls of sand, packing them tightly with bamboo sticks. They stack each completed bottle next to them methodically building miniature hills which will soon be added to the bulky heap. It starts to pour forcing us to suspend our work. Thai villager and GIVE Volunteers guide, Pidech kicks a tree in the nearby garden and papayas rain down; Pidech howls triumphantly, scoops one up, slices it open with his machete and disperses chunks of juicy papaya to each of us. Enjoying my fruit under a large hut, patiently waiting for the rain to subside, I smile, knowing these fortuitous single-use plastics will get a second chance. They have been repurposed and will serve as bricks for a local school bathroom in the hill tribe villages just outside of Chiang Mai, Thailand. Regrettably, the vast majority of the plastic waste accumulating in Southeast Asia does not get this opportunity.
For decades, western civilization has been avoiding pricey processing by hauling our waste across the sea to countries with more lax regulations. China was the world’s primary importer of plastic until January 2018 when they implemented a ban on plastic imports due to poorly managed waste wreaking havoc for their environment. I wondered where all of this trash would end up after learning about the Chinese government’s sudden ban. I was appalled to uncover that with China out of the picture, developing countries have looked to Southeast Asia to fill that role. The shores of Thailand, Sri Lanka, the Philippines and Malaysia have become consumed by crates of unwanted western waste. What was once acres of agriculture has quickly been annihilated and replaced by hazardous toxic dumps.
Illicit dumping and unauthorized imports run rampant all throughout Southeast Asia. But, my heart sinks each time I reminisce about the beloved Thai jungle and speculate on how much has presumably changed. Thailand’s plastic imports saw a 2,000% increase after China’s plastic ban according to Greenpeace’s news website Unearthed. This magnificent country where I left a piece of my heart only three years ago has deteriorated at a rate of 500% every year since I left Chiang Mai in 2017.
China’s ban was implemented over two years ago but Southeast Asian countries are still struggling to deal with the abrupt surge in imports. Recently, some of these disproportionately affected nations have begun to push back against the West’s demands. Since China’s resignation as Earth’s garbage junkyard, Malaysia has become the world’s largest importer of waste. But Malaysian Environmental Minister, Yeo Bee Yin, is working tirelessly to change that. Since last summer, Malaysia has made some high-profile moves, sending over 150 vessels of waste back to wealthy countries: countries have been evading regulations by exporting their trash to developing nations for far too long. Included on the list of dump-dodgers are France, Japan, Canada, Spain, the UK and undoubtedly, the United States.
The Philippines has also made their resistance known. Just this past June, the Phillipines filled a cargo ship to the brim with 69 containers of Canadian contaminated waste to be sent back to Vancouver. Contaminated waste refers to any non-recyclable or dirty material thrown in with recyclable waste. Phillipine President Rodrigo Duterte threatened to dump the load of rubbish into Candian waters if they refused to accept their garbage. Duterte alleged that the Canadian government had missed their deadline to take back polluted trash that was sent to the Philippines between 2013 and 2014. Eventually, Canada agreed, still insisting they would need more time to prepare for the shipment.
Not only are richer countries sidestepping the handling of their own absurd amount of waste but when misclassified perilous shipping containers end up unaccounted for on the shores of Sri Lanka, the West is posing serious health risks for the country’s citizens. Just this past Summer, Sri Lanka shipped 111 containers of UK waste labeled “metal recycling” back to Britain after locals noticed and complained about a rancid stench ascending from the waste. Upon further investigation, Sri Lankan officials discovered the containers were staggeringly mislabeled. Medical supplies and rotting remains, namely unrefrigerated human organs, were found amongst the rubble. This is evidently not a stand-alone case; incorrectly labeled containers exported to Asia prove hazardous time and time again.
Sri Lanka has been crushed under the overwhelming amount of garbage…literally. Back in 2017, twenty-eight people were killed after a garbage dump collapsed atop a residential neighborhood. Methane gas, naturally produced by the decaying trash, ignited that afternoon. This led to an explosion which trapped families within their homes, ripped houses from their foundations and crushed people under debris.
The struggle between rich countries and their poverty-stricken counterparts has been going on behind the scenes for decades and there is no conclusion in sight. Southeast Asians, regardless of their country of origin, are all exceptionally vulnerable as they continue to endure the dangers of this crisis daily, waiting for a change to be made.
Thailand is the first to take substantial action in their homeland, starting off 2020 strong by demanding all major stores ban plastics, specifically plastic bags. This overdue campaign was put in motion when the government teamed up with retailers to work together towards the ultimate goal of a complete ban on single-use plastics by 2021. To no surprise, Thai shoppers have gotten creative, snubbing the expense of reusable grocery bags by replacing plastic bags with various, random containers. From hampers to wheelbarrows to fishing nets, Thai people are just as resilient and resourceful as I remember.
Reduce, reuse, recycle is ingrained in Americans from a young age. But with the truth about waste exporting finally exposed, society needs to let go of the fictitious fairytale that is recycling and start focusing our attention on innovative ways to reduce and reuse. If political leaders won’t step up, we will have to step up individually. Reduction is imperative and easier than ever, with reusable water jugs and straws finally permeating American culture.
In terms of reuse, using water bottles as “bricks” is just one of the many ways to repurpose our waste. Isatou Ceesay, an African woman from Gambia, has inspired thousands after becoming increasingly horrified by the damage that plastic bags were causing in her community. From the expeditious breeding of mosquitoes within the bags to the hazardous fumes released from burning plastic, Ceesay decided to take action. She contemplated and imagined how these bags could be used in new ways and soon began crocheting plastic bags together using them as yarn, or ‘plarn’, to create work bags. Ceesay then sold her invention to surrounding villages, stimulating the local economy while simultaneously providing single-use plastic bags with a fresh purpose.
Students at Harlan Elementary School in Birmingham are just one example of the many who have been influenced by Ceesay. They implemented her ‘plarn’ crocheting technique to create pillows, bags and mats to be donated to the homeless. Ceesay’s innovative idea has laid the groundwork for the rest of us, demonstrating just how easily single-use plastics can take on unconventional new functions. From using a plastic bottle as your child’s piggy bank to employing plastic bags as bin liners, the options for repurposing are virtually endless.
On my last day in Thailand, we hiked quite a long way: ten miles with a fifteen pound backpack weighing me down. A fellow volunteer puked three miles in. Another lagged behind the group, puffing on her inhaler every few strides. I was trapped in my thoughts for the bulk of the hike. Focused on the agonizing pain in my back and aching soreness in my feet, I cursed myself for packing so much unnecessary junk. In spite of it all, we made it to the top of the hill four hours later.
Just a few minutes after we pulled off this inconceivable hike, as I’m basking in my victory, something miraculous caught my eye. I watched in awe as a village elder deliberately trudged up the hill that I had stumbled up begrudgingly just a moment ago. Hunched over, she borne a sizable bundle of wood on her back. As she took her final steps, she met my undoubtedly mystified gaze and smiled graciously, the wrinkles around her eyes scrunching. We held eye contact for a few moments longer, then she unloaded her treasure onto the ground.
This woman, without knowing, illustrated the discrepancy between American and Thai culture right before my eyes. Instead of buying a plastic-wrapped case of timber and a Duraflame from the 7/11 on the corner, she spent hours collecting wood from the jungle, utilizing her local natural resources. Instead of loading up an 18-wheeler with enough lumber to last until the following Summer, she physically lugged a family-sized portion on her back, just enough to get her loved ones through the night.
These are just a few of the aspects of the Thai culture that we could benefit from emulating. This worldwide garbage crisis all traces back to the West’s excessive, wasteful tendencies and proclivity towards a constant longing for more. Drastic societal changes must be made to address this global catastrophe which affects us all. Shipping trash to Asia solves absolutely nothing for the United States; it is like putting a bandaid over a bullet wound.
We cannot ever take back the damage that we have already done. But, we can meander this modern world with a certain discerning eye. We can educate those around us. We can demand that our nation’s government take action and we can vote accordingly. And even if that doesn’t work, we can control what we do by changing our habits to reduce our footprints. No matter how steep the hill or how unattainable the goal, I will load the wood onto my back, burdened without complaint, until I reach the top of the mountain and can look out at our vast, immaculate, uncultivated Earth and smile victoriously.