The effects of COVID-19 are quickly being felt in nearly every corner of the globe and in nearly every aspect of our lives so it’s not a surprise that this should extend to the impact marketplace. More specifically, the disease and looming economic crisis are stressing our local waste operations and also depressing trade value of recycling in ways that may increase the amount of ocean plastic and undermine progress made on the issue to-date. We do not have to just sit by and watch the ocean plastic crisis worsen.
COVID-19 is further exposing the enormous scale of investment we need in the circular economy to stem the tide, particularly in regions of the world where they are the most fragile and the investment capital can have the biggest impact, like South and Southeast Asia (SSEA). What’s more, the crisis serves as a stern reminder for the need for the sustainability movement to focus its efforts on long-term solutions – not quick fixes – so business models and infrastructure can endure and even prosper in times of crisis like now.
We’re actively working with several recycling and waste management operators in India and Indonesia and our views of COVID-19 and the economic situation were pretty well-reflected by Vincent Kneefel of WWF in his recent piece on this topic.
First, there is an increase in demand for single-use plastics. Second, there is an increased likelihood that the virus will affect the front lines of workers in the waste management sector, especially among the already at-risk populations of waste pickers in the informal sector. Without proper gear they will be exposed to the virus and for these reasons some of these groups have already gone on strike. At the same time, recyclers are being hurt by downward pressure on the value of their commodities thanks to the drop in oil prices driven by the price war between Saudi Arabia and Russia that is making virgin plastic cheaper. COVID-19 plus the oil price war is a double hit for local circular economies around the world.
None of these impacts should be that surprising, particularly the reflexive retreat to single-use plastics, which has understandably created a lot of immediate controversy. Municipalities and companies that had set goals in the past few years or taken action to reduce single-use plastics are slowing or reversing (or ignoring) these efforts amid the COVID-19 pandemic as the demand for bottled water, face masks, hand sanitizer, plastic bags, and cleaning wipes significantly increases. Starbucks
As I’ve said many times before, plastic bans are not the magic solution to solve the ocean plastic crisis and they can only work as part of a broader set of policy solutions. First, it is very difficult to get consumers to change their behaviors – people use plastic bags for convenience reasons and consumers tend to get their way over time. Second, the fact that bans can be quickly reversed by businesses and governments strongly suggests that, taken by themselves, they are insufficient to combat ocean plastic.
We've learned this lesson time and again in the sustainability movement: if we want to harness the power of consumers to fight the ocean plastic crisis, the solutions we focus on must be better, and not a sacrifice or inferior alternative.
Because plastic waste is going to increase, now potentially at an even more rapid pace, we need to find ways for those on the front lines of this challenge – small to mid-sized enterprises (SMEs) in our recycling and waste management sectors – to make money from this waste so it becomes a resource and not a scourge.
The current crisis only underscores our need on a global scale to galvanize investor capital to double down on investments that turn plastic waste from an economic and environmental cost into a resource and valued commodity for the local communities in South and Southeast Asia where the crisis is at its most extreme and where more than half of ocean plastic originates.
In uncertain times like these, those on the front lines of the waste and recycling sector and the communities in which they operate need us most. We must be more focused than ever in investing in resiliency and localized economies to ensure the continued emergence of a circular economy. Only then can we build the kinds of sustainable value chains we need for these sectors to survive the next COVID-19 and protect our oceans.
