Mitigating The Issue Of Plastic Waste: Analysis And Measures

Part 1 of RP1
1. Identify an issue. Give an introduction of the issue. Why the issue is a challenge?
2. Discuss how the issue can be mitigated.
3. Identify who are the stakeholders with their engagement. Put some concluding remarks.

Part 2 of RP1
4. Define the term stakeholder with examples.
5. Make a comprehensive list of requirements of previously identified stakeholders.

The severity and impact of plastic waste on the environment

Plastic waste is the major issue that is posing a challenge to the natural environment. It has become a serious issue that need to be address to keep the environment safe and natural. The major reason for the wastage of plastic is the industries (Arthur, 2017).in recent time, people are wasting plastic in their household or company. In the reflective paper, the major issue has been discussed that is plastic waste. There are various ways through which this issue can be mitigated such as strict rules for proper disposal and recycle of plastic by the industries, creating awareness among people. A detailed analysis of the mitigation of plastic waste is being highlighted in the paper. In recent times, the maximum amount of  wastageis done by industries that do not dispose and recycle the plastic waste. Stakeholders are those people who are basically engaged with success or failure of any project. Further discussion is carried on stakeholders who are engaged with plastic wastage.  For mitigate the plastic wastage, some I industries require updated technology so that proper disposal or recycle of plastic can be done. Besides this, there are several requirements of society and government that is analysed through the paper.  

Plastic is that kind of material that is commonly used in everyday life in various forms. In today’s environment, plastic waste is a major issue that is putting negative impact on human, society, and natural environment. It is the major toxic pollutants in present time that pollutes the earth and leads to water and air pollution. The production of plastic is increasing every year due to which it is affecting the society in many ways. There are still many areas in the world where waste management practices are not followed in spite of rapid development (Green facts, 2018).

The use of plastic is done by many businesses that pose challenges to those people who are living nearby those industries. Besides this, plastic waste is the societal challenge. Plastics are entering the world’s ocean that result in global system failure by threatening the marine food and causing chemical and physical contamination. The plastic waste that is not recycled is thrown into the soil that is affecting the various animals as well (MicroBiology society, 2018). In today’s business environment, almost every retail market or supermarket using plastic bags. Therefore, it becomes the prime pollutant of oceans and the major cause of global warming.

Plastic waste can be reduced by avoiding the use of plastic bags. Additionally, in various schools, the plastic waste should be started to teach the harmful effects of the plastic so that students can avoid using these in daily routine. Besides this, the strict rule should be made in parks regarding the use of plastic cups or things. There should be cameras to check the time-to-time update regarding cleanliness or park. Besides this, almost in every part of the world, people should be aware about the environmental protections norms so that they make proper use of plastic things (Andrady, 2015).

Measures to mitigate plastic waste

Besides the above-mentioned measures Government and businesses can take following initiatives to mitigate the issue-

• Cleaning and banning- various cleaning program should be started by government for cleaning the oceans. In spite of this, strict rules should be made by government for the use of plastic and replace it with the green products, although in various countries measures are taken to ban plastic then also it has not stopped completely (Lawson, 2018).
• Regulate the packaging, as it is huge source of unnecessary wastage. Make the packaging recyclable or degradable. Industries should take the corporate social responsibility regarding the use of plastic in sustainable manner (IDS, 2018).

Society- society includes all those people who are affecting or getting affected by the wastage of plastic. These people are engaged with the wastage of plastic. I have seen various people in the society who use plastic bottles and throw it an as a result further harm the natural environment. In this way, society is the major stakeholder who is engaged with the wastage of people (Jambeck et al, 2015).

Government – government play a major role in minimising the plastic waste. The government for the proper disposal of plastic waste makes various laws. I have seen various parks where proper facilities for dustbins are there just to aware people specially kids. Government is taking various efforts to mitigate the wastage of plastic near oceans and society (Raines, 2018).

Retailer and supermarkets- in recent days, retailer, and supermarkets are the major reason behind the plastic bags. Despite of various laws, they are making use of plastic bags in their supermarkets. I have gone in various supermarkets where still the use of plastic bags is prevailing. These plastic bags are thrown somewhere that does not dispose properly (Bowns et al, 2018).

Customers- while going for shopping in various supermarkets and retail stores, customers purchase such materials that made from plastic. Customer is not aware by the harmful effects that plastic can cause which in turn affecting the natural environment. In this way, customers are the stakeholder who are damaging the plastic by consuming it (Ar?  and Y?lmaz, 2017).

Therefore, all those people who are responsible for managing or spreading the plastic waste are the stakeholders.

Stakeholders are those persons who have some interest in the success or failure of any project. Stakeholders play a significant role in anything as per my perception. In the plastic waste, the major stakeholders behind the wastage of plastic are society and industries. In recent days, the use of plastic is increased so that they can earn profit which in turn leads to the failure of project that started by the government.

For example- in various offices, plastic disposals are consumed by various people who are working there. In this case, the employees are the stakeholders who are making the wrong use of the plastic (Rochman, 2016).

The plastic bags manufactured by industries, is further supplied by a person who is promoting the use of plastic bags. In this case, supplier will be the stakeholders of plastic waste.

Government for the proper disposal or recycle of plastic, introduces various laws so that the wastage of plastic can be minimised to some extent.   In this way, government is the stakeholder who is concerned about the natural environment.

• Awareness among people- the basic requirement for the citizens or society to address the issue is awareness. Various schools, universities can start an awareness programme so that students can understand the harms that these things can cause to the natural environment. It is understood that if we “educate a child, he can change the world.”  If people get aware about the harmful effects of plastic, he or she can deny to the supermarkets for taking bags that are made up of plastic.
• Proper technology- the plastic pollution in various oceans requires land based solution. Similarly, in various industries there is lack of updated technologies through which they are not able to recycle the waste. Besides this, there is lack of skilled persons through which plastic wastage is not getting disposed. For these industries, it requires updated technology and skilled person to address the plastic wastage.
• Support- the major requirement for government is the support of people. Government has introduced various laws regarding the wastage of plastic near oceans, public areas and various industries (Chartier, 2014). However, still people are not getting aware for the cleanliness. It requires the government to start awareness programmes for society so that the upcoming generation can understand the cost of polluting the environment.

Conclusion:

From the above discussed paper, it can be concluded that the plastic waste become a serious issue that need to be address by the common people as well as government. In recent days, we can see heap of plastic anywhere in the corner of oceans or parks. The plastic waste has become a serious issue that need to mitigate by taking several measures by the government and society. It became necessary to educate people regarding the harmful effects of plastic waste. People still are not aware about the harmful effects of plastic waste. Therefore, to overcome the issue, it is necessary for citizens to abide by the law that are made by government to overcome from the issue.

References:

Andrady, A.L. (2015) Plastic and Environmental Sustainability. United States: John Wiley & Sons.

Ar?, E and Y?lmaz, V. (2017) Consumer attitudes on the use of plastic and cloth bags. Environment, Development and Sustainability, 19(4), pp.1219-1234.

Arthur, D.E. (2017) Beyond Plastic Waste. [online] Available from: https://science.sciencemag.org/content/358/6365/843 [accessed 30|06|18].

Bowns, V., Jenkins, C., Njigha, N., Stratton, V. and Telfer-Wan, J. (2018) Plastic pollution solutions: Looking for solutions for reducing the amount of plastic debris in our oceans. [online] Available from: https://www.imperial.ac.uk/media/imperial-college/grantham-institute/public/publications/briefing-papers/The-ocean-plastic-pollution-challenge-Grantham-BP-19_web.pdf [accesses 30|07|18].

Chartier, Y. ed. (2014) Safe management of wastes from health-care activities. World Health Organization.

Green Facts. (2018) Introduction: plastic waste and micro-plastics in the oceans. [online] Available from: https://www.greenfacts.org/en/marine-litter/l-2/1-plastic-waste-oceans.htm [accessed 29|07|18]. 

IDS. (2018) How can development cooperation address ocean plastic pollution?. [online] Available from: https://www.eldis.org/blogpost/how-can-development-cooperation-address-ocean-plastic-pollution [accessed 30|07|18].

Jambeck, J.R., Geyer, R., Wilcox, C., Siegler, T.R., Perryman, M., Andrady, A., Narayan, R. and Law, K.L. (2015) Plastic waste inputs from land into the ocean. Science, 347(6223), pp.768-771.

MicroBiology Society. (2018) Plastic Waste: A Global Challenge and an Opportunity for Microbiology. [online] Available from:  https://microbiologysociety.org/news/society-news/plastic-waste-a-global-challenge-and-an-opportunity.html [accessed 29|07|18].

Raines, C. (2018) A list of Stakeholders in the Waste business. [online] Available at: https://yourbusiness.azcentral.com/list-stakeholders-waste-business-25001.html# [accessed 30|07|18].

Rochman, C.M. (2016) Strategies for reducing ocean plastic debris should be diverse and guided by science. Environmental Research Letters, 11(4), p.041001.