Videos by Chintan Environmental Research and Action Group
At the onset of the COVID-19 crisis, Chintan responded by raising funds to help waste pickers in Delhi, India. They distributed over 2000+ ration kits in 23 worst hit areas of Delhi, reaching almost 12,500 individuals. The work continues and it will not be possible without the help of these modern day heroes.
Meet some of the COVID Heroes below!
Contributed by Suchismita Pai, SWaCH Outreach
Quit your work or move, when faced with this tough option, Anjana Ghorke chose to move rather than quit. In these times of the Corona Virus when most of us are afraid to move outside our homes and have work-from-home options, Anjana had to move her home so she could continue working – outside her home, serving the city and its residents who depend on her to keep their surroundings clean and hygienic.
Living on the outskirts beyond Urali Devachi in India, Anjana always had a long and inconvenient commute as she came to work all these years. As a SWaCH member, she serves over 350 homes in Hingne mala slum in Hadapsar where she collects waste and ensures its safe disposal. Despite the uncertainties when the Corona Virus hit and changing rules and lockdown measures she was commuting to her place of work, often paying Rs.100 just to get to work, explaining to the authorities how important it was. Those she serviced would not hear of her stopping work and implored her to continue as they had no other option to ensure that the waste did not stagnate in their homes and cause further health problems. “It was tough, but when you commit to a job, you cannot break that commitment just like that. I was willing to take the hit, but my neighbours got antsy and my landlord asked us to quit the work or move. I chose to move,” she says.
Quit your work or move, when faced with this tough option, Anjana Ghorke chose to move rather than quit. In these times of the Corona Virus when most of us are afraid to move outside our homes and have work-from-home options, Anjana had to move her home so she could continue working – outside her home, serving the city and its residents who depend on her to keep their surroundings clean and hygienic.
Living on the outskirts beyond Urali Devachi in India, Anjana always had a long and inconvenient commute as she came to work all these years. As a SWaCH member, she serves over 350 homes in Hingne mala slum in Hadapsar where she collects waste and ensures its safe disposal. Despite the uncertainties when the Corona Virus hit and changing rules and lockdown measures she was commuting to her place of work, often paying Rs.100 just to get to work, explaining to the authorities how important it was. Those she serviced would not hear of her stopping work and implored her to continue as they had no other option to ensure that the waste did not stagnate in their homes and cause further health problems. “It was tough, but when you commit to a job, you cannot break that commitment just like that. I was willing to take the hit, but my neighbours got antsy and my landlord asked us to quit the work or move. I chose to move,” she says.
She walked out of that home, with just a few bare essentials as there was no way to transport her belongings, locking it behind her. She found a place closer to her work place and resumed her work, all without missing a beat. “There was no option and I have to pay my rent in both places, but I am hoping this is just for a couple of months”, she shrugs.
At age 57, Anjana has fended for herself most of her life with no help from her children or anyone else. Facing discrimination is nothing new to her. “I will continue to work ’til the day I can. I understand the importance of the work I do especially in these times. There was no way to get anyone else to do this work temporarily as getting people to work in waste is not easy at best of times. Now everyone is afraid as we are highly vulnerable too as essential workers. We take all precautions but I can understand the fears of others. How could I quit?” she asks simply.
For her and others like her, who protect the health of the city putting themselves at risk, you can help by staying at home and showing a little compassion.
SWaCH is an autonomous cooperative of self-employed waste pickers based in Pune, India. It is India’s 1st worker owned waste picker’s cooperative and is considered as a successful example of a pro-poor public private partnership. Visit SWaCH to know more about their work. Catch them at the 1st Learn by the nuggets: GAIA Asia Pacific’s webinar/webshop series in May.
[This article is published in several national newspapers in India]
Philippine press contact: Dr. Jorge Emmanuel, Silliman University, Dumaguete, Philippines; +63 917 778 5866; jorgeemmanuel@su.edu.ph
International press contacts (see below for the full list): Dr. Jane Muncke, Food Packaging Forum, Zurich, Switzerland; +41 44 515 52 55; info@fp-forum.org
Thirty-three international scientists published a consensus statement urging decision makers in government, industry and civil society to reduce exposure to harmful chemicals that are present in food packaging such as plastics. The authors work in the fields of developmental biology, endocrinology, epidemiology, toxicology, and environmental and public health, including Dr. Jorge Emmanuel of Silliman University in Dumaguete.
“In the Philippines, so much of our food is in plastic bags and plastic containers and some people even microwave food in plastics, yet many studies have shown that chemicals can migrate from plastics into food,” said Dr. Emmanuel, who specializes in environmental toxicology, public health and polymer science, among others.
“Our scientific consensus statement explains that in the U.S., about half of the nearly 12,000 chemicals allowed as food additives are food contact chemicals [FCCs] but many of them have never been tested for endocrine disruption and other hazardous properties,” he said.
Endocrine disruption is the ability of some chemicals to mimic or interfere with the body’s hormones. Endocrine disrupting chemicals have been linked with developmental malformations, reproductive problems, increased cancer risk, and changes to immune and nervous system functions.
The consensus statement also points out that in Europe, some substances that are known to cause cancer, genetic mutations, or harm to the reproductive system, are still authorized for use in food contact materials.
The consensus statement notes that hazardous chemicals that can transfer from food contact materials are associated with chronic diseases such as diabetes, obesity, cancer and neurological disorders, like attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. The issue is especially relevant for recycled materials and plastics alternatives that are being promoted as more environmentally friendly in response to plastic pollution concerns.
The peer-reviewed consensus statement is based on more than 1,200 peer-reviewed scientific studies and highlights seven specific areas in need of improvement, including: elimination of hazardous chemicals in food contact articles, development of safer alternatives, modernizing risk assessment, consideration of endocrine disruption, addressing mixture toxicity, improving enforcement and establishing a multi-stakeholder dialogue to find practical solutions.
The consensus statement was published on March 3, 2020 in the open access journal Environmental Health.
“Virtually everyone who eats food is exposed to food contact chemicals, but some are known to be hazardous and many are untested or even completely unknown. This consensus statement is a wake-up call,” said Dr. Jane Muncke, managing director of the Food Packaging Forum and co-author of the statement.
“Chemical migration from food contact articles like packaging must be systematically addressed, and any hazardous substances removed – and not just replaced with other, less well studied chemicals that turn out to be regrettable substitutions, like BPS that replaced BPA. Getting the toxics out is essential as society moves toward a circular economy and increases the use of recycled or alternative materials,” she added.
BPA is short for bisphenol A, a chemical found in reusable water tumblers, baby bottles and other products made of polycarbonate plastic as well as in coatings of metal food cans. BPA was detected in 93% of urine samples of people six years and older by a 2004 U.S. government study. After tests with animals showed that BPA is an endocrine disruptor, manufacturers started selling “BPA free” products. However, the common BPA replacement, bisphenol S or BPS, turned out to be an endocrine disruptor also. A study in 2012 found that 81% of urine samples from Japan, U.S., China, Kuwait, Vietnam, Malaysia, India and Korea had detectable levels of the replacement BPS.
According to Dr. Emmanuel, another concern are phthalates, which are a group of chemicals added to many plastics to increase their flexibility and to soften polyvinyl chloride (PVC) plastic which would otherwise be rigid. Plastics with phthalates include food packaging, toothbrushes, tablecloth, schoolbook covers, garden hoses and medical tubing. Some phthalates have been shown to affect the reproductive systems of laboratory animals, resulting in damaged sperm, abnormal development of the male reproductive tract and decreased fertility. The health effects on humans are still being studied.
The authors of the consensus statement analyzed existing lists of food contact chemicals (FCCs) issued by legislators, industry and NGOs worldwide. They found that almost 12,000 distinct chemicals are potentially in use in the manufacture of food contact materials today, and that many have not been tested adequately for toxicity.
While there is a great amount of information for some of the most well studied FCCs such as BPA and phthalates, thousands of reported FCCs lack data on their hazardous properties and/or level of human exposure – but these are critical data for determining human health risks.
Furthermore, there is an unknown, but presumably even higher number of non-intentionally added substances present in food packaging that have the potential to migrate into food, especially from recycled materials. Non-intentionally added substances refer to impurities found with the chemical additives, the results of chemical reactions during manufacturing, or chemicals produced when the additives themselves degrade.
The scientific consensus statement resulted in a Declaration of Concern and Call to Action, which as of March 4 was already signed by more than 160 organizations worldwide. The Declaration (available at https://www.unwrappedproject.org/) calls on lawmakers to ensure full disclosure and traceability of chemicals used in packaging, to restrict the use of hazardous chemicals in food packaging, and to adopt policies that support the transition to safe, reusable and refillable packaging.
Merci Ferrer, co-convenor of War on Waste/Break Free From Plastic – Negros Oriental, one of the organizations that signed the Declaration, concluded, “With the evidence presented by the international scientists, our lawmakers and government agencies such as DOH, FDA, DENR, DOST and others should apply the precautionary principle and take action to protect our people’s health.”
–oOo–
References
Muncke J et al. (2020) “Impacts of food contact chemicals on human health: a consensus statement.” Environmental Health, available online on 3 March 2020: doi:10.1186/s12940-020-0572-5
Groh K et al. (2020) “FCCdb: Food Contact Chemicals database. v2.0.” doi:10.5281/zenodo.3240108
Declaration of Concern and Call to Action: https://www.unwrappedproject.org/call-to-action
INTERNATIONAL PRESS CONTACTS FOR THE SCIENTIFIC CONSENSUS STATEMENT:
| AUTHOR NAME | AFFILIATION | LOCATION | LANGUAGE(S) | |
| Jane Muncke
Phone: +41763168145 |
Food Packaging Forum | jane.muncke@fp-forum.org | Zurich, Switzerland | English, German |
| Maricel Maffini | Independent Consultant | drmvma@gmail.com | Maryland, USA | English, Spanish |
| Olwenn Martin | Brunel University London | Olwenn.Martin@brunel.ac.uk | London, UK | English, French |
| Martin Wagner | Norwegian University of Science and Technology | martin.wagner@ntnu.no | Trondheim, Norway | English, German |
| Jorge Emmanuel
Phone: +639177785866 |
Silliman University | jorgeemmanuel@su.edu.ph | Dumaguete City, Philippines | English, Filipino |
| Angel Nadal | IDiBE and CIBERDEM, Universitas Miguel Hernandez | nadal@umh.es | Elche, Spain | English, Spanish |
| Pete Myers | Environmental Health Sciences, and Carnegie Mellon University | jpmyers@ehsciences.org | Virginia, USA | English |
| Arturo Castillo Castillo | Imperial College | a.castillo@imperial.ac.uk | London, UK | English, Spanish |
| Bethanie Carney Almroth | University of Gothenburg | bethanie.carney@bioenv.gu.se | Gothenburg, Sweden | English, Swedish |
| NON-AUTHOR EXPERT | AFFILIATION | LOCATION | LANGUAGE(S) | |
| Konrad Grob | Retired from Official Food Control Authority of Zurich | konrad.grob@klzh.ch | Zurich, Switzerland | English, German |
| Anne-Marie Vinggaard | Danish Technical University | annv@food.dtu.dk | Copenhagen, Denmark | English |
| Nicolas Olea | University of Grenada | nolea@ugr.es | Grenada, Spain | English, Spanish |
| Tracey Woodruff
Phone: +1 (415) 624-9959 |
University of California at San Francisco | Tracey.Woodruff@ucsf.edu | San Francisco, California, USA | English |
| Frank von Hippel | Northern Arizona University | Frank.vonHippel@nau.edu | Flagstaff, Arizona, USA | English |
Environment groups in Asia Pacific call on policy makers to beef up single-use plastics ban; phase-out toxic chemicals from food packaging; and mandate safe, reusable alternatives
Australia/India/Malaysia/Nepal/Philippines—Close to 200 environmental and public health organizations led by the UNWRAPPED Project (UPSTREAM, Zero Waste Europe, and GAIA) released a Call to Action in response to a recently issued peer-reviewed Scientific Consensus Statement signed by 33 world-renowned scientists warning chemicals used in single-use plastics and food packaging represents a significant threat to human and planetary health-particularly the health of children.
The Consensus statement clearly states the facts:
Many of those chemicals, including phthalates, bisphenols and PFAs, are used in single-use packaging, made of plastic but also paper & board. The lack of disclosure by producers regarding chemicals used in packaging means that the risks associated with the use of those packaging cannot be evaluated. Consumers and regulators aren’t the only ones in the dark — many packaging producers and waste managers are unaware of the chemicals present in the packaging they process, and possibly recycle in other products.
Hence, close to 200 organizations signed the Call to Action and demanded regulators and industry to protect public health and the environment by acting to:
The Call to Action is launched globally with simultaneous media events in the Asia Pacific region (Australia, India, Malaysia, Nepal, and Philippines).
We are in close contact with plastic toxins daily and our exposure to chemicals continue to grow as plastic continues to be produced and used. Plastic is not only out there, it’s in all of us! Consumers can make a difference by refusing single use plastics and food packaged or wrapped in plastics. Stay safe, revive our traditional practices. – Mageswari Sangaralingam, Consumers Association of Penang (Malaysia)
The ever-growing body of evidence that plastics is not only damaging our environment but is also a menace to health underscores the urgent need to transition away from single-use plastics, especially as food packaging. The health and environmental havoc that single-use plastics bring far outweigh any of their perceived benefits, and it is time for us to be smart and start avoiding them to protect our health. Nothing is more vital than our health, and nothing sustains life better than a healthy environment. – Ramon San Pascual, Health Care Without Harm-Southeast Asia (Philippines)
Australia is on the cusp of significant systemic change following the decision to ban waste exports to our Asia Pacific neighbours. This week the Australian government held a National Plastics Summit to respond to the global plastic pollution crisis. The success of these initiatives will depend upon the Australian governments recognition that plastic food packaging currently represents a global human health threat. Unless immediate action is taken to address the systemic regulatory failures that have allowed toxic and hazardous substances to be used in plastic food packaging, then there is a very real likelihood that Australia’s circular economy will be poisoned and further harm caused to human health, our environment and future generations. The Australian government must act swiftly to eliminate toxic and hazardous substances from plastic food packaging and require full life cycle assessments of all chemicals used in plastic production. It is well past time for the plastic packaging industry to be held accountable for their design failures and the adverse global consequences this has inflicted on human health and our planet. – Jane Bremmer, National Toxics Network (Australia)
Plastic packaged food has flooded the Himalaya in recent times, dramatically changing food habits, especially of the younger generation. This enticement and promotion of ill health needs to stop. These plastic packaging litter the entire Himalaya and retrieving it is near impossible in the high mountain. – Priyadarshinee Shrestha/Rajendra P. Gurung/Roshan Rai, Zero Waste Himalaya, India
For many years in Nepal, we serve our food in leaf plates and clay cups during big social or religious festivals. Similarly when we go shopping, we used to get the items in paper or leaf packaging and for liquid items, we get it in glass or metal pots. We were practicing Zero Waste in Nepal for as long as I can remember. But nowadays, everything is packed in plastics and other packaging loaded with toxic chemicals. It is time we return to our traditional practices and discourage use of those packaging to make ourselves healthy while promoting Zero Waste. – Mahesh Nakarmi, HECAF360 (Nepal)
Our communities are a rich resource of traditional materials, practices and systems that worked without exposing the consumer to the toxic chemicals that came with plastic food packaging. We got sidetracked for a few decades by the plastic packaging industry. It’s time to reject this plastic packaged food culture and reclaim and, if necessary, update and scaleup on the sensible, safe alternatives we used to have. – Beau Baconguis, Plastics Campaigner, GAIA Asia Pacific
In the Philippines, so much of our food is in plastic bags and plastic containers and some people even microwave food in plastics, yet many studies have shown that chemicals can migrate from plastics into food. About half of the nearly 12,000 chemicals allowed as food additives are food contact chemicals (FCCs) but many of them have never been tested for endocrine disruption and other hazardous properties. – Dr. Jorge Emmanuel, Silliman University, Dumaguete, Philippines
Call to Action https://www.unwrappedproject.org/call-to-action
Scientific Consensus Statement https://www.unwrappedproject.org/scientific-consensus
Links to national press releases:
New scientific report reveals toxic and hazardous chemicals in plastic food packaging (Australia)
International experts call for food packaging safety measures (Philippines)
ENDS
Contact:
Sonia G. Astudillo, GAIA Asia Pacific Communications Officer, +917-5969286; sonia@no-burn.org
Jane Bremmer, National Toxics Network (Australia); acejane@bigpond.com
Roshan Rai, Zero Waste Himalaya (India); rairoshan@gmail.com
Mageswari Sangaralingam, Consumers Association of Penang (Malaysia); magesling@gmail.com
Mahesh Nakarmi, HECAF360 (Nepal); mahesh.nakarmi@gmail.com
Pats Oliva, Health Care Without Harm-Southeast Asia Communications Officer (Philippines); poliva@hcwh.org
Notes
GAIA (Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives) is a worldwide alliance of grassroots groups, non-governmental organizations, and individuals whose mission is to catalyze a global shift towards environmental justice by strengthening grassroots social movements that advance solutions to waste and pollution.
UPSTREAM works with businesses, schools, and communities to transition to a throw-away-free culture. We have launched campaigns across the country to make single-use history and “indisposable” the new norm.
Zero Waste Europe is the European network of communities, local leaders, businesses, experts, and change agents working towards the elimination of waste in our society.
We empower communities to redesign their relationship with resources, and to adopt smarter lifestyles and sustainable consumption patterns in line with a circular economy.
Interview with Jane Bremmer by Sonia G. Astudillo
Over 25 years of fighting pollution and protecting environmental health and justice in Australia and the rest of the Oceana region, the National Toxics Network is more committed than ever to realizing the Zero Waste goal. GAIA Asia Pacific sat down with Jane Bremmer, currently NTN Secretary, Zero Waste Australia Coordinator, and Chair of the Alliance for a Clean Environment to talk about their history and stories.
NTN is a not for profit, civil society network working towards pollution reduction, protection of environmental health and environmental justice for all. As the Australian focal point for the International Pollutants Elimination Network (IPEN), NTN is committed to creating a Toxics-Free Future and working towards the full implementation of the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants and other global chemical conventions.
Formed in 1993, NTN has more than 50 members representing groups and individual experts including scientists, doctors, lawyers, and academics. NTN represents civil society in social engagements to improve the protection of the environment through better regulation.
Zero Waste Australia, one of the campaigns of NTN, was set up as a response to an urgent need to have a visible campaign against incineration.
Our top priorities include the work on international chemicals regulation, Zero Waste Australia, and stopping incineration, plastics pollution, ocean marine pollution, pesticides, and the impact of all pollution to the environment.
We provide guidance and campaign support for groups at a more local level but also have national campaigns like ZWA. We also work on health impacts of fossil fuels and petrochemical industry. We provide scientific report, expertise, and support for local communities living close to incinerators.
Definitely. We are there to support grassroots campaigns. We need to make sure that the public knows enough to engage. We rely on platforms that are available to us: social media, media, civic engagement, public forums, and right to know community events.
With community engagement, you empower communities to uphold their rights and to challenge decision makers on projects inflicted on them. It exposes what the government is doing and empowers the community to organize at the local level where the most impact is going to be felt. It is about giving voice to the grassroots and empowering them to act for the protection of health, environment, and children.
It is to activate and empower all over Australia so when an incineration project is being planned, there is an engaged community ready to reject it.
The ZWA movement is now a national voice for systemic change. We are changing the narrative that individuals are the source of the problem.
Yes. ZWA specifically targets stopping incineration, promoting sustainable Zero Waste policies, and addressing the global impacts of plastics pollution. We do direct engagements, we assist and empower the community in local and state levels, we provide materials and expertise, we engage with local, state, national, and international media, we generate opportunities for the community to be heard, and we speak to the academe and other NGOs.
Climate change. That has been in the international media with the catastrophic bush fire. Australia is a hot country and the mining engine for the whole south. We are suffering some of the worst climate change impacts and it is happening because we are heavily imbedded in mining. Fracking is an issue too. But the world is waking up to the dire impacts on first nation people and the threat to our shared human rights.
We are running a very successful campaign. I can see the awareness of communities and societies has vastly increased. What gives me hope is the incredible organization of grassroots communities. That is very inspiring. People are organizing and resisting. We are influencing change.
People are also recognizing the growing connection with climate justice movement. That is going to empower more people and make us a bigger movement. That will draw real change. People are starting to regain hope. We are talking about solutions and systems change that will help us sustain the future.
Absolutely. Every state in Australia now is pursuing the circular economy agenda. Every state is aware of the importance of Zero Waste policies. A few years ago, the term was unheard of. Our work is critical in pushing the agenda forward. Definitely a big change when we consider where we were.
PRESS RELEASE:
Scientific Consensus on Chemicals in Food Packaging Leads Environmental and Public Health Groups Around the World to Declare Global Health Threat
Groups call for policymakers to protect families’ health by phasing out toxic chemicals from food packaging and mandating safe, reusable alternatives
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: March 3, 1:00 am GMT
Today, nearly 200 environmental and public health organizations led by the UNWRAPPED Project (UPSTREAM, Zero Waste Europe, and GAIA) released a Call to Action in response to a just released peer-reviewed Consensus Statement signed by 33 world-renowned scientists warning chemicals used in single-use plastic and food packaging represents a significant threat to human and planetary health – particularly the health of children.
The Consensus statement clearly states the facts:
Many of those chemicals, including phthalates, bisphenols and PFAs, are used in single-use packaging, made of plastic but also paper & board. The lack of disclosure by producers regarding chemicals used in packaging means that the risks associated with the use of those packaging cannot can’t be evaluated. Consumers and regulators aren’t the only ones in the dark– many packaging producers and waste managers are unaware of the chemicals present in the packaging they process, and possibly recycle in other products.
In response, nearly 200 organisations signed a Call to Action, demanding that regulators and industry protect public health and the environment by acting to:
The Call to Action is launched globally with dedicated media events in the United States (Click here to attend the telepresser on March 3, 7am EST) and Asia Pacific (Australia, Malaysia, Nepal, Taiwan, and the Philippines).
In Asia Pacific, Beau Baconguis, Regional Plastics Campaigner, stated: “Our communities are a rich resource of traditional materials, practices and systems that worked without exposing the consumer to the toxic chemicals that came with plastic food packaging. We got sidetracked for a few decades by the plastic packaging industry. It’s time to reject this plastic packaged food culture and reclaim and, if necessary, update and scaleup on the sensible, safe alternatives we used to have.”
In Europe Justine Maillot, Consumption and Production Campaigner at Zero Waste Europe commented: “Our current system of production and distribution of food and its packaging puts at risk the health of people, who don’t even have access to information on the chemicals present in food packaging. Regulators must take immediate measures to eliminate hazardous chemicals from food packaging, and ensure a transition to make it toxic-free and reusable. This is urgently needed to protect both human health and the environment, and allow a clean circular economy.”
In the U.S., Linda Birnbaum, former Director of the NIEHS and the National Toxicology Program commented: “Families want to put food on the table that supports their children’s health and wellbeing. But it’s next to impossible to find options that aren’t wrapped in food packaging containing chemicals that represent a significant threat to human health. Current safety evaluations fail to consider impacts of very low dose exposures on the endocrine system and this puts children at the greatest risk of harm.”
Read the Call to Action (spanish and mandarin versions available)
Read the Scientific Consensus Statement
ENDS
Press Contacts:
Europe: Agnese Marcon, Communications Coordinator, Zero Waste Europe & Rethink Plastic Alliance,
U.S.: Claire Arkin, Communications Coordinator, GAIA
Asia: Sonia G. Astudillo, Communications Officer, GAIA Asia Pacific
Notes
GAIA (Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives) is a worldwide alliance of grassroots groups, non-governmental organizations, and individuals whose mission is to catalyze a global shift towards environmental justice by strengthening grassroots social movements that advance solutions to waste and pollution.
UPSTREAM works with businesses, schools, and communities to transition to a throw-away-free culture. We have launched campaigns across the country to make single-use history and “indisposable” the new norm.
Zero Waste Europe is the European network of communities, local leaders, businesses, experts, and change agents working towards the elimination of waste in our society.
We empower communities to redesign their relationship with resources, and to adopt smarter lifestyles and sustainable consumption patterns in line with a circular economy.
Interview with Dr. Xuan Quach by Sonia G. Astudillo
The Zero Waste movement around the globe is rapidly growing. Just on the first month of 2020, stories of towns, cities, and countries wanting to ban single-use plastics have dominated the news. Paranaque, Quezon, and Puerto Princesa cities in the Philippines, Jakarta in Indonesia, Kerala in India, and Bangladesh. Let’s not forget about the plastic bag alternatives the people of Thailand brought to grocery stores on the 1st day of the ban. As we say, it’s raining SUPs bans and we couldn’t be happier.
Before the year 2019 ended, GAIA Asia Pacific sat down with Dr. Xuan Quach to talk about the zero waste movement in Vietnam, the challenges that come with it, and what’s in store for the future.
Dr. Xuan works at the Division for Urban and Environment Study in Danang Institute for Socio-Economic Development. She does research on policies related to urban development and environmental studies and represents the Institute in city meetings designed to tackle the waste management system. Effective February 1, she will lead the Pacific Environment’s plastic waste campaign in Vietnam. She is also the National Coordinator of Vietnam Zero Waste Alliance and is an elected member of the GAIA AP Regional Advisory Council representing Southeast Asia .
“It all started in 2017 when GAIA and Pacific Environment met with activists from around the country ,” Dr. Xuan recalls. “We later organized the first Zero Waste workshop in Vietnam, inviting private organizations, government officials, and individuals. During the workshop, the participants became more familiar with each other and their corresponding organizations, as well as zero waste practices in the Philippines and other countries. Our goal at that time was to set up Vietnam’s first Zero Waste alliance. A lot has happened since then…
The Vietnam Zero Waste Alliance (VZWA) is a young network. Members from other environmental organizations volunteer their time to organize activities such as waste audits and face-to-face meetings. A lot of people and groups have registered to become members, but many have yet to fully grasp the concept of Zero Waste, especially how it is practiced and how to convince or inspire their friends.
Photo courtesy of GreenHub Vietnam
How many members does VZWA have?
VZWA has six core members representing the North, South and Central regions. These are the Centre for Marinelife Conservation and Community Development (Hanoi), GreenHub (Hanoi), Vietnam Sach Va Xanh (Ho Chi Minh), Gaia Nature Conservation (Ho Chi Minh), Center for Consultancy on Sustainable Development (Da Nang), and Cham Islands Marine Protected Area (Hoi An). So far the alliance has 25 co-member organizations, as well as individual members and 1,200 Facebook followers.
Building zero waste models. In 2018, five core members: the Center for Marinelife Conservation and Community Development, GreenHub, Vietnam Clean and Green, Center for Consultancy on Sustainable Development, and Cham Islands Marine Protected Area worked on building zero waste models. We wrote proposals to apply for funding and aimed to develop zero waste models in coastal areas. We now have five pilot sites: two in North Vietnam, three in Central Vietnam, and one in South.
Capacity-building. Green Hub sent their staff to learn about Waste Assessment and Brand Audits (WABA). They are now professionals in WABAs and are implementing pilot sites, and supporting other organizations. We send members to participate in local workshops and trainings, GAIA conferences, and study tours. We have attended 30 and trained 60 individuals in WABA while 12 attended the Zero Waste Academy conducted by GAIA.
Network strengthening. We invite people to be members of VZWA and organize annual meetings to expand memberships. We also work on our social media to bring in more followers.
Knowledge Transfer and sharing of best practices. We share our best practices to members and non-members, and are currently drafting the zero waste toolkit for Vietnam. The toolkit includes information such as what is zero waste, how it’s implemented, and its advantages over other methods, zero waste policies, and zero waste communication.
Policy Advocacy. The Alliance gives comments on government policies related to waste. The government is building a national plan on marine littering reduction. We sent our comments and we also participate in Danang City meetings and workshops on waste management.
Photo by Vietnam Sach va Xanh
Our vision is by the year 2030, all Vietnamese will understand the zero waste concept and apply the concept in practice. Our mission is to bring together organizations to work in achieving zero waste and bring methods, ideas, and zero waste best practices to Vietnam to implement zero waste in the most suitable way in our context.
Our strategies include building zero waste models, corporate campaigning, changing the plastic narrative using results of Waste Assessments and Brand Audits, and policy advocacy.
For 2020, some of the activities lined up are zero waste talks, zero waste events with Dr. Paul Connett in March, trainings on solid waste management for environmental journalists, workshops on false solutions, study tours for city leaders, networking with schools and expanding community models to other places, and of course policy advocacy. We also wrote an article on incineration, its advantages and disadvantages and we utilize every opportunity to talk about the risks of incineration.
In the future, I see the Vietnam Zero Waste Alliance as a platform or forum for people who support zero waste to get together to share best practices, learn new things about zero waste, discuss, and to make zero waste work in our country’s context. Through the alliance, they would get to know people who do the same thing and it will motivate them to do more and inspire others.
Be patient. Be enthusiastic enough. Always learn. Have enough knowledge to share with people. You should be able to answer their questions about why zero waste is a solution and not incineration. Learn day by day. Find other enthusiastic members. Social media is important and communications are key.
MANILA, Philippines (January 21 2020) — Filipinos favor banning single-use plastics. That is according to a recent survey commissioned by the Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives (GAIA) and conducted by the Social Weather Stations (SWS) which highlights the Filipino people’s strong support for a national ban on single-use plastics (SUPs).
The nationwide survey showed that seven out of 10 Filipinos feel that the best thing to do with SUPs is to ban their use at all times. Topping the list of materials that should be regulated or used less nationally is sando bags (71%), followed by plastic straws and stirrers (66%), plastic labo bags (65%), styrofoam or polystyrene food containers (64%), sachets (60%), Tetra pack or doy pack for juices (59%), plastic drinking cups (56%), cutlery such as plastic spoons and forks (54%), Plastic bottles for juice (49%), and Plastic bottles for water (41%).
In addition, 6 out of 10 said they are willing to buy their food condiments in recyclable or refillable containers instead of sachets while 4 out of 10 feel that companies should find alternative materials to plastic.
“The message to political leaders and business is clear: Filipinos reject single-use plastics. By supporting a ban on SUPs, the Filipino consumer is also sending a message to the plastic industry and manufacturers that plastic pollution and throwaway systems are no longer acceptable,” said Beau Baconguis, Break Free From Plastic (BFFP) Asia Pacific Coordinator. 
More than a hundred and twenty countries have already instituted regulatory measures such as bans, levies, charges, and others, aimed at reducing the production and consumption of SUPs. The most recent SUP regulations were by Bangladesh, Thailand, the Indian state of Kerala and the Indonesian City of Jakarta.
Further, according to the same survey, 71% of Filipinos want to ban the use of plastic at all times while 10% feel there is a need to ask the user of plastic to pay higher.
“The results of the survey puts into question the common excuse from the the big companies that sachets are pro-poor,” said Froilan Grate, GAIA Philippines Executive Director. According to the survey, those who are willing to buy their food condiments in recyclables and refillables and those who feel that plastic must be regulated or be used less nationally is highest in Class E at 73%. “Sachets and other SUPs are not pro-poor. People buy in sachets because an alternative distribution or packaging systems are not being made available by multinational companies.”
For Patricia Nicdao, Ecowaste Coalition Policy and Advocacy Officer, the Philippines urgently needs a law that will ban single-use plastics at the national level. “We have to act now. The people have spoken. The government needs to pass a law banning single-use plastics. We cannot afford any more excuses and delays!”, Nicdao said.
During the press briefing, GAIA also released a policy brief titled “Regulating Single-use Plastics in the Philippines: Opportunities to Move Forward” which outlines recommendations for the Philippine government in tackling the plastic pollution crisis. Among key policy recommendations are the following:
– Pass a national ban on the production, sale, distribution, and use of sando and labo bags and other SUPs with phaseout schedule
– Phase out sachets in favor of reuse and refill systems for product distribution within three years.
– Establish a program that demands greater responsibility from
companies manufacturing and using plastic, by determining their obligations and targets, as well as offering incentives to reduce plastic.
Despite being hailed as one of the world’s most progressive laws on waste management, the implementation of the 19-year old law R.A. 90003 or the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act of 2001 has suffered from a lack of political will and contradicting policies from government agencies involved in waste and resource management.
“We hope that the Philippine government seriously take the public sentiment on single-use plastics. As shown in the results of the survey, plastic pollution is an important issue for Filipino consumers. They are willing to sacrifice convenience and are already looking into refill options and other alternative systems. They expect our government leaders to address the plastic pollution crisis and go beyond lip service by banning single-use plastics in the whole country, ” Grate said. //ends
Notes to Editors:
Notes from the SWS survey:
Bells rings for a national single-use plastic ban. Recent SWS survey says that 7 out of 10 Filipinos favor national SUP ban at all times. This call is echoed by green groups Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives (GAIA) Asia Pacific, Break Free From Plastic, and Ecowaste Coalition.
Single-use plastic is not pro-poor. Contrary to the industry’s claim, a recent survey by SWS showed that 7 out of 10 poor Filipinos are willing to buy their food condiments–mantika, toyo, at suka–in recyclables and refillables. According to the Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives (GAIA) Asia Pacific, who commissioned the survey, availability and not affordability is the reason why Filipinos keep buying in food in SUP. Time is ticking. Ban SUP now.
Banning single-use plastics? No worries. The alternatives are here! #PHitsTime #PHbanSUP #breakfreefromplastic #breakfreefromplasticPILIPINAS #GoForZeroWaste
About GAIA – Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives is a worldwide alliance of more than 800 grassroots groups, non-governmental organizations, and individuals in over 90 countries whose ultimate vision is a just, toxic-free world without incineration. www.no-burn.org
Contact: Sonia G. Astudillo, GAIA Asia Pacific Communications Officer, 0917-5969286, sonia@no-burn.org
EcoWaste Coalition, Phone/Fax: 84411846 E-Mail: info@ecowastecoalition.org
Interfacing Development Interventions for Sustainability (IDIS), Phone/Fax: 082-2994552 E-Mail: webmail@idisphil.org
Press Release: Environmental Advocates Call for Greater Vigilance against Foreign Waste Dumping
(Groups Insist: Mindanao Dili Basurahan, Bar Waste Imports, Ratify the Basel Ban Amendment)
19 January 2020, Tagoloan, Misamis Oriental/Davao City/Quezon City: Environmental health and justice advocates called for greater vigilance against waste imports as they cheer over the re-exportation of the remaining illegal South Korean waste shipments to their origin starting today.
At the jubilant “return to sender” ceremony held at the Mindanao International Container Terminal, over 35 representatives from the EcoWaste Coalition, Interfacing Development Interventions for Sustainability (IDIS) and the Sustainable Davao Movement (SDM) joined Bureau of Customs-Region 10 Port Collector John Simon and other public officials in celebrating the re-export of the first 60 container vans of contaminated plastic waste from South Korea in Tagoloan, Misamis Oriental where more than 5,000 tons of such wastes have been sitting since 2018.
To emphasize their call for vigilance, the advocates unfurled a banner that says: “Prohibit waste importation. Ratify the Basel Ban Amendment.” They also held placards with anti-dumping messages “Pilipinas hindi tambakan ng basura,” “Mindanao dili basurahan,” “no entry for foreign waste,” and “no dumping from now on.”
“The re-exportation of the falsely declared waste materials back to South Korea affirms our nation’s readiness and resolve to bring this dumping controversy to its just conclusion. To stop this incident from happening again, I add my voice to the growing clamor to upgrade and strengthen our legal defense against waste dumping, including ratifying the Basel Ban Amendment,” said Simon.
The Philippines, a state party to the Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and Their Disposal, has yet to ratify the Basel Ban Amendment. The said amendment, which became an international law last December 5, 2019, prohibits the export of hazardous wastes for all reasons, including recycling, from developed to developing countries
Speaking before the triumphant crowd, Chinkie Peliño-Golle, Executive Director of Davao City-based IDIS said: “This dumping controversy and similar dumping incidents have reinforced the urgency of ratifying the Basel Ban Amendment and revising current regulations that permit waste imports into the country under the guise of ‘recycling.’ We need to plug the regulatory loopholes that waste traders are taking advantage of, which is turning our country, particularly Mindanao, into a convenient dumping site for plastic, electronic and other hazardous wastes.”
“Such wastes should be recycled, treated or disposed of in the country where such wastes were generated,” said Aileen Lucero, National Coordinator, EcoWaste Coalition, who also added that “while we pursue ecological solutions to our domestic garbage woes, we must tell South Korea and other countries to deal with their own wastes at home and stop exporting them to the Philippines and other Asian countries.”
Dr. Joe DiGangi, Senior Science and Technical Advisory of the International Pollutants Elimination Network (IPEN), which includes IDIS and the EcoWaste Coalition among its members, agreed: “Korean waste should be managed in Korea and not dumped in the Philippines or anywhere else. This experience should nudge both countries to promptly ratify the Basel Ban Amendment.”
The groups further stressed the need for a national ban on waste importation from all countries that will cover all wastes, including household and plastic wastes, as the Basel Ban Amendment is focused mainly on hazardous waste shipments from developed countries.
According to the groups, the ratification of the Basel Ban Amendment and the prohibition on waste importation will be the best legal protection of the Philippines against illegal waste traffic.
“For the protection of public health, for environmental justice, and for the preservation of the national dignity against the dehumanizing and polluting impacts of global waste trade, we call upon our leaders to ratify the Basel Ban Amendment and to impose a waste import ban without delay,” the groups asserted.
Aside from the EcoWaste Coalition, IDIS and SDM, representatives from Agro-Eco Philippines, Bantay Bukid/Bantayo Aweg, and Gitib-Orol (Our Rivers Our Life) also witnessed the send-off ceremony for the illegal waste shipments from South Korea.
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