Workers collect plastic waste as they clean up Kuta beach near Denpasar on Indonesia’s tourist island of Bali on January 6 this year. AFP
Plastic pollution is never far away in Southeast Asia. It’s in the streets, the rivers, the forests, the beaches and almost anywhere else you care to look.
According to a 2018 UN Environment Programme (UNEP) analysis of plastics production, demand and waste, half of the world’s plastic is produced in Asia and around 40 per cent of all plastic is consumed in the Asia-Pacific region. It is clear the region is at the heart of the global plastic waste crisis.
What was already a big problem prior to Covid-19 has been compounded by the pandemic. While valid, current concerns about sanitation are overshadowing long-term environmental initiatives and plastic waste is proliferating across all countries. Lockdowns and social distancing have also…
