Reasons to do nothing

I had a wake-up call over New Year. 

No, I wasn't diagnosed with a terminal illness. I didn't suffer the loss of a loved one, lose my job or have my house burn to the ground. I didn't even so much as break a finger nail. What happened was that my dad, in an understated, almost offhand, fashion asked me "so, what are you doing about reducing plastics?" 

What was I doing about reducing plastics? Well, I had watched Blue Planet and been shocked and appalled by the amount of plastics in our ocean. I had posted indignant comments on numerous Facebook pages depicting scenes of wastefulness and environmental damage. I had sighed and tutted over rubbish found on beaches and beauty spots that I loved. But what had I done? Errm. Not a lot, really.

So, as someone who loves the outdoors, believes in social responsibility, is reasonably intelligent and doesn't want my children to have to clear up a generation of cr*p, why wasn't I doing more? Here are my 5 reasons for doing nothing - and why you should ignore them all.

1. I can't make a difference

When you read some of the statistics on plastic waste - for example, that over a billion single-use plastic bags and 13 billion plastic bottles are used each year in the UK, and that there is a floating plastic island spanning over a million square kilometres in the Pacific ocean - it is easy to think that your individual actions are so insignificant that they cannot make a difference. 

Don't forget, however, that it is the cumulative effect of millions of individual actions that have created this problem in the first place. Whilst each of our individual actions cannot turn the tide, collectively they can make a meaningful difference. But this is key: how does an individual action become a group, a community, a movement? It is through acting, and encouraging others to do the same. Lead by example, inspire your children, encourage your friends, use your influence at work and in your community, champion the cause on social media, vote with your wallet through your shopping choices. The weight of public opinion is powerful, and you might just be the one who tips the scales.

2. China causes most of the problem

Whilst it is true that a number of Asian countries, including China, produce a disproportionate amount of the plastic waste in our oceans, Governments across Asia are starting to tackle the problem in a meaningful way. As well as banning waste imports, including those from the UK, China has set recycling targets for 46 of its major cities by 2020. India wants to eliminate all single-use plastics by 2022, and many other Asian countries have banned single use plastic bags entirely. 

And whilst it is good to know that Asia is starting to take this problem seriously, the fact that a bigger country than us, with a higher population than ours, is producing more plastic waste than us, is a poor reason for us to ignore the problem that is arising from our own back yard.

3. It's impossible to live plastic free

Whilst it may not be technically impossible, it is certainly true that living plastic free in modern society requires an extraordinary level of effort and commitment. The long-term solution requires us to completely re-think the central role that plastic plays in modern life, and this won't happen overnight.

But please don't let the fact that you can't do everything be a reason to do nothing. This is about making lots of small changes, where you can, a little at a time. It's far better to feel good about the small changes that you have made than to feel guilty or discouraged by the things that you haven't done.

4. There's no point recycling if it all ends up in landfill in Asia

I do agree that recycling is not the answer that manufacturers would have us believe it is, especially as plastic cannot be recycled indefinitely (unlike paper, metal and glass). Also a worrying proportion of our recycled plastic ends up in Asian countries where the recycling process contributes to pollution and poor working conditions. Recycling may still be preferable to putting plastic into landfill, where it takes between 100 and 500 years to biodegrade, but we should not naively believe that by putting plastic in our recycling we have made it completely go away. This is why the priority should be on reducing - just don't use it in the first place, or re-using - over and over again, for as long as it lasts - before recycling. But don't let me put you off recycling entirely. It's still better than landfill!

5. No-one else really seems to be bothering so why should I?

It is easy to get lulled into a false sense of security; surely if it were a real problem "someone" would be doing "something" about it? I am disappointed by the government's unwillingness to legislate in a meaningful way, but I strongly believe that the weight of public opinion is the most powerful way to influence policy.

It is also untrue that no-one else is bothering. Since I have started to take a greater interest in this issue, I have been pleasantly surprised with the amount of activity that I have discovered. If the drive to reduce plastics can be called a movement, I think this movement is starting to build up some real momentum.

So don't listen to all those reasons to do nothing. You probably just hadn't really thought about it, like I hadn't until I had my wake-up call. So now the alarm has gone off - what are you going to do? There is no time to waste!