Plastics - what we could and should do

I used to imagine that pollution was a problem of modern cities. When I travelled to third world developing countries I was shocked to see the litter in their villages and urban streets and in dumps on the edge of the cities. The developing countries were developing litter and pollution.

What can you do?
1 Reveal the problem. Spread the bad news
2 Prevention. Do your bit to not buy plastic.
3 Do your bit to recycle plastic.
4 Spread good news about recycling initiatives.

WHY SHOULD YOU CARE?
When I tried to photo individuals, my own families, or locals, I would rush to remove bits of litter spoiling the picture.

Should You Photograph Litter - yes or no?
When I tried to photograph graffitit and litter and dumps, my family objected. You would think they were employed by the local tourist board. They did nto want me to show litter. They thought it was unkind and disrespectful and ungrateful to both the family who had contributed to the cost of my family to show me good things in other countries as well as unfair to local people and might repel other potential tourists.

My view: Hiding the proble.. Not facing the problem. Not dealing with the problem.

Litter After Events
We have all seen photos of the litter left behind and the clear up needed after a major concert or event, whether in a farmer's field or a city centre. Sometimes the clean-up is represented as a story of horror. Sometimes as a forgotten team, the hard-working and saintly clear-up team.

Litter Picking
As soon as you think about it, your realise that a clean up can be done if somebody is willing to pay the cost.

DISNEY
Disneyland has huge numbers of people. They don't have litter during the day nor the morning after. Disney doesn't have signs threatning to fine you like Singapore. Disney has teams of people picking up litter at the time and after closing hours. (I can imagine somebody saying, yes, so that's why the prices are so high.)

SINGAPORE
I have read compaisons between Hong Kong and Singapore. Generally they show that Singapore does not just have people who are more litter conscious or more afraid of being fined. Singapore spends more on people picking up litter. You can employ low-paid foreign workers, conscript your army or gap year students, pay students pocket money, employ the handicapped with an easy job, have volunteer days.

Litter Disposal
But, after you have picked up the litter, where does it go? The official litter pickers and volunteers may be more keen or more skilled at separating litter into different types.

But we still have the question of where to put the piles of litter, neatly sorted, but what next?

The Disposal Problems
1 Plastics in the ocean are damaging wildlife, fish and birds.
2 It is aesthetically displeasing to see litter on the previously pristine ocan floor
3 Discarded litter causes fires in forests
4 Discarded litter causes fire in cities (The UK's fatal King's Cross station Fire was attributed to litter possibly catching fire due to a spark or cigarette end

Solutions Aggravating The Problem
China has stopped importing waste to put into landfill - which helps them but puts the problem back on others.

Local councils in the UK used to dump both sewage and unfiltered waste from sewage pipes into the ocean.
Burning waste makes pollution.
Shredding plastic makes smaller particles which get trapped in balleen whales. The balleen is a kind of comb instead of teech which filters their food so tiny creatures go through to the whale's stomach.


The balleen in a balleen whale which gets clogged with microplastic. Photo of ballen from Wikipedia article on balleen whales.

GOOD NEWS Current Solutions - Recycling

UK
UK COUNCILS
1 Harrow - compost machines
2 Hillingdon - biodegradable bags for kitchen waste

UK SUPERMARKETS


3 Waitrose is replacing plastic trays for ready meals with material which will compost at home



4 Morrisons is introducing plastic free fruit and veg - sold loose.

USA -
1 DIY shredding and reforming thin plastic (bags) into multi-colour sheets
2 Loopstore is collecting, washing and reusing packaging. They are linked with brands such as Body Shop, Colgate, Crest, Dove, Febreze, Haagen Dazs, Tide and many more.

AFRICA
1 Africa - turning plastic mixed with sands into durable protective roof tiles to build new homes and replace or improve shanty housing

Future Solutions
Small scale recycling businesses employing the handicapped in the UK. No need to worry about creating huge profits for shareholders if they are not for profit recycing organizations whose part purpose is to provide employment, teach skills and give satisfaction to employees.

Some Sensible Slogans
A journey starts with a single step (Chinese, attributed to Confucius)
Be the change you wish to see (Mahatma Gandhi)

Useful Websites
Problems
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-7054471/Plastic-debris-bigger-risk-filter-feeding-whales-OIL.html

Solutions
SINGAPORE

UK
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7056017/Waitrose-unveils-worlds-compostable-ready-meal-trays.html?ns_mchannel=rss&ico=taboola_feed
USA
https://loopstore.com/
https://loopstore.com/brand-partners

Author Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer. Please share links to your favourite pages.

Snippets From Singapore's Airport: Terminal 4 opening; Terminal 5 building; Housing + Feeding The World; Airport Security and Food

Singapore Airport
Singapore airport is the best airport in the world. I am not the only person who says so. It wins awards and votes consistently.

Terminal four has just opened in Singapore's Changi AIrport, used for Cathay Pacific airline. 

Construction has already started on building Terminal five. It will be as large as all the other terminals combined.

So Singapore expects many more people to arrive. Where will they put all those people? In new hotels, if they are temporary visitors. But they will also need more restaurants and offices and places of entertainment if they are on business. No wonder you see construction everywhere in Singapore. Can our planet take all these people? 

We can build houses, but how will we feed everybody? Where will we find the land? Travelling to other countries, in person, or over the internet, shows us answers. Singapore's answer to lack of land is to extend the main island by building up artificial islands using unwanted waste, rubbish collections. Solve two problems, where to put your unwanted rubbish, and how to find construction material. 

Water and Crops
Singapore has pioneered growing plants in the air, in conservatories, plants living on the humid air and projected water.
Hydroponics.

Time to water the desert, use all those empty areas, miles of sand, uninhabited scrubland. 

What about the land occupied by cemeteries. The Jewish cemetery in Orchard road was removed, moved, to make way for what is now the Ngee Ann City skyscraper containing a landmark shopping mall on the lower levels.

More recently, another big cemetery has been cleared away. I think it was for a motorway. A member of Friends of the Museum was given an award by the government for organizing a project to photograph all the gravestones, for the benefit of relatives and historians, before they were moved.

Maybe it’s time to turn dead bodies into compost, woodland burials, to create trees giving the world oxygen. 

Trees

Speaking of trees, 

Plants

All plants create oxygen. At night they go into reverse and use oxygen, so it’s said, and hospitals tell you to remove plants. 

(Watering flowers is time-consuming. Maybe volunteers could do this task. Quicker to water plants if all the rooms looked onto a central plant area. Flowers for one person would brighten the whole floor, as they do in any multi-occupancy bedroom.

Airport Security and food boxes

In security, somebody was carrying leftover food in a cool bag. 

Security asked, "Have you any dry ice? Dry ice is not allowed."  

Presumably the reason is because this could go off accidentally and cause panic.

Berry’s of London

Berry & Rudd of London has recently opened and expanded their operations in Singapore. They began by sending their VIP London marketing and sales man to wine and dine the big spenders, the big wine buyers in Singapore, to fine dining. They also held a grand wine tasting in Singapore at lower prices than they would have charged in London. If you like wine and good food and matching wine and food, now is a good time to look for their wine tasting and dinners, whilst prices are so tempting.

More information from:
Changi Airport
http://www.changiairport.com/corporate/partner-us/changi-east.html
http://www.changiairport.com/en/airport-experience/attractions-and-services/information-and-customer-service-counters.html

Singapore tourism

Author

Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker.