Your rubbish dump we are not -- M'aħniex miżbla tagħkom

I’m referring to the decision taken by China in July 2017 to stop accepting some categories of rubbish by the end of this year, including recyclable plastic and other mixed rubbish, to protect public health and the environment.1

 

This is a significant decision, as China is the largest recipient of this kind of waste in the world.

 

The dependence of the global industry on recycling on this one country is remarkable.

 

In the United States, where a third of rubbish is exported, mostly to China, the Institute for Scrap Recycling Industries (ISRI) said that tens of thousands of workplaces and many recycling enterprises in the US will be lost.

 

The European Union, which exports 87% of plastic waste to China, is expected to make more use of landfills or incineration.2  Australia, which exports to China about half a billion Australian dollars of waste a year, is still debating what do do with all that waste that previously used to be loaded onto a ship and Bob’s your uncle.

 

This startled reaction from countries exporting all this waste to China was remarkable, close to panic I have to say, which just indicates how dependent is the world on this country for its waste.  Nevertheless, it is clear that today China aspires to be the factory of the world, not its rubbish dump.

 

Up till today, developed countries were very used to getting rid of a large part of the end product of the system of unbridled consumption, by making it somebody else’s problem.  Now this will be more difficult, as the problem will need to be resolved closer to where the consumption actually occurs, and consumers, and their governments, will need more and more to face up to the consequences of the economic system they live in.  This can, maybe, hopefully, lead to better and more sustainable decisions for our culture of consumption.

 

It needs to be rememberedthat waste has an economic value, high even.  China used to look on this as a source of raw materials, sometimes easier to extract than for traditional sources (for example oil for plastic, forest timber for paper).  One of the problems arose when waste was contaminated, as in when it not separated to the requisite degree, or mixed with some other material, which lead to the need for manual processing.

 

Therefore, one of the solutions is a higher quality and better control in the collection process.

 

However perhaps the most positive impact will be when people come face-to-face with the mountains of waste that they themselves are generating, and now there is a better chance of getting a glimpse.  For example, in Australia, why do we drink from a beer bottle and then throw it in the recycling bin – isn’t it better to re-use?  And why are we still discussing whether we should use plastic bags or re-usable shopping bags in the supermarket – it it possible we cannot see the stupdity of plastic bags?

 

Knowledge of the heavy environmental impact of mankind’s comfortable lifestyle is increaing, by the grace of God.  One example is the ABC programme War on Waste. This year I’ve seen several documentaries and articles on the massive circulating islands in oceans of the world; fish, birds and turtles being caught and found to have plastic pieces in the stomach, having mistaken these for food; tiny pieces of plastic (microbeads) used mostly in cosmetics also finishing up in the sea, absorbing toxic chemicals and then be eaten by fish creatures3 (and ending up on a plate).

 

Although this Chinese decision will lead to difficulties in many countries, it seems to me that this is a process we have to have, as it will force us to mature in our attitude to waste.

 

We will no longer be able not to care what happens to waste when thrown in the rubbish or the recycling bin.  It will no longer be tenable to say this is somebody else’s problem and forget about it, as one way or another we will be paying a higher price.

 

Now it’s going to be our problem.

 

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Qiegħed nirreferi għad-deċiżjoni taċ-Ċina li ħadet f’Lulju 2017 biex sal-aħħar ta’ din is-sena ma tibqax taċċetta xi kategoriji ta’ skart, inkluż plastik reċiklabbli u skart ieħor imħallat, biex jipproteġu s-saħħa pubblika u l-ambjent.1

 

Din hija deċiżjoni sinjifikanti, għax iċ-Ċina hija l-akbar reċipjent ta’ skart ta’ dan it-tip fid-dinja.

 

Id-dipendenza tal-industrija globali tar-reċiklar fuq dan il-pajjiż wieħed huwa notevoli.

 

Fl-Istati Uniti, fejn terz tal-iskart jiġi esportat, l-iktar lejn iċ-Ċina, l-Institute for Scrap Recycling Industries (ISRI) qalet li se jintilfu għexieren ta’ eluf ta’ postijiet tax-xogħol u ħafna intrapriżi tar-riċiklar fl-Istati Uniti.

 

Fl-Unjoni Ewropea, li tesporta 87% tal-iskart tal-plastik tagħha liċ-Ċina, huwa mistenni li se jsir iktar użu minn landfills jew inċinerazzjoni2.  L-Awstralja, li tesporta lejn iċ-Ċina skart li jiswa madwar nofs biljun dollaru Awstraljan fis-sena, għadha ttella u tniżżel x’se tagħmel b’dak l-iskart kollu li qabel kien jitgħabba fuq vapur u Alla m’għamlu.

 

Kienet notevoli din ir-reazzjoni xxukkjata f’pajjiżi li jesportaw dan l-iskart kollu liċ-Ċina, viċin il-paniku jkolli ngħid, li jindika kemm id-dinja kienet dipendenti fuq dan il-pajjiż għall-iskart tiegħu.  Madankollu, huwa ċar li llum iċ-Ċina taspira li tkun il-fabbrika tad-dinja, mhux il-landa taż-żibel tagħha.

 

Sal-lum, il-pajjiżi żviluppati kienu draw jeħilsu minn parti sostanzjali tar-riżultat tas-sistema tal-konsum sfrenat, billi jagħmluha problema ta’ ħaddieħor.  Issa dan se jkun iktar diffiċli, għax il-problem trid tissolva iktar qrib fejn il-konsum qiegħed isir, u l-konsumaturi, u l-gvernijiet tagħhom, iktar u iktar se jħabbtu wiċċhom mal-konsegwenzi tas-sistema ekonomika li jgħixu fiha.  Dan jista’, forsi, nispera, iwassal għal tibdiliet għall-aħjar, iktar sostenibbli, fil-kultura tal-konsum.

 

Irid jitfakkar li l-iskart għandu valur ekonomiku, anke kbir.  Iċ-Ċina kienet tħares lejħ bħala sors ta’ materja prima, kultant iktar faċli li jiġi estratt minnu milli minn sorsi tradizzjonali (per eżempju miż-żejt għall-plastik jew minn injam tal-foresti għall-karti).  Waħda mill-problemi kienet lijekk l-iskart kien ikun kontaminat, bħal meta ma jkunx separat kif suppost, jew ikun imħallat ma’ materjal li mhux suppost ikun hemm, li jwassal għall-ħtieġa ta’ iktar proċessar manwali.

 

Għalhekk, waħda mis-soluzzjonijiet hija kwalità aħjar u iktar kontroll fil-ġbir tal-iskart.

 

Imma forsi l-impatt l-iktar pożittiv ikun meta l-bniedembnedmin jiġui wiċċ imb’wiċċ mal-muntanji ta’ skart li huma stess qiegħdin niġġeneraw, li issa iktar hemm ċans li nagħtuhom titwila.  Per eżempju, fl-Awstralja, għaliex flixkun tal-birra, nixorbu minnu u narmuh għar-riċiklar – mhux aħjar jerġa jintuża?  U għaliex għadna niddiskutu jekk għandniex nużaw boroż tal-plastik jew basktijiet li jerġgħu jintużaw fis-supermarkit – possibbli ma narawx l-istupidaġni tal-boroż tal-plastik?

 

L-għarfien tal-impatt tqil fuq l-ambjent tal-kumdità tal-bniedem qiegħda tiżdied, għall-grazzja t’Alla.  Eżempju ta’ dan huwa l-programm tal-ABC War on Waste (Gwerra fuq l-Iskart).  Din is-sena wkoll rajt diversi dokumentarju u artikli fuq gżejjer enormi ta’ skart jiċċirkolaw fl-oċejani tad-dinja; ħut, għasafar u fkieren jinqabdu u jinsabu b’biċċiet tal-plastik fl-istonku li jkunu kielu għax jaħsbuh ikel; biċċiet żgħar ta’ plastik (microbeads) li l-iktar jintużaw fil-kożmetiċi jispiċċaw ukoll fil-baħar, jassorbu kimika tossika u imbagħad jittieklu mill-ħlejjaq tal-baħar3 (u jispiċċaw f’xi platt).

 

Għalkemm din id-deċiżjoni taċ-Ċina se twassal għal diffikultajiet f’ħafna pajjiżi, jien jidhirli li dan huwa proċess li hemm bżonn li ngħaddu minnu, għax se jisfurzana nimmaturaw fl-attitudni tagħna lejn l-iskart.

 

Mhux se nkunu nistgħu ma jimpurtaniex iktar x’isir mill-iskart meta nixħtuh fil-landa taż-żibel jew fil-kontenitur tar-reċiklaġġ.  Mhux se nkunu nistgħu ngħidu li problema ta’ ħaddieħor u ninsewha, għax b’xi mod jew ieħor se jkollna nħallsu prezz iktar għoli.

 

Issa l-problema se ssir tagħna.

 

 

 

 

1http://www.plasticsnews.com/article/20170718/NEWS/170719892/china-to-wto-scrap-plastic-imports-banned-by-year-end, retrieved 11/12/2017

2http://www.globaltimes.cn/content/1060480.shtml, retrieved 11/12/2017

3http://www.beatthemicrobead.org/faq/, retrieved 11/12/2017

1http://www.plasticsnews.com/article/20170718/NEWS/170719892/china-to-wto-scrap-plastic-imports-banned-by-year-end, retrieved 11/12/2017

2http://www.globaltimes.cn/content/1060480.shtml, retrieved 11/12/2017

3http://www.beatthemicrobead.org/faq/, retrieved 11/12/2017