Dear Editor,
Last month a pregnant sperm whale was found washed up on a beach in Porto Cervo, Italy. She was found with her dead baby calf and 48 pounds of plastic in her stomach.
Around the same time, a young Curvier’s beaked whale was found in the Davao Gulf in the Philippines. He had 88 pounds of plastic in his stomach, causing him to starve to death.
UNESCO estimates that 100,000 marine mammals die because of plastic pollution each year. This does not take fish, birds, or reptiles into consideration.
A National Geographic article by Laura Parker estimates that “91 per cent of plastic is not recycled” and that “eight million metric tons of plastic ends up in the oceans every year.” This does not take into account plastic ending up in landfills.
According to Greenpeace, in 2015 Canada exported 100,618 tonnes of plastic waste to China.
In 2018, China banned eight types of plastic that it previously accepted. Canada now needs to explore new markets for its plastic waste.
One obvious solution to this enormous volume of plastic waste would be to examine ways to reduce plastic consumption.
But what do we do in the meantime?
Innovators like Conceptos Plasticos in Colombia are transforming plastic and rubber waste into a system of construction for housing, shelters, classrooms, community halls, and other buildings.
Arthur Huang, the mastermind behind the machine “Trashpresso,” turns plastic waste into building supplies. This machine can be purchased and has been sold to communities to manage their plastic waste.
Affresol in Wales turns plastic waste into panels to create modular homes.
Toby McCartney of Scotland is experimenting with plastic mixed with asphalt to create longer-lasting roads.
Would a facility like one of these be feasible for our local communities? Perhaps this is something worthwhile considering.
M. Matich, Langley
