Huaiyao Lu
COVID-19 has dramatically changed modern life. Due to the decrease in air-travel, less carbon has been emitted, and so the air seems cleaner. Does this mean that COVID-19 is good for the environment on a broader scope? Well, not so much.
Take plastic usage. Think of all the times you have ordered takeaway, bought masks, each wrapped in plastic, or thrown away a used-up bottle of sanitiser. The pandemic has caused the everyday usage of plastic to sky-rocket. The sales of plastic in Pacific Packaging, a local plastic distributor in Singapore, went up by 50% in the outbreak. Some hawkers and vendors are rejecting reusable utensils in the fear of contamination, preferring disposable ones. This drastically increases the usage of disposable forks, spoons and containers.
This kind of plastic usage is dependent on the individual, in making life more convenient and clean for the user. COVID-19 has also made other types of plastic usage essential. For doctors, nurses, and other healthcare workers on the frontline, barrier tape, masks and personal protective equipment are irreplaceable in the fight against the coronavirus.
As much as we may not like it, plastic is vital to stop the spread of COVID. It is lightweight, cheap, chemical-resistant and versatile, making it one of the best materials to use during a time like this.
Prior to COVID-19, we were already overloading our planet plastic, and this huge surge of plastic consumption because of the virus inflates this issue drastically.
Although this problem seems distant, calculations predict that Singapore’s Semakau landfill will be full by 2035, a whole decade before it was intended to do so, even at the rate of consumption before the pandemic.
The surge in plastic demand because of COVID-19 is unavoidable. To combat these effects, we have to reduce our individual plastic footprint even more. 2020 has highlighted many challenges, old and new, for global communities, and this is one that has become increasingly important.
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