on This Earth

This post relates to the fourth key principle of action underpinning our connection to nature:

• Silence/Stillness
• Observation
• Reflection
• Action

As an autistic with OCD tendencies, I have a phobia about litter, especially paper and soft plastic. It was great living in Singapore where in most public places litter is non-existent. In Edinburgh, that can be a problem. However, in both Singapore and Scotland, I have found rubbish, mainly plastic, in the rivers, bushes, and woods. Most recently I was up on Benarty Hill, Loch Leven, and found a discarded plastic bottle. And I’ve seen plastic bags and wrappers caught in the trees, blown by the wind. Having volunteered with beach cleaning groups, I found plenty of wet wipes, disposable diapers, and sanitary pads on the beach.

The plastic pollution is a global epidemic that is endangering all lifeforms. By polluting rivers with plastic, we are literally spreading corruption in the world. Rivers which supposed to be channels of mercy¹ are now the conduit by which plastic enters our oceans. There, they are being mistakenly consumed by our sea dwelling brethren and birds, resulting in death in many cases. They are either poisoned by the toxic chemicals in plastic or starved to death. Or our fellow creations get entangled in the plastic and die having been unable to escape. Over time, the plastic break up to become microplastics that carry in them toxic chemicals. These are also being consumed by sea dwellers and goes up the food chain.

Truly, I fear that we are embodying the verses in Surah Al-Baqarah:11-12 because of our addiction to plastic.

 

وَإِذَا قِيلَ لَهُمۡ لَا تُفۡسِدُواْ فِى ٱلۡأَرۡضِ قَالُوٓاْ إِنَّمَا نَحۡنُ مُصۡلِحُونَ (١١) أَلَآ إِنَّهُمۡ هُمُ ٱلۡمُفۡسِدُونَ وَلَـٰكِن لَّا يَشۡعُرُونَ (١٢)

And when they are told, “Do not spread corruption on earth,” they answer, “We are but improving things!” (11) Oh, verily, it is they, they who are spreading corruption but they perceive it not? (12)

Some facts and figures²:

• over 400 million tons of plastic are produced yearly, double from 2 decades ago.
• over 90% are produced from fossil fuel based materials with only 9% from recycled plastic. This means more green house gas emissions, contributing to the climate crisis.
• plastic can last hundreds of years without degrading, leading to accumulation of plastic pollution over the decades.
• it is estimated there are 51 trillion microplastics found in the soil, water, and air. All living things now have traces of microplastics in their bodies including us. This means plastic is poisoning everyone with the toxic chemicals inherent in them.

While plastic in its original forms are useful, our addiction to it have created an epidemic. I call it an epidemic not only because of its wide-spread nature. It is also killing sentient beings including ourselves through the toxic chemicals. We can only stop it by breaking our addiction. Here are some ways we can all take actions:

• Keep track of the plastic waste in our lives. I do this by filling up a bag with soft plastic. The faster the bag is filled, the more plastic I know I am using.
• Be a mindful consumer. I wrote about mindful consumption a few months ago, linked here. By carefully choosing to buy and use plastic, we can and will reduce plastic waste in our lives.
• Volunteer with clean ups – be it around our neighbourhood, river, beach etc.
• Support legislation to curb plastic production. We can all write to our MPs to advocate for such legislation.
• Support campaigns and organisations that are taking actions against plastic pollution. One such organisation in the UK is Surfers Against Sewage, linked here.

I hope that we can all do our parts. Please pledge your nature positive action in this link.

1. I wrote about how rivers help distribute water, a source of mercy, in my post linked here. ↩︎
2. https://www.sas.org.uk/plastic-pollution/plastic-pollution-facts-figures/ ↩︎