Did you know? Plastic waste is the main cause of global warming.
In recent years, we have seen more campaigns to reduce the use of plastic bags or straws. This is a sign that plastic waste is a major problem that the world is facing. Because plastic waste is difficult to decompose and causes a lot of pollution. The most obvious thing is the garbage in the ocean that affects many marine animals. World Turtle Day was created to make everyone aware of the problem of plastic waste affecting the environment. In addition, burning plastic waste also creates toxic gases that contribute to global warming. Currently, there is a campaign to reduce plastic waste and choose to use recycled waste products. This is the answer to solving this problem.
Let's have a better understanding of what plastic waste is.
Before we look at the impacts of plastic waste on the environment and the world, RHINOSHIELD would like you to understand what plastic waste is and what it contains.
The Pollution Control Department defines plastic waste as plastic waste collected from houses, hotels, restaurants, hospitals, shops, offices, and industrial plants, which is plastic or parts that have been used or deteriorated and are no longer usable or needed, without segregation of the type of plastic, or mixed with other materials, or contaminated.
And in addition, there are examples of plastic waste as follows: plastic bags, plastic bottles, water bottle caps, plastic cups, foam boxes, straws, drinking straws, foil-coated plastic, snack bags, plastic bags that are mixed together without being separated, including plastic from electronic waste (Electronic Waste) or electronic parts and plastic scraps contaminated with hazardous substances, hazardous objects.
Have you ever wondered how plastic waste in the ocean is created?
Marine plastic litter comes from both land and marine activities. Approximately 80% of marine litter originates from land-based activities such as communities, ports, coastal tourism and beach littering. The remaining 20% comes directly from marine activities such as maritime transport, fishing and marine tourism. This plastic litter may be carried by wind, currents or waves to different areas, or sometimes it may be intentionally dumped into the ocean.
During 2012-2019, the amount of solid waste tended to increase continuously. But in 2020-2021, the amount of waste decreased slightly to about 24-25 million tons per year, which is down from the normal amount of about 27-28 million tons per year. One factor that caused the decrease in waste may be the result of the COVID-19 outbreak, which caused the number of tourists to decrease. However, the amount of plastic waste in Bangkok increased by more than 50% and in other cities by more than 20%. In addition, a research report by Lourens JJ Meijer published in February 2023 stated that Thailand is ranked 10th in the world in terms of the amount of waste entering the ocean, with an amount of approximately 23 billion tons per year.
It can be said that our country is an important part of causing environmental problems on a global level as well. Therefore, we should be aware of the problem of plastic waste that is increasing every day in order to help preserve it and keep our world as livable as before.
Top 10 types of waste that humans throw into the ocean, causing the ocean to overflow with waste
RHINOSHIELD invites everyone to see what types of trash are in the top 10 in the Thai ocean. Let me tell you that most of the trash is non-degradable or difficult to decompose, including plastic trash, which is also a major problem in Thai oceans. We can see that plastic and foam trash make up 50 percent of all trash.
Plastic beverage bottles 22.00%
Plastic bags 19.42%
Glass bottle 10.96%
Snack wrapper/bag 7.97%
Foam scraps 7.55%
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Beverage cans 7.46%
Foam food containers 6.92%
Tube 6.45%
Plastic cap 5.67%
Rope 5.61%
What impact or harm does plastic waste have on the environment?
The problem of plastic waste has become one of the world's major pollution problems. Due to the continuous increase in the use of plastics, the amount of plastic waste has also increased. Some types of plastic are resistant to microbial degradation, causing the natural decomposition process to occur slowly. In addition, the disposal of plastic waste by incineration also results in carbon dioxide and other toxic gases that are a major cause of global warming.
Contamination of water and soil sources
Plastic waste that is dumped into water sources or buried in soil can contaminate water sources and soil. When plastic breaks down, it releases certain harmful chemicals that can seep into water sources and soil, causing contamination that adversely affects the health of living things and humans living in areas where plastic waste is dumped.
Causing pollution and harm to marine life
When plastic waste enters the ocean, it breaks down into small pieces called microplastics, which can be dispersed throughout the world via water currents. This has an impact on the food chain of marine life, as microplastics can enter the bodies of small aquatic animals and accumulate in the food chain, which can then be returned to humans when they consume seafood. In addition, marine animals may mistake plastic waste for food, causing them to ingest the plastic, which can cause injury and eventually death.
Impacts of climate change
The production and burning of plastic waste also results in the release of greenhouse gases, which are a major factor affecting climate change. In addition, the decomposition of plastics in water and soil sources also creates methane, which is a highly potent greenhouse gas. It can be said that plastic waste affects the environment from a small point to a global level.
What are Thailand's measures to eliminate plastic waste? Let's take a look!
Currently, the government is aware of the increasingly serious problem of plastic waste. Therefore, legal measures and a plastic waste management plan (2018 - 2030) have been established, focusing on reducing the use of 7 types of single-use plastics, and setting a goal to reuse 100% of plastic waste by 2027.
In addition to government efforts, private sectors and the public are also involved in developing environmentally friendly packaging and campaigning to reduce plastic use through various projects such as the “Won” Project, which promotes plastic recycling, and the Orphan Waste Project, which turns waste into alternative fuels. These projects reflect cooperation from many sectors in solving the problem of plastic waste sustainably.
“Won” Project
This project is a plastic waste recycling project in Thailand initiated by TPBI Public Company Limited with the aim of creating sustainable plastic circulation in the country. This project focuses on collecting and recycling used plastic bags to produce new products such as recycled garbage bags.
In addition, the “Wan” project also encourages people to participate in reducing the amount of plastic waste by discarding plastic bags at the project’s collection points located throughout the country for further recycling.
Orphan Waste Project
The Orphan Waste Project is a project that focuses on managing waste that cannot be normally recycled. This waste is often dumped in inappropriate places or cannot be reused. The project was created to collect and manage such waste effectively by taking it to a waste processing plant in Chonburi Province. The waste is separated, shredded, and compressed, and then sent to be used as alternative fuel in power plants and cement factories, which reduces the use of fossil fuels and reduces the amount of plastic waste that has to be buried in nature.
Everyone should know what is recycled waste? A tool to help reduce plastic waste
Recyclable waste is materials or items that can be reused after being processed, which is an important process in sustainable waste management. There are many types of recyclable waste, such as paper, glass, metal and plastic, which, when separated from general waste, can be recycled to produce new products or materials. This process not only reduces the amount of plastic waste that has to be buried or incinerated, but also reduces the use of new natural resources, reduces energy used in the production process and reduces greenhouse gas emissions.
RHINOSHIELD helps reduce plastic waste by categorizing plastics.
RHINOSHIELD recognizes and realizes the importance of the increasingly serious plastic waste problem. Therefore, we have divided the types of plastic into 2 types to make it easier to manage and recycle plastic from old cases into new cases efficiently.
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Past plastics: In the past, plastics were designed to be durable, but the disadvantages were that they were difficult to recycle and degrade, which led to the problem of plastic waste accumulating in nature.
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Current plastics: Currently, plastics have been developed to be more easily recycled, but there is still a problem with natural degradation, which takes a long time. Therefore, they must be disposed of or destroyed properly to minimize the problems that may occur to the environment.
Rhinoshield recognizes the problem of overflowing waste in the world, so it has created products to reduce plastic waste.
RHINOSHIELD is aware of the global garbage problem, so we have tried to develop environmentally friendly products because RHINOSHIELD itself knows that phone cases are also a type of plastic waste, and it is also a type of plastic waste that is difficult to decompose.
RHINOSHIELD phone cases are made from a single piece of material, reducing the hassle of waste separation and enabling more efficient recycling. We also produce 100% recyclable cases, such as CircularNext, which has the CIRCULAR MARK, certifying that the case is made from recycled materials and can be fully recycled.
CircularNext currently comes in two color options: Sky Peach and Sky Violet, inspired by the sky at sunrise and sunset, each with its own unique color scheme. Choose your favorite case, which is both environmentally friendly and beautiful.
Plastic waste is a problem that is continuously getting worse and has an impact on the environment in many ways because plastic waste is difficult to decompose, especially when this waste is thrown into the ocean, it becomes marine waste that destroys the marine ecosystem. And when plastic waste is burned, it becomes greenhouse gases, which is an important factor causing global warming.
Reducing the amount of plastic waste can be done by recycling waste, which is one of the answers to help reduce this problem. Choosing environmentally friendly products like the CircularNext case from RHINOSHIELD, which is 100% recyclable, also helps reduce the amount of plastic waste that has a sustainable impact on the world. Using recyclable products not only helps reduce the problem of overflowing waste in the world, but also reduces the use of new resources and helps our world to be sustainable in the future.