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First and foremost, plastic waste block stormwater drainage that causes widespread flooding. Scientists have also attributed climate change and rising sea levels to plastic pollution. Since the Philippines is an archipelago, the frequent occurrence of typhoons and storm surges have vastly affected families over the years. Recently, because of climate changes that are occurring, typhoons have become stronger, and massive flooding has increased despite the season; monsoon rains or even a bout of hard rainfall can cause massive flooding already. Moreover, a study by Climate Central shows that 150 million people currently live in areas that are set to submerge by 2050. Since the Philippines is a group of islands, a lot of families live along the Philippines' coastlines, with their homes supported by stilts right above the water. These vulnerable communities struggle to adapt and keep safe as sea levels rise, and the Philippines has not taken this threat seriously.

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Due to its convenience and versatility, people have become dependent on using plastic products & packaging. This may come in the form of grocery bags, water bottles, sachets, and cutlery, all of which are single-use and everyday-use items. With this, the world has reached a point where consumption has gone too far (Kwakwa & Mora, 2021).

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Plastic pollution affects all planet life as it threatens ecosystems, wildlife, and human health & safety. It contributes to greenhouse gas emissions, landfills, and marine debris. This problem then challenges how we produce, consume, and manage plastic today, making it an environmental and economic issue.

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On July 28, 2021, the Philippine House of Representatives passed the Single Use Plastic Regulations Act which prohibits the production, import, and sale of many single-use food packaging products. Once the bill has been passed in the Senate, it will phase out plastic products thinner than 10 microns within a year and non-compostable plastic products within 4 years (Parkinson, 2021). While 500 local governments in the country has banned single use plastics, the Act will be able to enact this on a national level which will be spearheaded by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR).

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Philippines House passes Single-use Plastic Products Regulation Act | Food Packaging Forum

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The Philippines House of Representatives is reported to have voted unanimously on July 28, 2021, to prohibit the production, import, and sale of many single-use food packaging products. If the bill goes on to pass in the Senate, non-compostable plastic products like plates, cups, cutlery, expanded p…

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The Plaf is a Phlippine-based organization which combats plastic pollution by turning plastic bottles, single-use sachets, and snack wrappers into building materials. The Plaf collects the plastic waste, shreds, and moulds them into posts and planks called "eco-lumber" which can be used for fencing, decking, or building typhoon shelters (Portugal, 2021).

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MANILA, Oct 25 (Reuters) - A group of recyclers in the Philippines is trying to ease the country's worsening plastic waste crisis by turning bottles, single-use sachets and snack food wrappers that clog rivers and spoil beaches into building materials.

The Plastic Flamingo, or "The Plaf", as they are commonly known, collect the waste, shred it and then mould it into posts and planks called "eco-lumber" that can be used for fencing, decking or even to make disaster-relief shelters.

"(It) is 100% upcycled material, 100% made from plastic waste materials, we also include some additives and colorants and it is rot-free, maintenance-free, and splinter-free," said Erica Reyes, The Plaf's chief operating officer.

Having collected over 100 tonnes of plastic waste to date, the social enterprise is doing its bit to address a local problem that has global ramifications.

Approximately 80% of global ocean plastic comes from Asian rivers, and the Philippines alone contributes a third of that total, according to a 2021 report by Oxford University's Our World in Data.

The Philippines does not have a clear strategy on tackling its plastics problem and its environment department has said it has been in contact with manufacturers to identify ways to manage waste.

COVID-19, though, has made the battle against plastic waste harder to win.

Some 300 million tonnes of plastic waste are produced annually, according to the United Nations Environment Programme, a problem that has been exacerbated by the pandemic which sparked a rush for plastic face shields, gloves, takeaway food containers and bubble wrap as online shopping surged.

"People are unaware of how to dispose of these plastics," said Allison Tan, The Plaf's marketing associate.

"We give that avenue that instead of putting it in landfills or oceans...you give it to recycling centres like us and we would upcycle them into better products."

As well as tackling waste problems, the group says it is in talks with other non-government organisations to help rebuild houses destroyed by typhoons using their sustainable building materials.

Reporting by Adrian Portugal; Editing by John Geddie and Muralikumar Anantharaman

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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In major ocean polluter Philippines, group turns plastic waste into planks

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MANILA, Oct 25 (Reuters) - A group of recyclers in the Philippines is trying to ease the country's worsening plastic waste crisis by turning bottles, single-use sachets and snack food wrappers that clog rivers and spoil beaches into building materials.

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Plastic Tides is a Philippine-based NGO that also aims to fight plastic pollution. They are pooling volunteers to collect trash from the Pasig River and connect with poor coastal communities to turn this waste into products suitable for social enterprises. Their goal is to educate everyone about our fight against plastic pollution and partner with coastal communities to supply the plastic waste for the social enterprises. One product they are looking into is the stand up paddle boards entirely made from marine plastics, which they also plan to use as an alternative to inflatable rafts (World Bank, 2019).

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What we want to do is create meaningful experiences that show how important it is to make environmentalism personal. It's not just about changing people's minds and hearts, we want legislation to lock in these changes and to push people to implement changes. We want to push the buttons in society, to reach the right people who can make these changes happen.

We're trying to target politicians and government officials who are working in the cities right by the Pasig River. If they enact these changes in their own communities living right by the river, then we can eliminate a lot of the trash entering the river through the tributaries. Whatever trash they're creating in their own cities, goes into the drains and canals. We want to show that there are alternative ways to dealing with the plastic trash. Even in their own communities, they can be self-correcting and self-policing.

While working with the Pasig River Rehabilitation Commission, we saw that they did not have the proper cleaning equipment and materials. They are at the front line of cleaning up the river, but they don't have enough equipment, they don't have gloves, sometimes they don't even have gas for their motors. It's a budget issue. With the gaps in the process, our volunteers come in and help provide whatever they can and be part of the cleanup process. If we could help improve the method and frequency of these cleanups by filling up a whole schedule with the Commission and coming up with paddle boarding experiences in the Pasig River to clean up, then we're innovating the way the river's being cleaned.

We're trying to start grassroots. We're trying to start with kids to have personal experiences through our work and hopefully, in the long run, we can find new opportunities for communities to monetize through ecotours, to teach coastal communities. It's not going to be just the team; the communities will be empowered for ecotours or environmental paddle boarding experiences. The more people are in the water, the more they care for it.
What motivates / inspires you?
I went through a traumatic experience a few years ago. To help my PTSD, I went out on paddle boarding trips, filmed, and exposed myself to nature. By replacing my negative intense experiences with positive ones is how I learned to heal. Experiencing nature taught me that there is such a thing as positive trauma because that brush with death woke me up and made me realize that I have to stand for something.

Paddleboarding while cleaning up the ocean is such an experience. I have such a sublime experience in nature while somehow helping the environment by removing floating debris from the water. This kind of experience for people lasts. That's what I realized for myself, that by doing this, I'm also helping other people understand their own challenges in life and use these as fuel or motivation to push further than anyone has gone before. That's why we circumnavigated the Taal Volcano on paddle boards to film the most underrated beautiful body of water nearest to Manila and document the trash that's beginning to ruin it and clean-up as much as we could over the 40 kilometers we paddled.
How can people get involved?
We use our personal networks and social media to get people interested and involved in our expeditions. Our volunteers also help spread the word. There are only a few of us right now. We would really like for more people to join our expeditions, experience it. If you find that it's something you want to keep doing, we will put you through a 3-day ambassador program. Through this, you'll be able to talk more about plastic pollution, you can join our talks and expeditions. We also go to the Taal Lake Conservation Center to learn about their waste management programs.

Another thing is creating social media content about marine plastics, getting the topic to trend, and getting more people aware and involved. This new media approach to environmentalism: it works.
If there's one change you'd like to see every person in the Philippines make to reduce plastic pollution, what would it be?
If everyone could just start being aware of how much plastic they use, and realize that these things last longer than us. I'm not saying "stop", but just be aware of the magnitude of marine plastics and open your minds to alternative solutions. Imagine what change this can do for your life

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Meet the Innovator Battling Plastic Waste in the Philippines: Julian Rodriguez

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What we want to do is create meaningful experiences that show how important it is to make environmentalism personal. It's not just about changing people's minds and hearts, we want legislation to lock in these changes and to push people to implement changes.

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A report from The Plastic Waste Makers indicated that only 20 firms produce already 55% of global plastic waste (Laville, 2021). These type of companies stand to benefit from the overconsumption of plastic, as they ultimately profit from it. Moreover, plastic is an inexpensive and durable material, all the more making it an attractive business venture.

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Plastic doesn't decompose, or at least it doesn't break down easily. Depending on the item, it can take 20 to 1,000 years for it to decompose. Nevertheless, the world has been accumulating plastic since the boom of its production. Thus, the chemical nature of plastic makes it difficult to manage as most plastic waste just ends up in landfills & oceans.

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During the 1950s, 2 million tons of global plastic waste was produced each year, and by 2015, this number increased 200-fold. Following this steep incline, global plastic waste has also doubled over two decades, with only 9% being successfully recycled. In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, plastic use decreased by 2.2% in 2020; however, plastic litter increased, led by a rise in food takeaway packaging and plastic medical equipment use (OECD, 2022). By the end of 2021, the amount of plastic reached about 8.3 billion tons, with around 6.3 billions tons of this being trash (Recycle Coach, 2021).

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Findings from a World Bank report see a 70% growth in global waste by 2050 if urgent action isn’t taken (Press Release, 2018).

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Paris Plus is a Plastic Pollution Treaty to curb plastic pollution globally and is set to begin in May. It would require nations to commit to cleaning plastic waste and commit to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. While there are already many local solutions regarding plastic pollution, it varies per country which does not effectively manage waste (Parker, 2022).

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In front of the United Nations African headquarters in Nairobi, a 30-foot-high artwork featuring a faucet "spewing" a long stream of plastic waste dramatically illustrates the worsening flow of plastic fouling the world. Inside the main hall, 175 UN delegates took the first formal steps on Wednesday to turn off the tap. They agreed to negotiate the first comprehensive global treaty to curb plastic pollution-a move hailed as the most significant environmental agreement since the Paris climate accord in 2015.

The framework of the agreement was hammered out last week ahead of the delegates' vote. It creates a road map for treaty negotiations that are set to begin in May. Inger Andersen, who heads the UN Environment Program, told the delegates: "This is a historic moment."

Plastic waste flowing into the oceans is forecast to triple by 2040, so the vote came not a moment too soon. Or did it? The effort to construct an international agreement to gain control of mounting plastic waste took almost five years just to get to the starting line. How can the UN, slow-moving by design, possibly come up with a solution in time to stave off an environmental disaster? Below is a guide to what's involved, and why a binding global treaty may be the world's best hope to contain a plastic waste crisis that knows no international boundaries.

Q: How might a global treaty help solve the plastic waste crisis?

A: It would address the crux of the problem by requiring nations to commit to cleaning up their plastic waste. Because the treaty would be legally binding, it could pack more punch than the Paris accord, which requires nations to voluntarily commit to reducing greenhouse gas emissions. "This is like 'Paris Plus,'" says Chris Dixon, the deputy ocean campaign lead at the U.K.-based Environmental Investigation Agency. "The devil is in the details, but this makes sure the ambition of the mandate is carried through. This is the beginning of the journey, not the end."

Q: Can this process be fast-tracked?

A: Negotiators say they plan to reach an agreement within two years, astonishingly quick for the UN. The UN began exploring solutions to plastic waste in 2017. In 2019, the United States, which produces more plastic waste per capita than any other nation, was blamed for thwarting efforts to begin treaty talks, as the Trump administration opposed such a treaty. Last November, the U.S. reversed course and, along with France, announced support for a legally binding treaty. The approach is based on the treaty to end mercury pollution-known as the Minamata Convention which was finalized in just over three years. And it could take less time than the agreement to address climate change took.

Q: What changed to allow this to move forward?

A: Plastic waste has proliferated in recent years, and has been documented in every part of the world. As plastic production has increased-growing faster than production of any other material-the waste issue has taken on a greater urgency. That, in turn, has drawn wide support from all quarters for a global treaty. The American Chemistry Council, an industry trade group that opposed a legally binding treaty in 2019, now supports one. As two proposals were circulated-one by Peru and Rwanda, the other by Japan-support snowballed. By the time negotiators convened in Kenya's capital city last month, those publicly backing a global treaty included more than 300 scientists, more than 140 nations, and nearly 100 leaders of multinational companies, including some of the largest plastics users: the Coca Cola Company, PepsiCo, and Unilever.

Q: What's on the table?

A: The framework's language is only a guide for the actual treaty talks. Consequently, the language is basic in many places. For example, negotiators had to define what the plastic lifecycle entails. Should the treaty focus on when plastic becomes waste? Solutions in that case would revolve around expansion of reuse programs, recycling, and enhanced and better-funded waste management. Or is the plastic lifecycle more expansive, meaning the treaty would include every step along the way-from production of virgin plastic to packaging design, product distribution, and disposal after use? The industry focused on waste management, but the negotiators opted to recommend the broader definition. Tackling the problem from multiple angles provides more opportunities to intervene along the way, and that could reduce the amount of packaging that becomes waste or eliminate it altogether.

Q: Why do we need an international treaty? Aren't many nations already addressing the problem?

A: It's a global problem, and we need a global solution to solve it. About eight million tons of plastic are estimated to spill into the seas every year, and is known to travel across oceans. One nation's regulations do not prevent another nation's waste from reaching its shores. Bag bans in one country don't stop neighboring countries from smuggling in bags for a tidy profit. Plastic waste is also traded internationally; that involves international agreements. More importantly, there are no uniform global standards or policies that guide the industry. Definitions of biodegradable plastics vary, depending on the manufacturer. And virtually no one can sort out the varying rules on what plastics can go into the recycle bin. Meanwhile, multinational corporations selling in multiple nations can find themselves sorting through hundreds of regulations affecting such issues as product design or packaging thickness. These companies strongly support harmonizing definitions, reporting metrics, and methodologies that will simplify industry practices and improve management of waste.

Q: How serious is the plastic waste problem?

A: Forty percent of all plastics manufactured today is for packaging, most of it disposed of within minutes of opening it. Globally, just 9 percent of plastics get recycled. Both waste and production are on the rise: Between 1950 and 2020, production of plastic, which is made from fossil fuels, increased from roughly two million tons annually to just over 500 million tons. Production is projected to further increase to one billion tons by 2050. Consensus is growing among scientists, activists, and elected officials that to truly curtail the growth of plastic waste, plastic production must be reduced. The industry disagrees.

Q: Does the framework call for a cap or reduction in production of virgin plastic?

A: No, it does not. The framework also does not include a requirement that production numbers be reported along with other statistics. Collection of production data represents the first step before any regulations could be written-and it's a step that industry would like to avoid. On this subject, the framework contains a single sentence, instructing negotiators to "specify national reporting as appropriate"-not a strong directive, but one that does leave the door open to sharper language during the treaty talks.

The framework has drawn universal praise from the parties involved. The International Council of Chemical Associations said in a statement it was "pleased with the outcome and fully supports a legally binding agreement... ."

Ellen MacArthur, founder of the nonprofit Ellen MacArthur Foundation, is a proponent of creating a "circular economy" to reduce waste of any kind through reuse and recycling. She called the mandated agreement key to dealing with "the root of causes of plastic pollution, not just the symptoms."

In Nairobi Wednesday, Anderson told the delegation at the UN that reaching agreement to proceed toward a treaty "would have been unthinkable just a few years ago. But today ... you are taking a crucial step to turn the tide on plastic pollution." He then recalled how his mother eavesdropped on a pair of American businessmen in a cafe in Denmark a few years before he was born. The men laid out colorful blocks made of a strange new material in front of them, and she heard them say: "This is plastic. This is the future."

"Look-in the space of one lifetime, we have created a massive problem...," Anderson said. "Now we must make the wrong-headed way we manufacture and use plastic the past."

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The world's nations agree to fix the plastic waste crisis

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In front of the United Nations African headquarters in Nairobi, a 30-foot-high artwork featuring a faucet "spewing" a long stream of plastic waste dramatically illustrates the worsening flow of plastic fouling the world. Inside the main hall, 175 UN delegates took the first formal steps on Wednesday to turn off the tap.

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For businesses, it is a challenge to be sustainable since it is more costly. There is a need to invest on sustainable materials, which makes it hard to replace plastic. Another alternative to reduce single-use plastics is to bring your own reusable container. However, people find it a "hassle" since you have to bring and clean it on your own, and there are instances that one forgets to bring it.

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On the Gap Between the Challenge and Solution

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On the Gap Between the Challenge and Solution

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People know the problem of plastic pollution but they do not change their behavior. First and foremost, there is an information gap on how they perceive plastic pollution as they are not incentivized to alter their behavior in reducing plastic waste. There is also an information gap on policies that solve plastic pollution, and there are no mainstream solutions for it since there are no policies about it. Therefore, there is a current need to continue spreading awareness about the plastic pollution we are facing more than just setting up current solutions to solve such.

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People's Perception to Plastic Pollution

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People's Perception to Plastic Pollution

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People know that plastic poses a problem to our society. However, people find the current solutions a "hassle." For example, people would not want to bring their own food or drink containers since they would have to clean them after. There is also a tendency for them forgetting to bring it. In essence, it shows that they do not feel the gravity of the problem. the information they have about plastic pollution is not enough to spark them to alter their behaviors because it is a “hassle.”

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1. The Plastic Flamingo
- a group of recyclers in the Philippines who turn items of plastic waste into building materials
2. Green Antz Builders
- a waste management company that collects used, dry and clean plastics
3. My Basurero
- a project by Basic Environmental Systems and Technologies, Inc. that exchanges donated plastic, paper and metal, with cash back points

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Information Gap on Recycling Initiatives and Information

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Information Gap on Recycling Initiatives and Information

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Recycling Initiatives such as refilling stations are not widespread, so people do not know that such initiatives exist. Moreover, when it comes to organizations that recycle plastic into sustainable materials, their primary concern was gathering the plastic, which just says that information on how to recycle plastic is still not widespread. Aside from this, there is a lack of information on proper waste management and segregation, which makes it harder for organizations to recycle the waste. In essence, there is a lack of information not only on available recycling initiatives but also on proper recycling education (which plastic can be recycled or not) that needs to be resolved.

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Normally, people are not incentivized to recycle or donate their plastic waste since it would entail their effort to bring it to a junk shop than just throw it away. Therefore, there might be a need to incentivize them. Moreover, since people do not also have any idea where to drop off their waste, or maybe their place is too far from the drop-off place, then there is a need to localize the drop-off location for plastic waste. Moreover, we can provide an educational seminar or infographic to inform them on how to properly recycle and segregate waste. We can also educate them about the gravity of our challenge to slowly bring them to completely remove their use of plastic.

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Mexico City enacted the Solid Waste Law which aims to ban all single-use plastics. This regulation was implemented in the early 2020, therefore, most of the businesses resort to materials made of agave and bamboo fibers, corn starch, and plants as their alternatives (De Leo, 2021).

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Since Mexico ranks second in waste production, the Solid Waste Law was deemed effective because of the strict implementation by the government (De Leo, 2021). This implies that there is a feasible reduction of single-use plastics when the government is leading towards this change. However, the disadvantage of the law results in businesses and local vendors having difficulty in adjusting to the regulation. As observed in an informal survey, where less than half of the businesses had stopped the usage of single-use plastics (Ceja, 2021).

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Elizabeth Villagómez Cruz rarely runs afoul of the "Five Rs" of zero-waste living-refuse, reduce, reuse, recycle, rot-no matter what it takes. One day while traveling, she was craving esquites, a common snack sold by street vendors throughout Mexico, made of corn kernels in a cup with salsa and mayonnaise. She refused a Styrofoam cup from the vendor and was without a reusable container after her dogs chewed up the one she normally carries in her car. But the vendor came up with a creative solution.

"The gentleman, in order to make the sale, went and asked another vendor who sold tamales for a plantain leaf ... and gave me my esquites in a plantain leaf," says Villagómez, who founded Zero Market México, a chain of stores in Mexico City that cater to the zero-waste lifestyle. She says this episode is the perfect illustration of uniquely Mexican, ingenious solutions to reducing waste.

"I believe those who want to help the environment can come up with a creative solution in a country like ours," Villagómez says.

The greater Mexico City metropolitan area is home to nearly 22 million people, making it one of the largest urban areas in the Western hemisphere. But along with the city's size comes an equally large waste problem.
Big City, Bigger Plastic Problem
Mexico City's environment secretariat determined the Mexican capital produces nearly 13,000 tons of garbage every day within city limits, with nearly half coming from household waste. Between 30% and 35% of that daily waste is composed of packaging materials, the vast majority of which is made of plastic. In other words, chilangos -a playful term used to refer to people living in the capital-produce a lot of plastic waste that ends up littering streets or filling landfills, impacting residents' quality of life and making the city less habitable.

From biogas plants to recycling programs, Mexico City authorities of various political stripes have been trying to tackle-with varying degrees of success-the city's waste problem since the first waste management program was implemented in 2004. The city has long struggled to develop an integral waste management program. The administrative divisions that comprise the metropolitan area make coordination between local governments difficult. Landfill sites are under private control, and those involved in the informal economy that sees people sort through garbage and dumps for recyclable materials to sell are reluctant to implement changes that could affect their income.

The Bazar El Oro market in the Roma Norte neighborhood is an example of the city's many tianguis, open-air markets that date back to pre-Hispanic times. Street vendors and shoppers are adjusting-some better than others-to the city's strict ban on single-use plastic that went into effect in January.

In an effort to respond to public demands for action on the environment and habitability, the administration of Claudia Sheinbaum, the city's head of government who previously served as environment secretary for the city, decided to try a different tactic. In addition to the city's ongoing efforts to manage and reduce waste, it also implemented changes intended to reduce the production and consumption of plastic waste.

In 2019, the city's legislature approved reforms to its Solid Waste Law, banning single-use plastics, making it one of the largest jurisdictions in the world to enact such a measure.

Valentina de Leo, communications coordinator at Plastic Oceans México, a nonprofit that works to end plastic pollution, says the effort to change the city's law was a grassroots struggle, born from civil society, which took inspiration from similar efforts in Europe. Activists and NGOs, including Plastic Oceans México, created the Mexico Without Plastics Alliance, which brought together dozens of environmental organizations in order to participate in the legislative process and provide a vehicle for people to confront lobbying by the plastics industry and its efforts to uphold the status quo.

As part of the staggered rollout of the law, in 2020 stores were banned from giving plastic bags to customers. Starting this year, stricter measures came into effect, banning more than a dozen single-use plastics such as utensils, plates, straws, balloons, and coffee pods.

Salvador Ávila, executive director at Plastic Oceans México, considers the city's effort to reduce the consumption of plastic an important step forward.

"There isn't a product in the world that we can over-consume in a sustainable way," says Ávila.

Street food vendor Gonzalo Marino Peña Davila sorts glass bottles of soft drinks as he closes up his business for the day. Reusable glass bottles are still common in Mexico and provide an alternative to those who want to avoid plastic. Other vendors haven't yet made the switch away from plastic, and enforcement of the law has been lax.

Still, there has been great resistance from the plastics industry. Even after the reform was approved, the industry worked to delay its implementation, citing fears that the ban would have a negative economic effect.

Ávila says he understands the reticence of some, but argues that the moment calls for more urgency.

"The problem is that this issue is so big that we cannot proceed slowly; we cannot allow change to happen at a comfortable pace," says Ávila.

It is a sentiment shared by de Leo, who argues that private industry has had time to adapt.

"If [the general public] were sufficiently aware of how serious the problem is, people would be demanding that this legislation be expanded to have even greater reach," says de Leo. "I am not saying it is easy, but at the end of the day, economic benefits cannot be justified in light of the harm to people's health and the environment."

Resistance to change has not only come from the plastics industry, however. An informal survey in late 2020 by the city's environment secretariat found that only 42% of restaurants and street-food vendors had stopped giving out single-use plastics.

"You cannot demand a street vendor in [the working-class borough of] Iztapalapa or right here in [the borough of] Cuauhtémoc to stop using plastics when officials have not approached them to give them an orientation, when there is no cooperation with civil society groups who could contribute to this cultural shift," says Piero Barandiarán, one of the leaders at the Huerto Roma Verde, a community center in Mexico City that promotes environmental and social justice.

Gonzalo Marino Peña Davila is a street-food vendor in the Juárez neighborhood of Mexico City. His family has been selling tacos, quesadillas, and other Mexican food in the neighborhood for 39 years.

Peña says that he supports the new law, and wants to see more action taken to preserve the environment, but that vendors like him need more support. While he is in regular contact with city officials, authorities have yet to talk to him about the changes to the Solid Waste Law.

Nonetheless he has begun to make changes on his own, such as reducing his use of single-use plastics and buying biodegradable utensils and plates.

"We've had to absorb that cost because we cannot raise our prices; we've kept our prices the same for two years so that we do not lose any customers and so that our customers leave happy," says Peña.

Although his business has been able to stay afloat despite the pandemic, he concedes that he has already seen a drop in customers and these new rules could not have come at a worse time.

"It has been very difficult and our income has dropped, but we have been working everyday this whole past year during the pandemic and that is how we have managed," says Peña.

Peña says some of his customers are environmentally conscious and come with containers in hand to take food home, but others continue to ask him to prepare meals to go using plastic bags. Peña says he tries to reason with them where possible, asking them to take the food wrapped in paper instead, but he feels he has no choice but to concede to a customer's demands for plastic for fear of losing a sale.

Beyond that, Peña says he has done what he can to try to get his customers to adapt, putting up signage about the new law, but he says more could be done to change people's habits.
Making Zero Waste Mexican
Zero Market México's Villagómez says that, in her experience, changing habits in Mexico does not come easy.

Villagómez started her zero-waste lifestyle while living in France after attending a workshop with Bea Johnson, a prominent figure in the modern zero waste movement. In France, Villagómez found it easy to make changes to her habits. She had no trouble finding stores that welcomed reusable containers, and finding and purchasing goods that complied with the Five R's came easy.

Upon returning to Mexico, however, she found that the infrastructure to support the lifestyle simply did not exist, and she struggled to find the products she needed.

"To find what I was looking for I had to go to 80 different places," says Villagómez.

She also found there was resistance from vendors and stores when she would try to use her own container. Even her family criticized her, telling her it was like going back to the Stone Age.

So she decided to try to solve the problem herself, and began selling products that help people adopt the zero-waste lifestyle, such as reusable containers, zero-waste personal hygiene products, and cleaning products free of excessive packaging. At first, she sold in bazaars and markets, but in 2017, she decided to open a permanent physical store. Zero Market now has three storefronts around Mexico City and one in Santiago de Querétaro, offering more than 750 products on sale.

Since founding Zero Market, Villagómez says she has seen how the movement has grown and how her own list of vendors that abide by zero-waste rules has expanded. She is confident that despite the cultural barriers present, the zero-waste lifestyle could become mainstream in Mexico, as long as it reflects the local realities.

"We Mexicans have it ingrained in us that we must do what we can with what we have. Sometimes we do not have as many resources as wealthy countries, and we creatively solve [problems]," says Villagómez.

Reflecting on her experience with the esquites vendor who got creative to make the sale, she says, "I am sure that in France, or any other country, this ingenuity to make it work with whatever is on hand would not happen."

The zero waste movement has been regularly criticized for being inaccessible to working class and low-income people. Villagómez says one of the things that appealed to her about the zero-waste lifestyle was the potential to save money. As a result, she works to ensure that the items she sells are priced affordably, something that has even greater significance in a country like Mexico with its high levels of poverty and inequality. According to the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean, Mexico has the fourth-highest proportion of the population in poverty in Latin America and the Caribbean.

The problem is that this issue is so big that we cannot proceed slowly; we cannot allow change to happen at a comfortable pace," says Ávila.

But there is a still a stigma in Mexico about the zero-waste lifestyle. "The mindset that this lifestyle is only for the wealthy exists in Mexico," says Villagómez. "We want to change that mentality."

She suggests that low- and middle-income countries could export the creative and accessible solutions developed in the Global South. As an example, she points to the invention, by a Brazilian student, of a sustainable banana fiber tampon to make feminine hygiene products more accessible to low-income people.

Villagómez argues that one major oversight in the rollout of Mexico City's plastic ban was the absence of public education to equip consumers with the information they need to make informed decisions and demand change from vendors.

Piero Barandiarán of the Huerto Roma Verde community center says he understands the city has a limited capacity to educate the public, but argues that it could have worked together with civil society groups who have decades of experience and connections to their communities. Without more of an effort to create consciousness in the public, he fears this could be a "dead law" that is openly flouted.

Huerto Roma Verde is home to a wide array of projects, from permaculture to seed conservation to a recycling depot; the space regularly hosts community events and festivals in non-COVID times; there is a sweat lodge for traditional healing; and a cat rescue shares the space.

Barandiarán says that people who drop off their recyclable materials at the depot do so on a voluntary basis, and instead of being paid for the material, they get in-kind gifts, such as seeds or plants. The experience of Huerto Roma Verde shows the will to take action on environmental issues is there-but city officials have not learned how best to tap into it.

A display outside the Del Valle location of Zero Market México. Founder Elizabeth Villagómez Cruz says sometimes she has to convince people to come in so they can see for themselves that zero-waste products are not only affordable but can help people save money.

"We would love it if government and private industry would collaborate more with us, but at the end of the day, what has always solved this situation has been self-determination and the cooperation of all of these people who are here in this space, donating their labor, donating their knowledge, and betting on a cause that is giving a sense of purpose to many people who live in cities," says Barandiarán.

Nonetheless, those at Huerto Roma Verde are constantly working to forge new partnerships. In what often comes as a surprise to visitors who see the care that is taken to make it an ecological space, Barandiarán says they even work with Coca-Cola's affiliate FEMSA. With financial assistance from private industry, Huerto Roma Verde has been able to purchase plastic processing machines. The hope is to eventually use recycled plastic to make street furniture that will be installed throughout the city.

Similarly, Plastic Oceans México is seeking to work with the federal government to develop an education module that can be implemented in schools across the country. The hope is also that the single-use plastic ban in Mexico City could serve as a model for a nationwide law, with Plastic Oceans México already working with federal lawmakers to make it a reality and affect change at a broader level.

"There is no way that environmental aims will be met if private industry, civil society groups, and government do not work together," says Barandiarán. "For us it is quite necessary to take advantage of this socio-environmental knowledge and innovation hand-in-hand with government and private industry. This lack of cooperation is what is causing us to have serious habitability problems in the city."

At one point, Huerto Roma Verde was working with Victor Toledo, a well-regarded biologist and environmentalist who was then the federal environment secretary, to implement the community-center-cum-permaculture model developed by Huerto Roma Verde in every state in the country, but Toledo's exit from the environment secretariat killed the project.

"It becomes very complicated to collaborate with authorities when their political will does not translate into acts," says Barandiarán.

Still they press forward with their efforts to replicate their success, working to create a similar project in the municipality of Xochitepec, in the state of Morelos, south of Mexico City.

"We have to start working hand-in-hand and I think that is precisely the proposition of the Huerto: to see each other as equals, see each other as part of the same cause and that we need, no matter what, a space where we can start to find common ground," says
Barandiarán.

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One of the World's Biggest Cities Outlawed Single-Use Plastic

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Elizabeth Villagómez Cruz rarely runs afoul of the "Five Rs" of zero-waste living-refuse, reduce, reuse, recycle, rot-no matter what it takes. One day while traveling, she was craving esquites, a common snack sold by street vendors throughout Mexico, made of corn kernels in a cup with salsa and mayonnaise.

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Mexico City Says Goodbye to Single-use Plastics

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On January 1, 2021, Mexico City became one of largest municipalities in the world to ban most single-use plastic items.

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Limited Information on Recycling Initiatives

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Limited Information on Recycling Initiatives

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First, there is a lack of information dissemination on the recycling drop-off points. Therefore, these organizations have a hard time sourcing for used plastic. Second, there is limited information on how to properly manage and segregate waste. Since different plastic can be made up of different compounds, not all plastic are recyclable. As such, people lack the information on which materials could be recycled or not, and they end up not doing it altogether instead.

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There are no national policies that address plastic pollution. Such tools are vital because they could incentivize companies and individuals to reduce their waste. Moreover, the lack of policies (i.e., investment policies) hinders us from mainstreaming solutions such as refilleries and other alternatives to plastic. At best, LGUs have implemented plastic bans and have their own waste management plans (ex. systems for segregation). However, with the latter, these aren't even fully complied with.

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Consciousness & Willingness of People to Reduce Plastic Waste 

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Consciousness & Willingness of People to Reduce Plastic Waste 

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People are aware of the negative consequences of plastic pollution, may it be through social media and other initiatives. However, despite this, they still don't take action. Only a few are actually conscious about the waste they produce and even fewer are willing to make an effort to reduce it. Additionally, Filipinos lack the knowledge about the tools that can help them do so.

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- Development consultant; Trustee & advisor for Philippine Reef and Rainforest Conservation Foundation (PRRCFI)
- Worked on Wala Usik, a model for zero-waste stores in the PH
- One of her personal advocacies include the environment, including the reduction of plastic waste

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1. Bill Bontigao
- Bicol University Science Alliance Club president
2. Jefferson Estela
- Youth Strike for Climate
3. Sophia Caralde
- Youth Strike 4 Climate Philippines Education and Research Committee Head
4. Keisha Mayuga
- Founder of Life Cycles PH and licensed environmental planner
5. Dana Marie Perez
- took on the biggest fast-food chain in the world with her campaign titled “McDonalds: Prioritize Sustainability Now!”

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Right now, we have to understand the behavior of people toward plastic pollution and recycling in order to cater to a solution that will be effective by fitting to their liking. We can interview different plastic users and identify why they are still using such and what would take them to switch to a plastic-free lifestyle.

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Philippine Reef and Rainforest Conservation (PRRCFI)

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Philippine Reef and Rainforest Conservation (PRRCFI)

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Sef Carandang, Development Consultant

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Environmental Impact: Climate Change & Pollution

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Environmental Impact: Climate Change & Pollution

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Plastic waste takes several years to decompose. Moreover, they release toxic substances into the soil or air as they decompose. Plastic waste that is dumped into landfill emits dangerous methane and carbon dioxide that pollutes the air and contributes to global warming. As such a recent study shows that the annual mean global near-surface temperature is expected to increase by 1.1 °C to 1.7 °C every year from 2022 to 2026. The increase is said to be higher than preindustrial levels, over the years 1850-1900 (World Meteorological Organization, 2022).

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Health Impact: Inhalation of Toxic Substances

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Health Impact: Inhalation of Toxic Substances

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Because of the toxic substances released by plastic waste from their production to decomposition, it gets inhaled by people. Thus, it causes severe health impacts since some substances released from plastic waste are carcinogenic. As such, the World Health Organization (n.d.) confirms that nine out of ten people now breathe polluted air which kills around 7 million people each year. Common diseases due to polluted air include, but are not limited to, stroke, lung cancer, and heart disease. It is even said to be equivalent to the effects of inhaling tobacco and even worse than the effects of consuming too much salt.

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Even with the necessary information about why we should reduce our use of plastic, people, more likely Filipinos, could not opt to switch to more sustainable practices. As mentioned, the Philippines is a "sachet" economy. Since sachets are much cheaper, Filipinos tend to purchase these instead of the more sustainable packaging that is costlier. Therefore, plastic waste, even with the recycling initiatives we have in place, still end up in landfills.

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1. Mother Earth Foundation
- awareness about environmental problems and mobilizing the public to find solutions and create a more sustainable world
2. Break Free from Plastic
- its vision is to greatly reduce single-use-plastics and foster a world free of the toxic by-products of plastic pollution.
3. GAIA
- ultimate vision is a just, toxic-free world without incineration

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With everyone focused on the pandemic for the most part of 2020, there were several times that the country was harshly reminded of the current climate crisis. At the tail-end of 2020, several places in the country had to deal with devastating typhoons and flooding. And while these events have been occasions that have shown the resiliency of Filipinos anew, the youth have also made their mark in demanding accountability and sustainable change. Among the millions of voices speaking out for climate and environmental justice this year, five young Filipinos have stood out.

Bill Bontigao

Bicol University Science Alliance Club president Bill Bontigao was among the thousands whose lives were affected by the recent Typhoon Rolly. In the wake of the calamity, Bontigao, along with his fellow young Bicolanos, demanded that the government show strong political will and declare a national climate emergency. Through Bontigao, the Bicol University released a position paper expressing support for scientists, environmental organizations, and climate activists who are urging for swift action on climate change.

Jefferson Estela

Appearing in an episode of Usapang Human Development last June, Jefferson Estela of Youth Strike for Climate made it clear where the youth stands when it comes to climate action. He stated that not only does the youth deserve an active role in contributing to climate action, but that they should also be involved in decision-making.

Sophia Caralde

Youth Strike 4 Climate Philippines Education and Research Committee Head Sophia Caralde invited government officials to react to the Youth Declaration held last September 23. In the group's statement, Caralde expressed the need for the government to recognize the role of the youth in addressing the current climate crisis. According to Caralde, the youth is more than willing to work with the government to address climate crisis and achieve climate justice.

Keisha Mayuga

Founder of Life Cycles PH and licensed environmental planner Keisha Mayuga aided 2020's better normal by lending bikes and advocating for protected bike lanes. The lack of mass transport due to the pandemic had made it extremely difficult for people to go to work and go home. This prompted the group to lend out over 1,400 bicycles to private individuals and frontliners. This then led to their EDSA Evolution movement, which advocated for permanent and protected bike lanes to ensure the safety of all riders.

Dana Marie Perez

In 2019, Dana Marie Perez took on the biggest fast-food chain in the world with her campaign titled "McDonalds: Prioritize Sustainability Now!" The campaign pushed for the company to prioritize sustainability; to let its leaders know that the public is not okay with compromising our future for profit's sake; and to inform everyone that it is possible to stand strong against all forms of environmental abuses. Gathering over 700 signatures, Perez was able to file the petition in 16 McDonald's branches in 3 countries. This has led to the fast-food chain pushing for sustainable changes, such as switching to reusable cutlery, shifting to paper straws, and minimizing the use of plastic bags.

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5 young Filipinos who made waves in climate and environmental justice in 2020 - Greenpeace Philippines

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With everyone focused on the pandemic for the most part of 2020, there were several times that the country was harshly reminded of the current climate crisis. At the tail-end of 2020, several places in the country had to deal with devastating typhoons and flooding.

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According to a 2015 report by the Ocean Conservancy charity and the McKinsey Centre for Business and Environment, the Philippines is the third-largest source of plastic pollution in the ocean and produces 2.7 million tons of plastic waste annually. The report also found that around 20 percent of that plastic waste ends up in the ocean. The reason for these concerning statistics is that plastic waste in the Philippines comes from individual packaging, called sachets, which often ends up in the ocean since it is non-recyclable and therefore of no value to recyclers who might otherwise recycle it for profit. All this plastic in the ocean then later floods into poor low lying neighborhoods and causes health hazards. However, in the Philippines, there are many organizations dedicated to protecting the environment, getting plastic out of the ocean and making sure it does not end up there in the first place. These are three organizations addressing plastic pollution in the Philippines, helping people in affected neighborhoods and trying to preserve the ocean's biodiversity.

3 Organizations Addressing Plastic Pollution in the Philippines

1. Mother Earth Foundation: Mother Earth Foundation (MEF) is an NGO that emerged in 1998 and has its headquarters in Quezon City, Philippines. For 20 years, MEF has been fighting to raise awareness about environmental problems and mobilizing the public to find solutions and create a more sustainable world. MEF's legacy includes lobbying for the passage of the Clean Air Act and the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act. MEF is also a partner of the Northern Samar Coalition for Alleviation of Poverty, a partnership that focuses on tackling ecological issues faced by the people of Northern Samar in the Eastern Visayas region of the Philippines. In 2012, MEF partnered with schools in the northern Philippine town of San Fernando. MEF and the schools managed to salvage around 70 percent of the city's waste that otherwise would have ended up in a landfill. Many still consider San Fernando to be one of the best zero-waste examples in the Asia-pacific. MEF continues to push for zero waste policies and recently organized the 2018 Zero Waste Academy which helps educate and train Filipinos and other Southeast Asians to implement zero waste policies in their communities.

2. GAIA: GAIA came into being in South Africa in 2000. In its mission statement from its founding meeting, it outlined its vision: "GAIA is a worldwide alliance of more than 800 grassroots groups, non-governmental organizations, and individuals in over 90 countries whose ultimate vision is a just, toxic-free world without incineration." GAIA operates in more than 90 countries and it has been very active in the Asia Pacific and the Philippines. In the Philippines, GAIA has been instrumental in supporting the world's only national ban on waste incineration for fifteen years. In addition to the ban, GAIA has been fighting polluting facilities, helping local communities develop and employ zero-waste systems and advocating for ecological policies in the Philippines. In 2017, GAIA along with other environmental activists began doing brand audits on polluted beaches. The concept is simple: GAIA tallies all the brand names it finds in the washed-up plastic trash and then publicizes it in order to shed light on the contaminating practices of corporations. So far, GAIA has completed over 20 brand audits in the Philippines and in neighboring countries.

3. Break Free from Plastic: Break Free from Plastic emerged in 2016 in Tagaytay, Philippines, and its vision is to greatly reduce single-use-plastics and foster a world free of the toxic by-products of plastic pollution. Many organizations (1,475) around the world have joined Break Free from Plastic in its mission to fight for corporate responsibility of plastic pollution and promote zero-waste lifestyles and cities. As the founder of the group, Von Hernandez explained that Break Free from Plastic mainly wants to challenge the polluting corporations: "If we cannot recycle it or compost this material, then [the corporations] should not be producing them in the first place." In the Philippines, Break Free from Plastic does community outreach and education, regular beach cleanups and participates in the aforementioned brand audits.

There are still islands of plastic in the ocean and total clean up is a near-impossible task but these three organizations are doing their best to put a dent into the plastic pollution that threatens health both in the Philippines and around the world. By promoting zero-waste policies and challenging the corporations who produce the non-recyclable sachets these three organizations are ensuring a better and cleaner future for Filipinos.

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Organizations Addressing Plastic Pollution in the Philippines - The Borgen Project

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According to a 2015 report by the Ocean Conservancy charity and the McKinsey Centre for Business and Environment, the Philippines is the third-largest source of plastic pollution in the ocean and produces 2.7 million tons of plastic waste annually. The report also found that around 20 percent of that plastic waste ends up in the ocean.

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Even with the current policies to reduce plastic waste, the Philippines remains the greatest ocean polluter in the ASEAN because 70 percent of the Filipino people have no access to proper disposal facilities that still cause plastic waste to leak into oceans (Fernandez n.d.). More than this, the "sachet economy" of the Philippines contributes to this problem since the plastic waste the Philippines produces is too large that landfills cannot accommodate them anymore. While companies argue that they focus on recycling initiatives rather than plastic reduction, it still would not work since not all plastic are recyclable.

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Even as fierce debate on plastic pollution and single-use packaging continues in the Philippines, it is vital to address the lack of disposal facilities and stop the leakage of plastic waste into the oceans, industry experts said.

The use of plastic packaging by food and consumer goods companies has been blamed for the marine pollution crisis, but no other material is as effective in ensuring the safe transportation of food, Crispian Lao, head of the Philippine Alliance for Recycling and Materials Sustainability (PARMS), pointed out.

"If there is packaging that meets the demand of food safety and accountability in an archipelagic country like the Philippines, where food has to be transported from one island to another, then we are very much open to that," said Lao, whose multi-sectoral organisation aims to develop zero-waste programmes for schools and communities.

"But we are still in the process of looking for those solutions, so right now, we need to address problems as they come. What is important for now is to ensure that none of the waste enters our ecosystem."

Although the Philippines has a high garbage collection rate among Southeast Asian countries, rubbish is not properly disposed of, according to a 2018 study of waste management practices in the region.

Lao said 70 per cent of the Filipino population has no access to disposal facilities and sanitary landfills, causing waste to leak into the oceans.

The low compliance of cities to establish sanitary landfills has been blamed on the high cost of closing dumpsites, but Lao argued that regulations for building landfills are also "too strict".

Among other requirements, landfills must be built on clay, and at a distance from earthquake faults. But the country has very little clay and sits on several tectonic plates, he said.

Czarina Constantino, who spearheads the World Wide Fund for Nature's (WWF) global campaign in the Philippines to stop the flow of plastics into nature by 2030, agreed that the lack of waste disposal facilities is one of the main causes of plastic pollution in the country. Poorly resourced municipal governments are the reason for this.
Read the full article about plastic pollution in the Philippines by Hannah Alcoseba Fernandez at Eco-Business.

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Why Plastic Pollution in the Philippines is So Severe

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ven as fierce debate on plastic pollution and single-use packaging continues in the Philippines, it is vital to address the lack of disposal facilities and stop the leakage of plastic waste into the oceans, industry experts said. The use of plastic packag

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Focus on Consumers' Responsibility to Recycle

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Focus on Consumers' Responsibility to Recycle

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The current solutions focus on recycling and not completely reducing plastic footprint. Even with such, it poses as a problem since not everyone is incentivized to recycle their plastic waste, which continues to end up in our landfills. Therefore, even with the numerous policies held in place, not much is done to reduce plastic pollution here.

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Lack of Discussion on the Eradication of Plastic by Business Owners

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Lack of Discussion on the Eradication of Plastic by Business Owners

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As mentioned, the current solutions focus on recycling plastics instead of removing them from the production process. When multinational corporations are interviewed regarding their contribution to the plastic pollution, they argued that they have wide recycling initiatives. However, an environmental organization, Greenpeace, mentioned that recycling in itself will not help alleviate the problem at hand since many single-use plastics are not recyclable. Therefore, it is also important for business owners to think of sustainable solutions in reducing the plastic they produce for their consumers.

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Tackling the main roots of the problem and the local & national solutions to combat the adverse effect of plastic pollution revolve around the limitation, if not complete eradication, of single-use plastics. It seems that policies regarding the use of sachets in the Philippines are non-existent due to the fact that they would be hard to implement at all. Most consumer goods (mostly necessities used for hygiene and food) in the Philippines are packaged in the smallest possible sizes to cater to the majority of the population that struggles for these kinds of products. What we think is on the horizon for having collective solutions is the conflict between the ones creating policies and those that are affected like the businesses and the consumers. As policies would be biased toward the end of the plastic use era, where the environment is greatly benefiting, the businesses are affected as plastic is one of the cheapest and easiest ways to package products. And for sachets, a lot of families would be highly affected when the availability of what they can afford in a certain given period of time is jeopardized because they can’t afford it now. Therefore, to completely find a solution to eradicating plastic pollution, we have to find more sustainable materials that would replace the "sachet" economy or inform the people about the gravity of the challenge and actions they could implement moving forward.

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Most solutions are focused on consumers' responsibility to recycle their plastic waste. Much less has been done from the perspective of a business owner. When companies were interviewed, they argued that their corporate social responsibility focuses on recycling more than reducing their plastic footprint on Earth. However, even with such, their initiatives are not widely disseminated to the public which still makes plastic end up in landfills.

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The focus of solutions is on the consumers' responsibility to recycle their plastic waste. However, they are not incentivized and lack the necessary information to drop off their plastic waste to recycling stations and such, which deems the policies we have ineffective. To add to this, producers have not once reduced their production of plastic-made products. Therefore, the plastic waste continue to end up in landfills.

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Plastic trash from the 'sachet economy' chokes the Philippines' seas

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MANILA, Philippines - Freedom Island is drowning in garbage. The last coastal frontier in the Philippine capital provides refuge to migratory birds and a thick mangrove forest there serves as a natural typhoon barrier for millions of city dwellers. Yet empty plastic water and soda bottles protrude from the sand, tattered clothes and plastic sheets [...]

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Geneva, 9 May 2022 (WMO) - There is a 50:50 chance of the annual average global temperature temporarily reaching 1.5 °C above the pre-industrial level for at least one of the next five years - and the likelihood is increasing with time, according to a new climate update issued by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO).

There is a 93% likelihood of at least one year between 2022-2026 becoming the warmest on record and dislodging 2016 from the top ranking. The chance of the five-year average for 2022-2026 being higher than the last five years (2017-2021) is also 93%, according to the Global Annual to Decadal Climate Update, produced by the United Kingdom's Met Office, the WMO lead centre for such predictions.

The annual update harnesses the expertise of internationally acclaimed climate scientists and the best prediction systems from leading climate centres around the world to produce actionable information for decision-makers.

The chance of temporarily exceeding 1.5°C has risen steadily since 2015, when it was close to zero. For the years between 2017 and 2021, there was a 10% chance of exceedance. That probability has increased to nearly 50% for the 2022-2026 period.

"This study shows - with a high level of scientific skill - that we are getting measurably closer to temporarily reaching the lower target of the Paris Agreement on Climate Change. The 1.5°C figure is not some random statistic. It is rather an indicator of the point at which climate impacts will become increasingly harmful for people and indeed the entire planet," said WMO Secretary-General Prof. Petteri Taalas.

"For as long as we continue to emit greenhouse gases, temperatures will continue to rise. And alongside that, our oceans will continue to become warmer and more acidic, sea ice and glaciers will continue to melt, sea level will continue to rise and our weather will become more extreme. Arctic warming is disproportionately high and what happens in the Arctic affects all of us," said Prof. Taalas.

The Paris Agreement sets long-term goals to guide all nations to substantially reduce global greenhouse gas emissions to limit the global temperature increase in this century to 2 °C while pursuing efforts to limit the increase even further to 1.5 °C.

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change says that climate-related risks for natural and human systems are higher for global warming of 1.5 °C than at present, but lower than at 2 °C.

Dr Leon Hermanson, of the Met Office led the report. He said: "Our latest climate predictions show that continued global temperature rise will continue, with an even chance that one of the years between 2022 and 2026 will exceed 1.5 °C above pre-industrial levels. A single year of exceedance above 1.5 °C does not mean we have breached the iconic threshold of the Paris Agreement, but it does reveal that we are edging ever closer to a situation where 1.5 °C could be exceeded for an extended period."

In 2021, the global average temperature was 1.1 °C above the pre-industrial baseline, according to the provisional WMO report on the State of the Global Climate. The final State of the Global Climate report for 2021 will be released on 18 May.

Back-to-back La Niña events at the start and end of 2021 had a cooling effect on global temperatures, but this is only temporary and does not reverse the long-term global warming trend. Any development of an El Niño event would immediately fuel temperatures, as it did in 2016, which is until now the warmest year on record.

The findings of the annual update include:

The annual mean global near-surface temperature for each year between 2022 and 2026 is predicted to be between 1.1 °C and 1.7 °C higher than preindustrial levels (the average over the years 1850-1900).

The chance of global near-surface temperature exceeding 1.5 °C above preindustrial levels at least one year between 2022 and 2026 is about as likely as not (48%). There is only a small chance (10%) of the five-year mean exceeding this threshold.

The chance of at least one year between 2022 and 2026 exceeding the warmest year on record, 2016, is 93%. The chance of the five-year mean for 2022-2026 being higher than the last five years (2017-2021) is also 93%.

The Arctic temperature anomaly, compared to the 1991-2020 average, is predicted to be more than three times as large as the global mean anomaly when averaged over the next five northern hemisphere extended winters.

There is no signal for the El Niño Southern Oscillation for December-February 2022/23, but the Southern Oscillation index is predicted to be positive in 2022.

Predicted precipitation patterns for 2022 compared to the 1991-2020 average suggest an increased chance of drier conditions over southwestern Europe and southwestern North America, and wetter conditions in northern Europe, the Sahel, north-east Brazil, and Australia.

Predicted precipitation patterns for the May to September 2022-2026 average, compared to the 1991-2020 average, suggest an increased chance of wetter conditions in the Sahel, northern Europe, Alaska and northern Siberia, and drier conditions over the Amazon.

Predicted precipitation patterns for the November to March 2022/23-2026/27 average, compared to the 1991-2020 average, suggest increased precipitation in the tropics and reduced precipitation in the subtropics, consistent with the patterns expected from climate warming.

Notes for Editors:
With the UK's Met Office acting as lead centre, climate prediction groups from Spain, Germany, Canada, China, USA, Japan, Australia, Sweden, Norway and Denmark contributed new predictions this year. Combining forecasts from climate prediction centres worldwide enables a higher quality product than what can be obtained from any single source.

The development of near-term prediction capability was driven by the WMO co-sponsored World Climate Research Programme, which declared one of its overarching Grand Challenges is to support research and development to improve multi-year to decadal climate predictions and their utility to decision makers.

Comprehensive Assessment Reports about the state of scientific, technical and socio-economic knowledge on climate change, its impacts and future risks, and options for reducing the rate at which climate change is taking place are the responsibility of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), which also issued a Special Report on Global Warming of 1.5°C.
The World Meteorological Organization is the United Nations System's authoritative voice on Weather, Climate and Water
For further information contact: Clare Nullis, WMO media officer, cnullis@wmo.int. Tel + 41 79 709 13 97

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WMO update: 50:50 chance of global temperature temporarily reaching 1.5°C threshold in next five years

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Geneva, 9 May 2022 (WMO) - There is a 50:50 chance of the annual average global temperature temporarily reaching 1.5 °C above the pre-industrial level for at least one of the next five years - and the likelihood is increasing with time, according to a new climate update issued by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO).

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As the world gets hotter and more crowded, our engines continue to pump out dirty emissions, and half the world has no access to clean fuels or technologies (e.g. stoves, lamps), the very air we breathe is growing dangerously polluted: nine out of ten people now breathe polluted air, which kills 7 million people every year.

The health effects of air pollution are serious - one third of deaths from stroke, lung cancer and heart disease are due to air pollution. This is having an equivalent effect to that of smoking tobacco, and much higher than, say, the effects of eating too much salt.

Air pollution is hard to escape, no matter how rich an area you live in. It is all around us. Microscopic pollutants in the air can slip past our body's defences, penetrating deep into our respiratory and circulatory system, damaging our lungs, heart and brain.

Air pollution is closely linked to climate change - the main driver of climate change is fossil fuel combustion which is also a major contributor to air pollution - and efforts to mitigate one can improve the other. This month, the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change warned that coal-fired electricity must end by 2050 if we are to limit global warming rises to 1.5C. If not, we may see a major climate crisis in just 20 years.

Meeting the goals of the Paris Agreement to combat climate change could save about a million lives a year worldwide by 2050 through reductions in air pollution alone. The economic benefits from tackling air pollution are significant: in the 15 countries that emit the most greenhouse gas emissions, the health impacts of air pollution are estimated to cost more than 4% of their GDP.

"The true cost of climate change is felt in our hospitals and in our lungs. The health burden of polluting energy sources is now so high, that moving to cleaner and more sustainable choices for energy supply, transport and food systems effectively pays for itself," says Dr Maria Neira, WHO Director of Public Health, Environmental and Social Determinants of Health.

The lack of visible smog is no indication that the air is healthy. Across the world, both cities and villages are seeing toxic pollutants in the air exceed the average annual values recommended by WHO's air quality guidelines. To help people better understand just how polluted the air is where they live, the WHO, UN Environment and the Climate and Clean Air Coalition's Breathe Life campaign developed an online pollution meter.

Critical issues at the first Global Conference on Air Pollution and Health

There are two main types of air pollution - ambient air pollution (outdoor pollution) and household (or indoor) air pollution refers to pollution generated by household combustion of fuels (caused by burning fuel such as coal, wood or kerosene) using open fires or basic stoves in poorly ventilated spaces. Both indoor and outdoor air pollution can contribute to each other, as air moves from inside buildings to the outside, and vice versa.

Household air pollution kills 4 million people a year and tends to affect countries in Africa and Asia, where polluting fuels and technologies are used every day particularly at home for cooking, heating and lighting. Women and children, who tend to spend more time indoors, are affected the most.

The main pollutants: are (1) particulate matter, a mix of solid and liquid droplets arising mainly from fuel combustion and road traffic; (2) nitrogen dioxide from road traffic or indoor gas cookers; (3) sulphur dioxide from burning fossil fuels; and (4) ozone at ground level, caused by the reaction of sunlight with pollutants from vehicle emissions. The pollutant that affects people the most is particulate matter (often abbreviated to PM and used as a measure for air pollution).

Video: Did you know - using a clean cookstove can protect your health?

5 ways to limit breathing polluted air

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How air pollution is destroying our health

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As the world gets hotter and more crowded, our engines continue to pump out dirty emissions, and half the world has no access to clean fuels or technologies (e.g. stoves, lamps), the very air we breathe is growing dangerously polluted: nine out of ten people now breathe polluted air, which kills 7 million people every year.

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Recycling is not enough to reduce the plastic problem. It is important to have a producer-consumer partnership. The producer has to start switching to more sustainable materials and cannot solely focus on recycling initiatives because no matter how much they recycle, producing even more plastic will eventually end up in landfills. Moreover, they have the responsibility to inform consumers of their recycling and sustainability initiatives to help reduce their plastic footprint.

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The Philippines is said to generate an estimated 43,684 tons of garbage daily, where 4,609 tons of which include plastic waste. As such, a 2015 study shows that the Philippines is the third worst ocean plastic polluter in the world. Thus, it is said to affect the livelihood of people along the coasts as fishermen could not even catch as much as they used to. Floods have become more rampant and marine creatures often show up dead along the shore as they have ingested plastic they mistook as food. In essence, we can see how this challenge has translated into economic, environmental, and physical problems as well.