This is a great time to learn more about how to reduce your personal plastic use. Many local councils are putting on events & workshops - mine has programs for schools, online forums and workshops on making re-useable produce bags, as well as ongoing workshops on compost and food waste reduction.
This is nice and all, and certainly individuals should try and reduce their plastic usage where they can. But this has very strong vibes of greenwashing. Realistically, the vast majority of plastic waste is caused by industrial use or by consumer goods where the consumer doesn’t have viable alternatives. I can’t stop fishing using plastic fishing nets. I can’t even make it so that the chocolate biscuits I want to buy, or the rice, come in a paper bag.
The onus here lies 99% on polluting businesses, not on individuals, and these sorts of events try to turn the blame back onto pErsoNAL rESpONSiBILitY in classic neoliberal fashion.
What percent of the stuff we put in recycling ends up in landfill again? 90%?
In what way is this greenwashing?
It’s not. It’s finger pointing and a refusal to do anything because other groups are also part of the problem. Everyone needs to be involved and on board for major changes to happen. Refusing and criticising positive initiatives because they are only a small part of the solution and not a complete fix just leads to nothing being done. The solution involves lots of little projects, initiatives and changes, the fact that none of them can, on their own, solve the entire problem is irrelevant.
It’s not.
That’s what I thought. How an event targeted at reducing plastic, organised by a nonprofit literally called ‘The Plastic Free Foundation’ can even be considered greenwashing is bizarre. This is not greenwashing; it’s fulfilling their mission statement. Either that person didn’t actually know what the word meant or they are, as you say, intentionally trying to create apathy through cynicism.
The solution involves lots of little projects, initiatives and changes
You’re exactly right. There was a very good episode of The Conversation’s ‘Fear and Wonder’ podcast recently that was based on this idea.
In a similar vein to @Zagorath, let’s add another item to the list: write your MP and demand government action to reduce plastic waste in our economy.
