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August 31, 2021

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What鈥檚 not called waste will never be waste

By Wendy Ngai | 00:05 UTC+8 August 31, 2021 | Print Edition

BY definition, waste is material that is not wanted, and I do not know when, where, why and how plastic turned synonymous with this word. Waste. Such a short word, yet it carries so much despondency with every letter. What would the world be like right now if this word didn’t exist? No one can know for sure, but I trust that if “waste” wasn’t in the dictionary, our planet wouldn’t be getting damaged as quickly as it is now. You see, nothing has to be waste.

Technically, a way to determine that plastic isn’t waste is by “wanting” it. But how can we “want” it? I admit, forcing yourself to like something is completely against human instincts, but not if you just take a moment to think about it and look at the bigger picture.

Think of it like this, when you replace plastic with another piece of plastic, or a different material, are you not wasting your own money? You may argue that it’s for your own better, but at the end of the day, when this planet is polluted to the point where it’s impossible to recover, you won’t think that way.

Another thing many people say is that plastic doesn’t look as appealing as other materials. Well, trust me when I say nothing will look appealing once the Earth becomes a complete wasteland. Besides, at the end of the day, it’s not about what cost more money and your public impression. It’s about what is more durable, who you are deep inside. This is why plastic should never be determined as “waste.”

Another way to stop polluting the planet is to get rid of The 3Rs, which are recycle, reuse and reduce, and yes, you saw right. You see, these three words are so incredibly useless and ineffective. Why? Well, none of it mentions, or even hints, any form of working together, whether as a school, a city, or even a family. It is just for one person at a time. If we work as a team, it would be much more effective.

This is where “innovate, educate and demonstrate” kick in. These three words have so much more meaning to them and work much more effectively as it is something that you can tell multiple people to do together. You can innovate and create things with the amount of resources, and so-called “waste” you have. You can educate more people about what is happening to Earth and how if we don’t act now, nothing will work. Finally, you can demonstrate to everyone how it should be done, show everyone what the right thing to do is.

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