Environmental leaders from nine countries in Asia and South Asia met with Sustainable Plymouth and other local environmental groups as part of a three-week International Visitor Leadership Program on Monday, July 8, to discuss community advocacy in areas such as marine health, plastic pollution, and waste management. The program is sponsored by the U.S. State Department.
Sustainable Plymouth, an environmental nonprofit, hosted the Indo-Pacific delegation at the SEMPBA headquarters on Center Hill Road in Plymouth. The international group included scientists, professors, researchers, entrepreneurs, and government officials from India, Japan, the Maldives, Pakistan, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, and Vietnam.
Ken Stone, president of Sustainable Plymouth and facilitator of the Solid Waste and Plastic Reduction working group, emphasized that effective grassroots efforts require collaboration across organizations such as this forum.
Stone said it was encouraging to see other local groups focused on waste and water quality join the conversation. He highlighted significant projects Sustainable Plymouth is working on, including potentially re-establishing the recycling committee, reviewing recycling regulations, and designing a traveling recycling display for public education. Sustainable Plymouth is also working with the town to open a swap shop, which could divert 65 tons of waste or more annually.
Representatives from several Plymouth-based organizations came together to meet with the delegates including: Sustainable Plymouth, SEMPBA, the Climate Action Net Zero Committee (CANZ), the Herring Ponds Watershed Association (HPWA), the Community Land and Water Coalition (CLWC), the Citizens Climate Lobby (CCL), and Plymouth Regional Economic Development Foundation. Each group presented recent projects, goals, and concerns about water pollution, waste management, and plastics reduction.
Holly States, treasurer of Sustainable Plymouth and leader of the organization’s Water Quality working group, also presented about all of the water sources in Plymouth that local organizations help to present, including a sole source aquifer, over 400 freshwater ponds, and 37 miles of coastline. Plymouth’s sole source aquifer provides water to over 200,000 area residents. Other speakers voiced concerns about local water contamination due to nutrient loading, saltwater intrusion, and cyanobacteria.
The meeting closed with a question and discussion period between delegates and Plymouth residents. Topics included effective tools for removing phosphorous from fresh water, the need to upgrade material recovery facilities in the U.S., plastic recycling and sorting, and producer responsibility.
Dr. Thi Kinh Kieu, a lecturer at the University of Science and Education in Vietnam, emphasized the common duty and responsibility of reducing waste and single use plastics. She explained that the cost to produce is cheaper than recycling, adding that we need to convince industries to switch from single use plastics to more reusable and returnable items.
Meeting with delegates concerned with waste management from across the globe provides a reminder of the significant concern that waste poses in the United States. According to the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), the world produced more than 460 metric tons of plastic in 2019. In the same year, the U.S. only recycled 4 percent of its plastic, incinerated 19 percent, and the rest either ended up in landfills or as litter. The U.S. needs to upgrade its facilities and processes for material recovery, for example, regarding sorting materials and recycling. Members of the Indo-Pacific delegation emphasized the importance of the United States acting as a global leader in reducing plastics production and consumption, putting into place extended producer responsibility policies, and encouraging reusable items in favor of single-use.
All the environmental advocates present expressed their gratitude and enthusiasm at the opportunity to meet, share ideas, and offer mutual support.
For more information and to learn how to get involved in the climate resiliency movement, go here.
– Melissa Burridge, Andrea Dickinson, Holly States, Ken Stone, Emily Tomkins
The authors are members of the Sustainable Plymouth Advisory Board.