Big Time Plastic Problem

It’s no secret that rich people like Fiji water. Personally, I’m more of a smart water person, but to each their own, I guess. Fiji the place and not the water has a huge plastic waste problem left to the residents to deal with. Asinate Lewabeka, a woman native to Fiji has to literally burn it in piles to get rid of it but it’s not really gone once she burns it.

All of those fun little chemicals and microplastics are fed into their waterways, poisoning both marine life and the other residents of Fiji but they don’t actually have a choice. The Intergovernmental Committee on Plastic Pollution, or INC for short, is working on a solution to reduce plastic waste.

The sheer amount of plastic waste today is basically incomprehensible and I’m glad somebody is doing something about it because it’s not chill. INC is working with major plastic manufacturers to find a more sustainable solution for plastic waste. It’s fine to have a few microplastics in you but people all around the world are being exposed to more microplastics than everybody else, seriously affecting their health and resources. Call it macroplastics. 

With a sustainable solution, however, Fiji’s biggest export which is Fiji Water, is at threat. With more than 500 million bottles being exported yearly, their biggest financial driver is at risk. So do you trade your long term health for financial stability? The article I’m reading says the following: “Fiji’s struggle to balance an economic need for plastic production with a public health plea for its reduction illustrates a complex relationship with a product that has become the cornerstone of modern life.” As I read this sentence I can’t help but think about how that’s exactly what capitalism has come to in general. That issue I can do nothing about because I am just a girl. 

Also, out of the 330 islands of Fiji, there’s only one sanitary landfill to deal with all of the plastic waste and tons of it ends up getting swept out to sea during high tide just due to the volume of waste. Also there’s over 16,000 chemicals found in plastics and European scientists determined that every last one of them is hazardous to human health. If they’re hazardous to human health, they’re likely to be hazardous to any being. It’s all so concerning. 

Most of the plastic that ends up in the islands of Fiji is actually from Latin America and this is due to the currents that carry said trash. Yes, they can do shore cleanups and collect all the plastic but Mary, what will they do with it, girl? They have no choice right now but to burn it, which is so damaging to the environment and the people. Mary burning those plastics kills about a quarter of a million people prematurely every year. 

A ban on single use plastics has been implemented in Fiji, but we’re still a long way from where we should be as a planet when it comes to taking care of our own people and the environment we are so lucky to have. Girl I hope this is a wake up call.

If you need a reusable bottle, we have some on our website and some new ones dropping soon. This also reminds me of when I worked at Surf Bar in Oklahoma and my manager had a stanley cup. I watched her pour water from two plastic bottles in her stanley every day. I said, “Amara and Leigha, doesn’t that defeat the point?” They didn’t like the water at the restaurant. Okay, Mary. Hey, sis called, she said that ain’t it. 

‍