Ang ecommerce transactions—tulad ng Shoppee, Zalora, Lazada atbp—ay gumagamit ng sobrang daming plastic sa packaging. Ito ay para maging safe from breakage ang package na ide deliver. Ngunit, super hirap din buksan ng mga sobrang dikit na scotch tape na ginagamit sa packaging. Hindi mo basta mabubuksan ang layers ng plastic and meron pang karton at mga pampalaman na papel (strips of coupon bond or other materials).
Ang sabi ng EcoWaste Coalition ang ecommerce ay beyond the capacity of local governments to deal with the additional solid waste. Ang plastic waste from ecommerce packaging imposes an “additional and unnecessary burden” on communities particularly the pandemic-forced consumers to order more goods online.
“Lazada and Shopee will again hold a mid-year grand sale starting June 6 which will add to more packaging and plastic waste being burned or dumped into our environment. We urge these companies to implement a genuine plastic use reduction scheme and to support their sellers and logistics providers in implementing similar measures,” wika ni EcoWaste Coalition Plastic Solutions Campaigner Coleen Salamat.
Dagdag pa ng EcoWaste coalition na ang e-commerce industry ay nagkakahalaga ng P1.2 trillion, equivalent to 5.5 percent of the economy in 2022, base sa data ng Department of Trade and Industry.
“Lazada and Shopee should… support global efforts to save our climate and environment. Cutting back on their plastic waste should be a very simple step for these companies. Let us stop sacrificing our environment for profit,” sabi ni Salamat.
Ang pinaka visible na impact ng plastic debris ay ingestion, suffocation and entanglement of hundreds of marine species like seabirds, whales, fish and turtles na inaakala ang plastic waste ay prey nila. Karamihan sa kanila ay namamatay sa starvation sa stomach kapag ito ay napuno ng plastic.
Dagdag pa diyan, ang chlorinated plastic can release harmful chemicals sa surrounding soil, which can seep into groundwater or surrounding water sources and the ecosystem. This can cause a wide range of harmful effects on species that drink the water.
It takes many years for plastic to decompose. Also, toxic substances are released into the soil when plastic bags perish under sunlight or when burned thus affecting ambient air pollution.
Toxic chemicals leach out of plastic and are found in the blood and tissue of nearly all of us. Exposure to them is linked to cancers, birth defects, impaired immunity, endocrine disruption and other ailments.
So please lang, bawasan nating lahat ang paggamit at pagbili ng plastics, lalo na ang mga packagers ng Lazada, Shoppee atbp.