Beating Plastics: U-Reporters from Myanmar Talk about Solutions to Plastic Pollution 

Written By - Edison Htun (U-Reporter)

Plastic products are everywhere - in our kitchens, our houses, the products we use daily, and the food containers we get from takeouts. Our daily lives are very much intertwined with the use of plastics. According to a 2023 U-Report Myanmar poll for World Environment Day on Solutions to Plastic Pollution, over 2,200 U-Reporters responded that they use up to 5 disposable plastic items on a daily basis.

Overusing plastic products causes plastic pollution in our environment. In the same poll, around 2,000 U-Reporters shared that shopping centers, convenience stores, online shops, cafes, and restaurants are overusing plastic products. 76% agreed that plastic bags are mostly common in their community.

“I’m still using many plastic items on a daily basis because they are everywhere, and I can get them easily,” said Su Su, a U-Reporter from Yangon. “Even for plastic straws - they are more convenient to use than reusable bamboo or glass straws. Besides, those reusable straws are not affordable and not easy to buy even in Yangon.”

Similar to her experience, 36% of U-Reporters on the same poll about solutions to plastic expressed that daily products being mostly made of or come with plastic makes it difficult for them to reduce the use of plastic. 11% also expressed their frustration that the alternatives to plastic products are not readily accessible and not affordable. Moreover, over 2,000 U-Reporters raised that making substitutes for plastics accessible for everyone should be done to reduce the use of plastic in the environment.

The reality of reducing plastic products may still seem far to achieve. However, people have become socially and environmentally conscious of how plastic products are harmful to our environment, leading to advocating for each other and changing their behaviors to reduce plastic products and to start using alternatives instead. Young people especially are actively involved in this positive cause through establishing recycling and repurposing cultures with tote bags and reusable shopping bags, and tumblers to name a few; instead of using plastics in their daily lives. Combining these efforts with NGOs and organizations leading to educating the communities; and a determined control on manufacturing and using plastics, beating plastic pollution should be a promising and achievable yet continued dedication everyone set their mind to.