1 minute convenient, thousand years harmful: 5R rules and a call to save the sea from 3 young people

This article originates from a video made by 3 young people as a "self-enlightenment" about the harmful effects that plastic waste causes to people and the environment.

We can start our lives in many different ways. But we all do so with plastic, we drift to noon with plastic, and downstream to night with plastic.

Like King Midas in Greek mythology, who has the ability to turn everything he touches into gold, modern men have the ability to turn all objects into plastic in many different ways. The need for the availability of modern people has led to the following panorama:

Synthetic fibers are easily found in everyday life and have become important in modern lifestyles. In 2015, more than 42 million tons of synthetic fabrics from plastic were discharged globally. 500 million straws are thrown away in the US every day. You probably also know that it takes more than 200 years for them to decompose and disappear from the earth.

If the Olympics is a competition in many sports between countries around the world, have industries also had an Olympic competition on "Plastic waste"?

According to statistics in 2015, the packaging industry won the gold medal with 141 tons of plastic being discharged into the environment, followed by the textile industry, consumer goods, construction, and electronics.

In Vietnam, in Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi alone, 80 tons of plastic and nylon are discharged into the environment every day.

Or during the COVID-19 pandemic, the increasing demands for masks, protective clothing as well as ready-to-eat food have created a large amount of waste discharged into the environment. According to Department of Natural Resources and Environment of Ho Chi Minh City, the average amount of waste related to COVID-19 is 78 tons/day, collected from 280 concentrated isolation areas and field hospitals.

"White pollution" caused by plastic has resulted in extremely serious water pollution. In 2017, out of 20 rivers heavily polluted by plastic waste, the Mekong River, flowing through 6 countries, including Vietnam, is the 11th most polluted river, with about 22,800 tons of waste.

When reaching the ocean, under the impact of factors such as light and water; plastic is broken down into microplastic fragments. They enter the human body by mouth through water, consuming marine products containing microplastics, or inhaling airborne microplastics.

Humans consume between 39,000 and 52,000 pieces of microplastic each year. If the toxins of microplastics accumulate over many years, they can destroy the body's immune system as well as your gut. Moreover, the additives of plastic products can cause chronic bronchitis, birth defects, gene changes, cancer, skin diseases...

And there is a fact that few people know. Before plastic appeared, it had affected the natural environment such as polluting the air due to gas and waste released into the environment without treatment in the production process. In general, plastic is an indirect cause of dangerous respiratory-related diseases for humans.

As we all know, the convenience that plastic brings is extremely useful and necessary for people in modern times. But it probably cannot replace the importance of natural environments such as water and air. Do you want to continue playing the role of a "modern King Midas", turning the world into a white plastic planet? The answer lies in yourself.

If you also don't want to plastics to be "1 minute convenient, a thousand years harmful", please join us in the journey of green and sustainable living by asking yourself every day: "Is the use of plastic really necessity, or can we replace it with other products?"

That is the message of the video clip about environmental protection and plastic waste reduction of a group of 3 young people in Binh Dinh: Vu Thi Thanh Tuyet, Ngo Kim Phung, and Nguyen Hoang Nam.

The reporter had a short interviewing with them to understand more about this meaningful message.

- I came across the video "Virtual Effort" that is attracting many people's attention on social networks because of its impressive information on environmental protection issues. What inspired you to make this video?

The process of making this video is a long story. About 3 months ago - when we didn't have any knowledge about plastic - I accidentally came across a post online. I don't remember whose post this is, but in general, the writer mentioned that people are inhaling plastic every day.

When I read the first few lines of the post, I was also very confused asking myself: "Oh, how can plastic be inhaled?".

However, when I finished reading the article, it was like a wake-up call. The message of the article gives me a bigger picture of plastic waste. It's not just the tangible things that we see, it's also present in the air and cannot be seen by our own eyes.

Then I sat down and thought about how my own daily lifestyle has contributed to the problem of plastic waste pollution, like burning, littering, destroying plastics. And then, as my mother used to say "Giving is receiving", we give plastic to the environment and "receive" it into our own bodies in return.

That night, I subconsciously thought of the image of King Midas mentioned by the book "LIFE 3.0", and I realized many similarities between King Midas and modern humans. So our idea was derived from reading - a small act that brings great value but are gradually forgetten by many young people because they focus too much on simple entertainment on different social media platforms.

It took us about 2 weeks to brainstorm and edit this video. We referred to many different sources, but in terms of data, we mainly get from sources such as Vietnam News Agency, Our World In Data, Pexels, environmental protection groups, GreenHub, Youth for Environment…

- As young people, what do you think about the alarming numbers of plastic waste, especially when they drift into the ocean?

I will use the word "Sorry" to describe how I feel when I see those numbers. I am sorry that there are still many people who have not been provided with timely and thorough knowledge about plastic.

For humans, the effects of environmental pollution caused by plastic waste originate from our own activities. However, I also understand that at the moment, our awareness of plastic is not complete, so it will take a long process to bring about changes in people's awareness, attitudes and actions towards plastic.

"The thousand-mile journey starts with a few steps", improving plastic awareness among people will soon be successful if young people like me take the initiative to be the pioneer in this story.

In terms of animals and plants, I feel sorry for them because these innocent creatures are partly affected by this matter. Because of the convenience and a massively developed consumer economy in which people have traded off the balance of the ecosystem, the living rules of the natural environment have changed.

And finally, people always strive for beauty, so does nature. However, the earth is gradually losing its pure beauty because of human actions.

We hope this whole picture will experience more positive changes thanks to the sustainable green lifestyle that young people like us are pursuing.

- How do you feel when you see yourself or other people using plastic "irresponsibly" every day?

We cannot deny that, in a family doing business, a countless amount of plastic food wraps, plastic boxes, and plastic bottles are used every day.

Although I always dispose of garbage in the right place and reuse plastic bags when possible, I think that is not enough.

When it comes to reducing plastic waste, I have not completely said no to single-use plastic - which is so familiar and convenient. Previously, I didn't care too much about the potential harms of plastic, but now I realize the effects of single-use plastic on human health are more devastating than we thought.

- Young people are the future owners of the country. So what solutions does a youngster like you have to improve the problem of reducing plastic waste?

We think we can practice a green lifestyle according to the 5R rule as follows: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, Refuse, and Rethink.

It is difficult for us to refuse using single-use plastic altogether. However, the environment as well as human health will be improved if we are willing to take action to bring real values.

- If you had to make a suggestion or a call, what would you say?

As shared at the end of the video, we want to remind ourselves as well as everyone that: "If you don't want plastic to be "1 minute convinient, thousand years hamrful", follow the journey of sustainable green living by asking yourself every day: Is the use of plastic really necessary, or can we replace it with other products?"

The practical action that we are committed to taking is prioritizing alternatives to plastic when shopping; replacing single-use plastic with water bottles and lunch boxes; refraining from purchasing products such as clothes, shoes, bags if not too necessary; reusing plastic bags when shopping; reusing plastic bottles containing household cleaning solutions instead of using them once and then throwing them away; and recycling plastic bottles into plant pots.

- Thank you for participating in the interview!

Source: VTC News