The Economy Could Be Our Environmental Saviour as Well as Our Environmental Downfall

Knowledge of complicated economic policies is not high on many people’s agenda. Often they serve only to muddle our brains into confusion while we follow the sporadic changes they produce. However, before I lose your attention, these dull sounding policies could help us successfully cut back on plastic, and in record time as well. It seems all our governments need is a little pressure from a society hungry for change.

As annoying as some new policies may be, I think many of us can agree that the introduction of a plastic bag tax has been mostly a success; many of us have changed our behaviour for good or are at least now thinking about the bags we use rather than simply grabbing handfuls with each shop. One year after the UK introduced a 5p bag tax for all major businesses, the number of plastic bags fell by 86% with 7.6 billion ocean offenders falling to 1.1 billion. So while economics may seem highly irrelevant to the environment, with our profit-driven economy often actually being the cause of our environmental downfalls, it could now also be an environmental saviour, forcing a more rapid shift in behaviour than we would willingly contribute. In fact, it is even in the economy’s interest to stop the tidal wave of plastic as its very roots lie in the natural resources our earth provides. This scourge of waste from an economic perspective is seen as a market failure as each everlasting plastic product deepens the inequality for future generations while we fail to have a market interested in buying our excessive waste as a raw material. Even the law itself states that we must protect both society and the environment from any activity which we believe may cause harm, a notion called the ‘precautionary principle’.

Since the turn of the millennium, much of our legislative efforts focused on air pollution with increasing car tax and the introduction of congestion zones but today the ocean is firmly in our sights as growing international agreements are setting targets for countries to achieve higher standards of environmental quality within the decade. Combine this with a flurry of public outrage stimulated by the sudden unveiling of disastrous information by the likes of Blue Planet 2 and we have a range of new policies slowly being rolled out around the world. Economic instruments, as they are so called, are policies implemented by the government such as the plastic bag levy which in turn generates money for the government to invest in improving environmental quality, with beach cleaning in the UK costing £18 million annually. In Scotland in 2018, the money supermarkets made from selling plastic bags allowed £14.7 million to be donated to charity, rather than filling their own pockets. In fact, this increase in price is actually much more accurate as it displays the environmental, and also sometimes social, cost that is involved in the making and disposing of these non-biodegradable items, making us accountable for the waste we create.

Other methods which may directly affect you in the future include ‘pay as you throw’ schemes which are already used in some European countries such as Switzerland and Austria. Here you are encouraged to recycle by paying a certain amount per bag of landfill waste, even disposing of rubbish in the wrong bin can lead to a fine. While squeezing the endless food packaging we have into one bag each week sounds almost impossible, these countries often have large recycling centres for obscure objects such as electrical waste while they have a wide variety of kerbside bags for paper, glass, metal and compost to make it easier to get one step closer to being one of those zero waste champions.

Another way to reduce the load you dump on the kerb each week could be in deposit return schemes, something already seen on a small scale. These schemes basically consist of reverse vending machines where you pay a few extra pennies when you purchase a drink in a plastic bottle, can or glass bottle and once you return the empty container, you receive those few extra pennies back, encouraging higher recycling rates. Currently only around 50% of plastic bottles are recycled but these schemes could increase this number easily into the 90s. In the UK, the Government’s agreement to implement nationwide deposit return banks was spurred on by a petition created by Surfers Against Sewage and 38 Degrees which received over 329,000 signatures from individuals like us. So while you may think you have very little power with regards to policy, a simple signature and messages from their thousands of beach cleaners made a very real change regarding the UK’s take on plastic.

A small extra charge may also be placed on certain branded products as ‘extended producer responsibility’ becomes increasingly popular across Europe. This sees manufacturers held accountable for the rubbish their products create and who are put in sole charge of preventing their items ending up discovered in sheltered coves, floating on icebergs or in the stomach of whale. This scheme has already widely been used for potentially hazardous waste such as pesticides and electronics with Dell taking back unwanted electrical products as early as 2006. With packaging making up 31% of marine litter, it seems now is a better time than ever to put pressure on plastic manufacturers to clean up their act, something simply done by reaching out to their marketing departments on social media.

Tourist taxes are also now set to be introduced on the tropical island of Bali where 3,500 tonnes of waste are produced every day, much of this deriving from travellers and the hostels and food they demand. You may be rolling your eyes, we pay taxes on everything right, we can’t even holiday in peace now? Yet the tax will only cost $10 per visitor for the whole of your trip and the proceeds will go towards keeping the beautiful environment you wish to swim in free from litter whilst preserving unique Balinese culture. Studies have also found that tourists and beachgoers are the source of nearly half of beach litter, meaning this tax targets the largest group of culprits. While the tax is yet to be introduced, it is certain that it will produce a knock-on effect in other naturally stunning regions and if the money is put towards proper use protecting our planet, then adding a few extra pounds on your holiday really isn’t the end of the world. You can even use that $10 to avoid buying that tea towel, fridge magnet, debatable t-shirt or one too many beers.

So as you can see, hopefully, the previous seemingly tedious economic policies can actually be a really useful way of raising both money and awareness but also a way of changing behaviour practically overnight as our steadfast habits are forced to change, something which is not as difficult as we thought it was. The small acts of putting bottles in a different bin and taking a shopping bag with you have very easily slipped into our society as a new norm. It is important that we make these changes now as the increasing number of developing countries are still producing environmental legislation and making adjustments to the running of their country, while global agreements on waste are essential due to plastic’s refusal to stick within boundaries, unfairly escaping from the country which pours it into rivers to the one which is set on containing it. Being aware of the changes to come can help us grow fond of these eco-ideas whilst drumming up support from our family, neighbours, or, if you wish, even joining in the campaign groups which target the attention of the government. The fact that the law is changing for the good shouldn’t make us sit back and relax, instead it should encourage us that this is the time to make our voices heard as communities club together to make sure change is truly on the cards whilst the governments are listening.

By Neve McCracken-Heywood