DUBAI – Greater public awareness and media exposure are crucial to combat the threats facing the planet from single-use plastics is the verdict of Expo 2020 Dubai-backed innovators, who came together for the fourth day of the Expo’s Climate & Biodiversity Week.
Speaking at the Good Place by Expo Live pavilion on Wednesday, Rhea Singhal, Founder and CEO of India-based sustainable packaging company Ecoware, said: “We have certainly seen the consumer mindset shift [in relation to single-use plastics] over the last few years, but … I don’t think we’re doing enough. I don’t think we’re acting fast enough.
“We have to educate so that there is a behavioural change, that is going to give you long-lasting change … Forcing a ban down someone’s throat might work, but for how long? But if someone is educated to know that ‘I’m doing what I’m doing, I’m doing this for a reason and this is the impact my actions have’, that’s longer-lasting.”
Joining the four-person panel was Max Mohammadi, Founder of PlasticFri, a social enterprise from Sweden that transforms bio-waste into non-toxic, bio-degradable products traditionally made from single-use plastics, such as straws, plastic bags and drinking cups.
Max Mohammadi said: “[Currently] it’s an incremental change, which is from the consumers, but the people that are the decision-makers, the policy makers, the person who is a purchasing manager in a certain company – if they block the innovation, then nothing will probably happen and it will not scale.”
Georgina De Kock, Founder of edible wheat bowl company Munch Bowls, said: “It’s all about making people conscious – that this is the reality we are facing. Media should be more active, they should really promote what is really happening out there with our landfills, our oceans, our beaches and our animals.”
Ivan Zakharov, Chief Technology Officer at CLEAPL, also took part, showcasing his Russian start-up’s unique plastic-like material that is both bio-degradable and edible.
The panellists took part in Turning the Tide on Single-use Plastics, one in a series of panel discussions at The Good Place where grantees – supported under Expo 2020’s global innovation and partnership programme Expo Live – can share their innovations with a global audience.