Wizard of Plasticmania - WIZARDWORDS 1.0

Rubbish, lies and the way things are.

All is not well in the world of Plasticmania (a land where plastic is a useful material but not without consequences).

The Wizard of Plasticmania here, but call me ‘Wiz’ if you want. This commentary will try to delineate between what’s true, what’s real and what’s fantasy in the world of plastic packaging (Plastimania).

There are too many commentators - who can we believe?

The problem is that there are plenty of people with plenty of ideas, interests, all putting their views into the pot and what comes out is a mish-mash of some fact, some bizarre, far-fetched ideas and some stuff which is at best, wishful thinking and perhaps just wrong.

How to decide on what’s true and what’s not?

Making sense of this mess of different messages and this crazy time, desperately needs some simple tags to sort out what’s what in this difficult topic of; what to do with Plastic Waste. As a quick easy measure, why not apply the S/E test to every comment, article, concept so far published: vis; is the concept Scientifically sound (S) or, can it be backed up with proof using established science; then, is the concept Economically sound (E) or can the concept be supported by a rational economic model?

Using this test, when a concept is posted on the media/conversation applying both the (S) & (E) test and only if it passes we can say that it represents “REALITY” which is good and will improve understanding of the situation.  An example of this could be the latest report by the OECD on plastic waste https://www.oecd.org/environment/plastics/: #weseeReality.

Whereas, if a comment were to pass (S) scrutiny but fail to pass the (E), then it should be regarded with suspicion and not taken seriously as it is misleading readers offering false hope and should be condemned. This is sometimes called ‘greenwashing’ but this term is just too nice and makes bad ideas sound ‘clean’ in some way which isn’t appropriate. Better to call it what it is, which is like being doused with lukewarm water, so we call this effect “DRENCHED”. An example of this is the concept of the so-called ‘Circular Economy’ and ‘recycling’ which is a feeble attempt to convince us that there is a simple solution to the planetary plastic crisis and that everything is underway and in control, which is not the case as it fails (E) in every respect. #we’vebeenDrenched

Whereas, if a concept doesn’t pass either (S) or (E) then it should be strongly condemned as it’s just wrong and turning conversations into a waste of time and effort to investigate what is clearly a false claim. It is likened to being doused with green ooze, so we call this effect “SLIMED”. The recent idea of ‘recycled content’ in food containers is a great example of this as there is plenty of evidence proving that these requirements are impossible to control and verify and will therefore offer producers the marketing boost of ‘recycled content’ without the necessity to use any recycled material. #we’vebeenSlimed

Sometimes, some ideas will pass both (S) and (E) and is also a visionary approach to improve the situation and for this we need a new term to reflect their unique contribution to the crisis which we should liken to a miracle, so we call this effect “WIZARDRY”. Recently, there have been innovations looking at a vision of the future of food distribution using bulk dispensing and internet interface with consumers which shows a modern and whole-of-value-chain approach to solving these problems. These types of change deserves investigation and the spotlight overshadowing the frail and the wishful but impractical jargon changes #wecallWizardry

What difference will labelling things make?

These new emojis are not labels – they are critical comments and should save a lot of time and typing permitting ‘worthless discussion’ to be clearly identified and called out, making space for good pathways to be promoted and put in the spotlight.

It goes without saying that all commentators are not in the business of truth and reality: everyone knows that and so scepticism must be our constant companion. What’s not commonly understood, is the wider effect of malign or worthless commentary which distorts, misdirects and generally confuses the conversation and the digestion of the good work of good people which means that nothing changes- and we simply can’t have that. It shall not stand whilst the Wizard can speak.

These quick and easy emojis (Slimed; Drenched; Reality; Wizardry) are here to redirect the conversation onto solid ground of truth and practicality so that real remedies can move forward at the necessary pace to make the real change we desperately need.

Making a difference means getting serious?

Change is urgently required so that the planet can remain habitable for us and the animal kingdom alike. Plastic in its place is a useful part of our life and will be present for the foreseeable future, but what happens to it at the end of its useful life is what we have got so wrong and it’s been happening for decades. We must change everything about the approach to this crisis to stop the damage and make good and it must happen now. It starts with silencing the opposition to real remedies by the naysayers, the charlatans; the ’wishfors’ and shooting down the imaginary or unpractical remedies with whatever tools we can find have the most effect.

Real solutions are not jargon or fanciful dreams, they are science-based, hard-headed, practical but visionary and innovative realities which will take dedication and cooperation to make happen. These types of solutions and events are rare all together in one place but they do exist and must be found and brought to the foreground so that attention, funding and support can be applied in bulk. If not now then our children will certainly have to face these problems later and it will be a million times harder and costlier to solve.

What happens if we do nothing-as usual?

A reminder of why we need to fight right now can be seen here in this video (DOUBLE CLICK ON IMAGE TO PLAY THE VIDEO) which shows the situation seen every day in more than 7 major rivers around the world. This video shows a continuous flow of plastic waste in the river over 2 minutes, which is flowing, every minute, of every day and THAT IS OUR REALITY.

I am the Wizard and these are my words. I will defend the truth and facts about plastic waste pollution by any means necessary, against nonsense and obfuscation. We’ve seen nothing but the latter for the last 70 years, as my generation has exploited, consumed, ravaged, polluted, profited and egregiously ignored the fate of our world throughout my life. Now it has to change as there is a crisis of 9 billion tonnes of plastic to find, to recover, to deal with and never allow it to become so critical again, not to mention what’s coming at us in the future.

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