The issue discussed in this issue brief will address the impact Southeast Asia has on the global plastic waste crisis as well as how actions directed toward Southeast Asia from western countries exacerbate the problem.
This is an intervention in policy discussion because it confronts the current reality of the problem by providing relevant information, analyzing multiple facets of the situation, and then using that analysis to generate multiple viable solutions and policy plans to remedy the situation.
To open my issue brief, I will provide commentary on how this is a relevant issue that affects virtually every person due to its global nature as well as how this is an important issue to confront sooner rather than later because of the affect plastic waste has on our global economy, international relations, and the environment.
The rhetorical situation focusing on the purpose and message of this issue brief will be established in the opening of the brief and will center around how there are key actions and policy instruments that can be pursued by both southeastern countries and western countries that can potentially significantly reduce the amount of plastic waste and its negative global impact.
The audience of this issue brief is state and federal governments who have political clout and influence policy making that contributes to U.S. waste being shipped and dumped onto Southeast Asian countries.
Additionally, the audience is local citizens and governments both in the west and in Southeast Asian countries who can individually help reduce the negative impact by educating themselves on responsible and practical waste management and reduction solutions in their own households.
As far as causes of the issue are considered, there are really two main causes: intentional and inadvertent.
Certain western countries, such as the United States, are intentionally dumping their plastic waste and recycling on Southeast Asian countries and creating more waste that needs to be dealt with and accounted for by Southeast Asia.
Concurrently, Southeast Asian countries are inadvertently worsening the issue by dumping waste into rivers and public areas due to lack of infrastructure and waste management education.
To make a clarification, many, if not all, Southeast Asian countries governments’ are extremely aware of the issue and are working diligently to find solutions, so when referring to “waste management education,” this pertains to the overall education provided to the citizens of these countries and their ability to use this awareness to make an impact, which relies also on improving public infrastructure.
Regarding policy instruments, I believe a combination of inducement and capacity builders would be the most appropriate.
Inducements can function to incentivize individual action, and if implemented correctly, it can be applied to both Western and Southeast Asian countries so that citizens of multiple countries receive reward for improving waste management within their own community level. This is critically important on the western end because less generation of waste on this end leads to less waste that gets shipped over to Southeast Asia.
Capacity builders are also instrumental because they function to educate members of the public and influence attitude and cultural norms. These can occur on the community and statewide level, by raising awareness through workshops and educational programs put on by invested community members or funded by the state. Nationally, PSAs or public TV advertisements could even be shown that advocate for personal waste accountability or proper waste disposal.