stage 1: building groundwork

reflections on campaign efforts for the Global Plastics Treaty, SYCA

things started off slow. back then we didn’t know. we were just trying new things out… for the longest time, one-off projects were just the modus operandi for most things in the environmental movement. and back then this one looked to be no different.

i picked up my slippers and started walking, peering through the bushes, finding, learning, sightseeing. i ran off for a while to haul in my FYP, graduate, take a break. now i’m coming back with a new pair of ON cloudmonsters and jogging a 5:30.

i’m so grateful for how far we’ve come. i’ve truly learnt so much. the jigsaw pieces of the puzzle that has clouded my eyes for so long is sliding into place as easily as a lullaby. from newly published reports, investigative journalism, and researchers’ sharings… i’m gaining solid ground; my footing is steady. questions and difficult dilemmas i’ve battled with internally in the past, now i feel eloquent in tackling and skilful in quashing like spice.

looking back at when i was eighteen, i think the main reason why i struggled to answer them for so long is really the fact that we’ve been lied to for so long. we’ve been told that this is the diehard solution, even if facts told us otherwise. and for data that wasn’t favourable to that narrative, it was swept under the carpet like getting rid of lice.  

the fact that 56% of all plastics ever produced were made since 2000 is enough to make my blood boil. the fact that plastic production doubled in the entirety of my childhood; from when i was zero to when i was eighteen. the fact that as i was playing at the playground screaming winx club names, someone else was signing a document to lock us into more plastic production facilities for the next few decades. 

the idea that, since my very conception in the womb, the adults and institutions that were supposed to protect me, and my generation, have failed to do that. 

my feelings vacillate from horror to anger to distress to complete numbness. i take in the fact that this is only the beginning; stats show that we are now on an exponential increase to double plastic production. it is truly distressing and i can only say, that with this knowledge i now feel a painful responsibility to fix this ballooning mess for the sake of my children, my friend’s children, and all the unborn of this world.

now every time i see new plastic products being sold, my first thought is, how will it be handled when its finished? will the process be safe or toxic? is the product itself full of unregulated toxins? and it brings me back to the conversation with the professor where it went something like this:

prof: “PVC is extremely hazardous, you can’t just recycle it.”

me: “So how do we effectively manage PVC waste?”

prof: “I don’t know. You just hope that the product is durable enough that it never needs to be thrown away.”

...i truly believe most singaporeans do care about our plastics crisis. mention “save the environment” to any singaporean and they’ll tell you about the plastic overuse issue. yes, we may use plastic everyday. yes, we may not actively voice opposition to it for fear of being seen as hypocritical (given that the problem has so long been individualised and dumped on consumers). but i still believe that most of us are clear-eyed and unanimous in our call for a safe and clean world to live in.

so i walk into the room now with my head held high, cross my fingers that this will catalyse a larger people’s movement for the environment. that one day, i no longer have to wish under the stars: may singapore’s environmental movement grow. 

i also keep wondering, is there anything missing in this foundational stage? it’s the first-ever campaign i’m leading, with little to no resources other than a bunch of passionate people. i don’t really know what approach works best. we’re pressing all the buttons, gathering all our allies, whispering and shouting at the same time.

only this morning after my mentor’s sharing, did i realise that after eight months i am still only on the cusp of a massive project, stepping for the first time in unknown territory, and about to swim and run for maybe another two, three, four, five years...

well. jom.