The Philippines and its peers in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) need to design and implement more initiatives that will shift people’s behavior toward reducing plastic consumption as global plastic pollution reaches alarming levels, according to a new report from the Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia (ERIA).
The document entitled “ASEAN Conference on Combating Plastic Pollution 2024” noted how ASEAN member states have reaffirmed their commitment to reduce plastic pollution in the region by endorsing the ASEAN Declaration on Plastic Circularity in October 2024.
This landmark document emphasizes a full life-cycle approach to addressing plastic pollution and advocates for comprehensive interventions such as circular product design, reuse systems, and environmentally sound plastic waste management.
According to the ERIA paper, since plastic pollution is not only a material issue but a behavioral issue as well, approaches targeting behavior may be used with the aim to influence people to reduce their single-use plastic (SUP) consumption in exchange for behaviors that promote a sustainable and circular use of plastics.
“The hope is that the once the desired behaviour is achieved, it can be sustained beyond the duration of the behavioural change initiative,” said the report released this month.
It recommends several recommended strategies to achieve informed behavioral change, including the following:
- Understand the context. When designing a behavioral change initiative, it is important to understand the socioeconomic, environmental, and cultural contexts of the target community to ensure that the initiative is appropriate and effective in encouraging the desired behavior.
- Combine different behavioral levers, including a mix of traditional and modern interventions, to inculcate the desired behavior. Traditional behavior change levers can include implementing a ban on plastic bags and imposing a fee for plastic shopping bags in supermarkets, while new intervention levers can cover not automatically providing plastic straws in restaurants and promoting bringing tumblers and water bottles as a cool trend instead of using SUP cups and bottles.
- Partner with local stakeholders. Community stakeholders should be involved throughout the entire initiative. Furthermore, working with local stakeholders also helps with understanding the context, identifying what is important and feasible for the communities, as well as creating a sense of ownership within the communities.
- Involve local champions. Religious leaders, government officials, the youth and other local champions can help build a stronger relationship within the community and further encourage the adoption of the desired behavior past the period of the behavioral change initiative.
- Integrate the desired behavior into local rules, regulations, or legislation. This can be one of the levers of the behavioral change intervention which can help sustain the desired behavior beyond the period of the initiative, hopefully creating a longer-lasting impact in the communities.
- Utilize multiple indicators to measure the impacts of the initiatives. This helps to create a deeper and more comprehensive understanding of the extent of the behavior change, which can inform future initiatives.
- Pay attention to the unexpected behaviors. Instances when people do not make decisions as expected should be taken note of and the insights could be incorporated in redesigning existing or designing new behavioral change interventions.
According to the report, demand for materials that improve the quality of life such as plastics continues to increase as the global economy expands. More than 460 million metric tonnes (MMT) of plastics are produced each year, with an estimated 20 MMT of plastic litter polluting ecosystems and posing detrimental threats to biodiversity, public health, livelihoods and economies.
Alarmingly, these figures are projected to double by 2040, which underscores the urgent need for transformative actions to reduce plastic pollution, ERIA said.
PHILEXPORT News and Features
March 21, 2025
Photo: Canva
Alarmingly, these figures are projected to double by 2040, which underscores the urgent need for transformative actions to reduce plastic pollution, ERIA said.
PHILEXPORT News and Features
March 21, 2025
Photo: Canva
