The Impact of Plastic Waste and Collectors’ Lives in Yangon

The Impact of Plastic Waste and Collectors’ Lives in Yangon 

Phyoe Wai Yan Paing 

Introduction 

Plastic is one of the materials present in our everyday life and its products become the most common and able to displace the traditional natural ways since the beginning of 20th century. Plastic, since, is used for a variety of purposes as it is inexpensive, versatile, lightweight and durable. At first, people are delightful to use it not knowing about the negative impact of using plastic because there has been huge number of positive impacts. But in the 21st century, people have become to realize the negative impacts of using plastic in the environment, obviously in marine lives. It would be the direct impact from plastic (e.g., a sea turtle mistakes a plastic bag for food). 

Environmental degradation seriously happens in the environment by plastic production and plastic waste continues to be a major problem in Myanmar, the member of ASEAN, closely connected with the increase of consumption by the population especially in Yangon, main commercial city of Myanmar. Moreover, little effort is involved in the participation of 3Rs established by YCDC – Yangon City Development Committee _ 3Rs (reduce, reuse & recycle). Perhaps there are limited human resources to conduct this process not only for the part of management but also community participation. 

Waste Collecting Method 

There are two types of waste collection in Yangon: primary and secondary collection. The Primary waste collection refers to the process of collecting waste from the generation sources and moving it to waste storage sites. Moreover, waste generator can make a call for waste collection to respective office. A large number of waste generators, like industries and embassies use these services. On the other hand, the secondary collection is mainly performed with tipper trucks that mean a truck with a container part that can be moved to a sloping position so that it loads can slide off at the back. This type of collection has two steps. The first step is to collect waste from waste generation sources (household, business and institution) and transport it to the final disposal site directly. The second step is to collect waste from waste storage sites (temporary waste tanks and iron containers) after the primary deliver to the disposal site. Roadside spaces and street reservations are often used for secondary waste collection stations, where large containers are placed to store the waste from the primary collector. 

Waste disposal includes temporary disposal and final disposal. In Myanmar, two disposal sites mainly refer to the open dumpsites. There are no measures to prevent the entrance of citizens to avoid nuisance and fire and or contain leachate, dust and landfill gas emission. Before waste is dumped into the final disposal sites, waste is dumped into the temporary disposal sites where collectors sort waste by hand and manual tools. Types of the sorted waste are paper, plastic, metal, and plastic bottles for reuse. In somewhere in Yangon, there is a factory in which flammable waste is burnt down by the high temperature with zero carbon emission and from that heat energy generates to electric current that transferred into the national grid. To get such things, the YCDC operates manually with the human effort, low protection although they have the systematic collecting methods which is dry waste for blue bag, wet waste for green bag. This system works well at first, but in their collection system the collector never makes the bags different putting together in the tipper truck. It means that in spite of the good system they have, they fail in the end. 

The Collector 

Most of the collectors in waste collection are illiterate and they live in the satellite area of Yangon. They had just the monastic education which means studied at the monastery in childhood or couldn’t afford or get circumstances to go to school. To fulfil their emptiness, they grabbed the collector life which can make them money quickly. In sorting the waste with no PPE (personal protective equipment) like even gloves and masks that neither they do realize how important nor the management support them completely. Lack of knowledge sometimes brings them illness, the way they solved is buying medicine from drugstore nearby. Most of the drugstores are not operated by pharmacist. Some of the collectors have diseases like skin irritation, tuberculosis, hyper or hypotension which are the endemic diseases in Myanmar. For living, anyhow, is the priority in their lives so they neglect their diseases. 

The interviewed had been taken by the leader of the collectors who’s always assigned in Kamayut township, northern central part of Yangon, lead twenty-five collectors. He said “Most of us want to change our carrier like grocery stores and selling goods. We also want to be even a guard man in the factory”. They all are keen to change their carrier even though they are not well educated. 

Then they have the big families, nearly five children almost in each family. With low income of the parents, their children are pushed on the street even though they are young, they know how to make money such as selling flowers, purified water bottle in the traffic light area for taxies. Sorrowfully, some become beggars. 

In Yangon, the population of migrants are increased day by day and the waste production rate are also increased. Not even the waste from migrants, Street vendors who are the most polluter, as defined, and pamphlet distributers who give away the advertisement paper are the major challenges for the collectors whose push the collector double work load. 

The Street Vendor 

In case of population in Myanmar, particularly in Yangon, the busiest and most crowded city, the informal sector is a source of employment, income and survival for a large number of populations; especially the middle and low-income earners. It should be noted that street vending survives not because it is an important source of employment but because of the services it provides to the urban population. For low- and medium-income groups, streets vendors provide the goods at low price especially foods. Of course, not because of the street vendors, these group must survive in their own ways like cooking foods which can increase either the expense with their income or the waste pollution. So, these groups get benefit from street vendors where they can get the food with affordable price without losing their time and energy. 

In addition to population mentioned above, Yangon is receiving the most migrants’ population in this country. There is no specific evidence, but in reality, the increase of street vendors in this present day is due to the migration from the rural area vividly. Many people have been rendered homeless and displaced by the rural-urban income gap. In Yangon, most of the urban poor get easy access of goods from those vendors. However, the vendors occupy the footpath on the pedestrian leaving narrow space, sometimes block it. This has become a public concern and it creates so much problems for vehicles, public transport, passerby and has become the most pollutant places where has lack of aesthetic visions in urbanized cities. 

Having the most polluted area, the waste collectors have to spend their time and energy more and more though there is a rule for the vendors who must collect their waste after they leave their places, beside street and on the pedestrian. These rules and regulations are just on the hand of the authorities of YCDC. It is hard to prove with the evidence, but for the collectors, it is one of the main facts of their overuse of energy and time. Moreover, some but much amount of the vendors stays late at night, of course, they have to sell all the food to get much revenue. But, here, for the collector who have responsible for these and also, they start their job after all vendors are gone, not to overlap. It’s become them to lost their patient in work with sleepy. There is no clear management for those who work in the late evening and these workers have to attend their work in the day time too. 

Ethical Perspective 

When it comes to food waste, there was a story said by one of the British Colonel in colonialized era when the British Military Government conquered in Myanmar. In that time, there were over one hundred thousand of monks are in the order of Sanga in Myanmar and the colonel said that it was a burden for the people of Myanmar. He thought that the monk did not work to get money and the people of Burma had the responsibilities for those to donate the alms food every day. That was the burden for the people of Burma who earn not only their lives and also for the monks. 

To become “An order of Sanga”, group of monks, the Buddha said “As disciples of Buddha, the monk gets the alms food from the lay people when going around, must accept the rest of the household just a spoonful of their own”. It means that the monk has to avoid the several foods from single household which make an effort for that. Besides, the monk has to go around with the bare foot, outside of the monastery compound, to know that how difficult to get a single meal as a lay man either. By this way, monk will realize about his meal and make effort to study the way of Buddha Teaching and practice the meditation to attain Nirvana. When they have free time, they have responsible for their campus clean like broom sweeping, road maintaining, building kettle stand and mowing grass. In fact, the monk has no free time, they have to take meditation in every chore with Saddi in every manner. 

The Benefit of the Broom Sweeping 

The Lord Buddha delivered concern with the broom sweeping. There are five beneficial ways of sweeping with broom. There are_ 

(1) Self-Clear Mind 

(2) To clear the other mind 

(3) Love by the God 

(4) Achieve good deeds for cleanness, and 

(5) Attain in Heaven after Death 

The Lord Buddha said, in all manner have good benefits for those who put the good willingness in his/ her deed. 

Opportunities 

Despites challenges, of course, Myanmar still has the great opportunities to its own solid waste management. Firstly, Myanmar has seen local initiative in improving solid waste management. For example, Mandalay city is actively working to address wage gaps by increasing the number of waste collection workers and vehicles. Likewise, in Yangon, the YCDC started the rate of the waste collection nearly twice during few years. Fortunately, NGOs and some non-profit organizations are actively participated in the waste collecting campaign by the under guidance of authorities. 

Secondly, treatment facilities like waste to energy is improving in Yangon. Japan, to be more exact JICA, has helped to not only provide the technology and also co-invest in Myanmar’s first pilot project. In this project, the YCDC has invested half of the estimate budget of US$ 1.6 million and the rest of the budget are invested by Japan. 

Finally, Myanmar has got supporting from international for waste management issue. The Japanese government provided over US$ 5 million for the waste management sector with the project to implement as semi-aerobic landfill in 2019. Moreover, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) has cooperated in waste management activities in major cities of Myanmar, Yangon and Mandalay. As overall, under the Dutch Embassy of Myanmar’s supervision, Dutch companies have wished to active in Myanmar. The embassy aims to support to implement the Myanmar Sustainable Development Goals (MSDGs) and plan to have the business for the Myanmar solid waste as private sectors. 

Conclusion 

Being a third-world country, Myanmar needs to grow and develop more in every sector both physically and mentally. In such a way, all Myanmar people and citizens are trying the best ways and effort to overcome these circumstances. Fortunately, Mandalay, second largest city, has become the cleanest city in South East Asia Countries. 

In Yangon, over 9 million population more than Mandalay, the YCDC is trying with all efforts to become the Yangon city charming in the sustainable ways. The objectives of the Yangon Region Development Programme are_; 

(1) To develop the Well-Urbanization 

(2) To built-up the GREEN City 

(3) To promote the Charming City, and 

(4) To establish the Commercial City 

According to these objectives, the Minister is establishing steps by steps co-operation with local NGOs and some non-profit organizations which are actively participated in environmental concern. The Chief Minister of Yangon Region Government, U Phyoe Min Thein said “Plastic waste has very huge impact to our environment, so we need to distribute plastic substituted bags and items for the people. It has a little difficulty as we cannot give substituted things. We need to practice environment conservation as we all are reasonable to keep it”. Therefore, much more need to be understood in Yangon about in the nature of the informal sector what the authorities need to extent the street vending provides as a mean of livelihoods to the urban poor, and extent the street vending is a problem of a resource in Yangon. 

Furthermore, international agencies and organizations are keen to invest in solid waste management. It is the positive initiative for Myanmar solid waste management improvement in the future. With the existing national legal framework combining with the international rules and regulations, policy should be adapted and put in place, improving solid waste management in Myanmar still requires the government of Myanmar to address the existing challenges. The government could also focus on having adequate staffing for the solid waste management and implement fees or other penalties with the legislative goals and effective coordination between varieties of stakeholders to promote a positive change in waste management. 

References 

(1) https://jchps.com/specialissues/Special%20issue3/18%20jchps%20si3%20P.Pavani%2087-93.pdf 

(2) https://www.google.com/search?q=street+vendor&oq=stree&aqs=chrome.1.69i57j35i39j0j46l2j0l3.3704j0j8&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8 

(3) https://www.google.com/search?sxsrf=ALeKk02gxTq9qd91yvqvk5FvWZxTYXcklQ%3A1585549333867&ei=FZCBXuzQNNao9QPTr5iAAQ&q=solid+waste+management&oq=Solid+&gs_lcp=CgZwc3ktYWIQAxgAMgIIADICCAAyAggAMgIIADICCAAyAggAMgIIADICCAAyAggAMgIIADoECAAQRzoECCMQJzoKCAAQgwEQFBCHAjoFCAAQgwE6BAgAEEM6BwgjEOoCECc6BQgAEJECOgQIABAKUOimAliKpwhgobgIaARwAngAgAGYAogBuRqSAQYwLjEyLjaYAQCgAQGqAQdnd3Mtd2l6sAEK&sclient=psy-ab 

(4) https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/infographic/2019/06/11/solid-waste-management-in-myanmar