Sustainability is everybody's problem. And while we encourage companies to adjust their corporate practices to suit circular economy practices, it's equally important to look at ourselves and ponder how our daily actions and choices are affecting the environment.
At a recent seminar on the topic of sustainable living held at Thammasat University, discussions among urban and rural dwellers centred around how people who live in either setting can adopt the circular economy and sustainable development practices in their lives.
How can we live with as little impact on the environment as possible, and what are some of the challenges that prevent us from doing so? Our own needs as consumers have a strong impact on the environment in various ways, both directly and indirectly, according to Koranis Tanangsnakool, researcher and co-founder of ReReef, an enterprise that aims to provide society with practical and environmentally-friendly solutions.
Take a look at some of the problems our daily needs and demands give rise to: unsustainable fishing, deforestation, mining of conflict minerals which leads to gorilla extinction, and, especially, marine plastic which is growing at an alarming rate. About 80% of trash found in the oceans today originated on land.
"It isn't something people always see;' said Koranis. "People tend to see what happens on land more than what's going on in the distant ocean. There are lots of plastics there, much of which is of the disposable, one-time-use kind. It ends up in the sea and animals eat it or get themselves tangled up in it out of confusion. And these plastics that we see, they're all from us."
The smaller the pieces of plastic are, the worse they are for marine animals, according to Koranis, as they contaminate the water easily. She proceeded to show a video clip where people remove trash from a turtle's mouth and someone diving among floating trash in Bali.
"In 30-50 years, we'll have more trash in the sea than we have fish," she said.
In recent years, more and more people have been becoming aware of how their daily actions, from their choice of products to their lifestyles, are affecting the world. People have been bringing tote bags with them shopping, or carrying their own bottles or mugs to coffee shops. From plastic straws, a few now bring their own straws made from glass, stainless steel, paper or silicone. They put food in reusable containers, cut down on the use of plastic, and more. Even women's healthcare items like sanitary pads now come with alternative pads made from cloth, or menstrual cups made from silicone. Opting for more sustainable lifestyle items may make life seem a little less convenient, but not impossible to adjust to.
Pun Pun Organic Farm in Chiang Mai.
But while we're seeing this growth in awareness and concern over the years, the practice is adopted by only a small group of people. Changing default behaviours born from habit and convenience is not always easy. Even for those who want to change, their choice can be limited by several external factors.
"Thailand still lacks the infrastructure that would encourage people to change their behaviour. If we ask people to carry their own bottle, where can they refill the water?" asked Koranis.
The same goes for environmentally-friendly items which are often costly and not as widely available as general commercial items. For example, one stainless steel straw at ReReef is sold for about 70 baht. With the same amount of money, people could already afford a few packs of plastic straws.
Awareness alone isn't enough. There have to be practical measures that aid this change, too.
"Today, the price of products and services doesn't reflect its actual cost. The cost to the environment and society isn't included in the price. For example, we get plastics so easily like it costs nothing, but there's actually a high environmental cost to it. So, the role A pilot whale was found dead earlier this year in Songkhla province with 80 plastic bags clogging its stomach. of the state is to come in and make sure the pricing system really reflects the item's actual cost. If we consider the environmental cost of a plastic bag, how much should one bag cost?" said Koranis, adding that there should also be state policies to support alternative lifestyles.
"Then, we don't have to rely on our own conscience alone; there'll be measures by the state to encourage favourable behaviours and lessen obstacles to consumers leading lives with less impact on the environment. Furthermore, it'll help more caring enterprises compete with traditional businesses."
Looking at the issue of sustainable living from a rural viewpoint, Jone Jandai, founder of Pun Pun, an organic farm and self-reliance learning centre in the north of Thailand, believes in alternative lifestyles based on self-sustainability and self-reliance. He builds houses from clay and grows his own food, opting out of commercially available products and solutions to seek his own practices away from mainstream capitalism.
Wooden cutlery from ReReef.
"Capitalism always tells us we need to consume more, and so people never realise how we can reduce our consumption;' he said.
"Back to basics" is the mantra Jone operates according to. People grow a variety of crops for personal consumption, sell the rest, and whatever is left can be made into fertiliser. It's quite different from how many farmers still operate, which is to grow one or a few crops and sell them to earn money.
His organic farm regularly offers workshops and training on organic farming, food fermentation, soap making, earthen house building, and more. He also supports the local community in organic farming.
Jone said the younger generation is also increasingly seeking similar alternative lifestyles away from the city.
"Sustainability, to me, is having infinite resources. You don't starve. You're not lacking. In the end it's about your conscious. You can live consciously, operating according to reason, not just your likes and dislikes, or consuming things recklessly," he said.
"I think the world is going to get better, because right now we're at the peak and in crisis. There are signs from younger people that they want to leave busy big cities behind. They must be tired of their current lifestyle as well."
