Essential products for our survival such as water and food have now an implicit association with bakelite and because of that need people regardless of their wealth, will consume such products unconsciously. It is extremely difficult, if not impossible, to disassociate these essential products with plastics. Mainly because of routine, need, education, financial backgrounds and overall the embeddedness of bakelite within humans, plastics are so easy to use and malleable, they are uncomplicated.
Nevertheless, the paradox here, is that from a plastic consumption and waste context, the social distinctions disappear. Yes, the discovery of bakelite is powerful in a sense that has delivered global behavioural and social equalities. For the last 100 years no matter your wealth, education, race, gender, age and ethnic background, behaviour shows no individual background differences when consuming and wasting plastic.
Yet we humans and corporations have shown very limited understanding of such power and equality, but we have demonstrated how contradicting this issue is. For instance, the financial outcomes of the high levels of plastic consumption are not distributed equally and paradoxically that unequal distribution is an outcome of clear biases towards perceived individual differences based on wealth, gender, education, race, ethnicity and age. However, our plastic consumption and waste is no different regardless of background.
That absence of understanding might be related to lack of acknowledgment of history of bakelite. From my educational experience, great attention was given to the industrial revolution but no attention given to the invention of plastics. Knowing American and Australian educational curriculums because of my two children, these curriculums do not offer the history of the invention or plastics. For whatever reasons, this serious gap in education is proving to be an important omission.
Since invented in 1907, plastics have very low costs related to production and the supply chain with huge financial results so far, those financial benefits are unequally shared. Though take note of the very negative consequences for the environment and the planet.
The issue here is that those who benefit financially have not understood yet, that equality is a powerful force in relation to plastics consumption and waste, that power is stronger than past or current financial and unequal outcomes. If plastic consumption and waste are not urgently managed, by individuals or the corporation, the financial outcomes will never fix the negative effects for earth. Those effects will be equally catastrophic for any human being, and corporation.
To effectively manage consumption and waste, I strongly recommend that:
Just as bakelite was invented by a chemist with considerable, creativity, curiosity and tenacity (CCT), the same CCTs should be encouraged in Universities and Petrochemical companies so scientists can develop plastics that are biodegradable.
Regulating investment of R&D at petrochemical corporations.
Developing fiscal policies benefiting those corporations that are serious about R&D, minimization of plastic environmental hazards, and provide societal education.
Increasing penalties and liabilities for those organizations that are causing harm to the environment through plastic consumption or lack of awareness related to plastic waste.
Global collaboration to design communication campaigns to tackle and minimize unconscious bias related to bakelite products.
Global collaboration campaigns to educate humanity on how at majority of products we employed at home or work are manufactured with a plastic element.
Global collaboration campaigns to provide guidelines or examples on how to recycle plastic product at home or work.
Global collaboration campaigns to clarify the consequence to the environment and earth of not managing appropriately plastics.
Include at how plastics were invented, evolution of plastics and the way forward, into school curriculums.
Global collaboration campaigns to provide awareness that in relation to consumption and waste, there is no difference between wealthy and poor, or racial, gender and ethnic backgrounds.
Global collaboration to clean, remove plastics from oceans, deserts, and forests.