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jbcmh81 t1_j8scwga wrote

Reply to comment by Fanstacia in [OC] Plastic waste emitted to the ocean per country by sometiara1

If they can't handle it, why are they taking it? Even if the problem is the Philippines taking in the world's garbage, the problem remains that they're mishandling what they're taking in. They can say no and make other countries handle their own trash, so I'm guessing the government likes the cash more than they like a healthy environment for its citizens, let alone the ocean.

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crimeo t1_j8sx6sd wrote

It's all involved parties' fault, since the sellers obviously know what's going on too.

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jbcmh81 t1_j8tduak wrote

But why buy someone else's garbage in the first place if there is no real infrastructure in place to handle it properly? If they're overwhelmed, they could say no more at any time.

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crimeo t1_j8teh37 wrote

Why SELL your garbage if there's no infrastructure to handle it properly?

There's no responsible answer to either question. Thus, they are BOTH to blame. Note that "both" is not saying the Philippines have no blame...

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jbcmh81 t1_j9006e9 wrote

Why is it the responsibility of other nations to make sure that the Philippines can handle the amount of trash they're taking? That makes no sense. Sure, countries should handle their own waste issues, but no one is forcing the Philippines to take anyone's trash. They're doing so freely, and then immediately mismanaging it. It's a self-inflicted wound, and no doubt people in government or business are getting plenty of money out of it while the average person wades in garbage.

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crimeo t1_j905bns wrote

It's everyone's responsibility in the transaction, since they all obviously know what's going on. Nobody can ethically be involved in a dangerous or harmful activity they know about.

Similarly to how hiring a hitman is illegal... not just being a hitman. Both.

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jbcmh81 t1_j91x9rb wrote

If I legally sell a gun to someone, it's not my responsibility if the buyer then shoots themselves in the foot with it. That's now how responsibility works.

Your comparison is silly because contract killing is illegal. Selling garbage isn't.

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crimeo t1_j923od5 wrote

If you KNEW ahead of time, yes it absolutely would be. "Hey you I plan on playing a fun game with mygun whete I shoot the ground between my toes" "okay here you go" lol yes obviously you share blame.

That the Philippines dumps plastic in the ocean is so well known that we are posting it on reddit without even working in the industry, obviously industry people knew this, so yes therefore they fully share the blame.

Again same as hiring a hitman, same as trafficking guns to terrorists, same as selling unregistered people barrels of pseudoephedrine, etc

> Your comparison is silly because contract killing is illegal. Selling garbage isn't.

Your morality is entirely based on what the government tells you is good or bad? YIKES

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Fanstacia t1_j8sxs35 wrote

Welp. I know my own country shipped boat loads there even after the Philippine government said not to.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canada%E2%80%93Philippines_waste_dispute

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jbcmh81 t1_j8tf0rw wrote

It seems they only said not to after it was already sent and discovered the sending company had lied about the contents. It's still a problem with the local government, though. They take in far too much than they can handle, and it seems that most of the so-called "recyclables" are simply dumped. At any time, though, they can end or drastically reduce trash imports officially. They have the autonomy to do so.

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