Single-use plastics are common in our culture of convenience. Most plastic tableware, straws and shopping bags, etc., are used once only, or for a very short period of time, before being thrown away. But it takes hundreds and even thousands of years for these items to decompose. Every year, about eight million tons of plastic waste flows from coastal nations to the oceans. The plastic waste breaks down into small particles which we call microplastics, spreading through the oceans and are now found in every corner of the globe, even in fresh Antarctic snow.
Photo 1: The Theme One winner was Team Help Help Hooray, from Ateneo de Manila University.
CityU’s Department of Public and International Affairs (PIA) always encourages students to generate new knowledge about global issues and new ideas about sustainable development. As one of the co-organisers of the Make the Case – East Asia Competition, CityU joined hands with Commitments Accelerator for Plastic Pollution (CAPP) and Ocean Recovery Alliance to invite student teams from 22 universities in 10 countries to submit detailed case studies on an initiative that significantly reduces plastic waste where it operates, and could be scaled to another location.
On 11 October 2022, an award ceremony was held online to announce the results of winning teams. The overall winner (including the prize for top Theme Two entry) was Team Dreamers and Doers from Ateneo de Manila University. They showcased the Aling Tindera Network, a waste-to-cash program that involves local networks of women micro-entrepreneurs, most of whom own sari-sari stores (small, home-based convenience stores found in many Filipino neighbourhoods). In their presentation, they suggested Thailand as the country that could best benefit from a similar programme.
The Theme One winner was Team Help Help Hooray, also from Ateneo de Manila University. Their case study profiled a zero-waste initiative on Apo Island in the Philippines and offered a framework to extend the Apo Island model to other coastal islands in the Philippines and the broader Asian region. Total prize money of USD16,500/HKD128,700 was awarded to the winning teams. Ten teams of students made final presentations at the ceremony to share the situations and opportunities in East Asian countries.
Photo 2: Team Dreamers and Doers from Ateneo de Manila University was the Overall Winner.
Dr Justin ROBERTSON, Associate Professor of PIA, notes that, “Students quickly grasp that innovation also means identifying what is working and ensuring that good ideas do not get lost. Through research, foresight and planning, university students from a range of different disciplines proved capable of uncovering high-impact projects and setting out a vision of how they could be replicated in other parts of the region.”
Make the Case – East Asia will become an annual competition and re-run in 2023. For more detailed information about the Make the Case competition in East Asia, please visit: https://makethecase.capp.global/east-asia-finals
