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The internet we have today has become as real as any social spaces we occupy in-person. So much of our lives are integrated digitally now and opting out of the digital space is no longer a choice for us. Today, to be online is to exist and to be seen.

This article takes a closer look at examples of Sustainability and Social Impact entrepreneurs and startups in Asia which have accelerated their business or had a market launch or even expansion because of Covid-19.

Residents of Kamikatsu, a small town in Japan, readily sort out their refuse in a long-term community programme. Can this success be replicated in other parts of Asia?

Biologically, women are more likely to be adversely affected by the toxins in plastics. Traditional roles, inequality, and a throwaway culture further amplify these harmful effects, especially in Asia.

Plastics have critical and irreversible effects on human health, from the extraction of the raw materials needed to create them to the disposal of end products. The ubiquity of plastics in modern life is compounding this. 

Refill, reuse, and recycle used to be the norm in Asia, where people threw little away. Life today is totally different, with plastic rubbish threatening to overwhelm the region.

While the call for consumers to recycle plastic waste is loudly and widely proclaimed by governments and producers, it is only part of the solution to a crisis caused by the proliferation of plastic materials and their ability to endure. What else needs to be done? 

Plastics have made life convenient for the world, but exponential growth and misuse have brought problems to Asia, a region unprepared for the resulting deluge of plastic waste.