Banning single-plastic use in removes millions of tons of plastic from the ending up in the sea. That is a net benefit for very little effort and inconvenience. It's not going to solve all problems and it's a low hanging fruit, but it's a start toward removing our dependence on single-use plastics.

Whatever level of plastic management we reach, there are already millions of tons of plastic in the sea to clean up. So efforts on that front are not in vain either. Again, they aren't going to fix the whole issue but they attempt to fix one part of it.

We don't have to tackle issues one at a time. People make efforts where they can. Even if it's only solving a few percent of the global issue. It's not posturing if it helps. No-one said each of these is the end-all of all solutions to the plastic waste problem.

These efforts don't distract from tackling the problem of waste disposal. Helping building waste infrastructures in countries like the Phillipines is first and foremost a political and policy problem, there needs to be a political will and a legislation framework to make it happen, then it's a money problem.

The peanut gallery is in full force today.

It's really not necessary to insult people who are trying to make a difference. You could spend your time turning up your nose at the huge corporations producing the plastic products that they are jamming in to these markets, or you could turn up your nose at corrupt third world countries for having broken waste management strategies, or you could turn up your nose at people who throw their garbage in rivers...and you decide that the people you want to deride are...the people picking up garbage and pointing out the problem?

In truth, I've never met a narcissist picking up garbage. Never.