‘Plastic isn’t the enemy, we are’: Expert calls for behavioural change on waste at WION Sustainability summit 2025

In the third session of the WION Sustainability summit on Tuesday (Dec 2) evening, Ripudaman Singh Bevli, “Plogman of India” and National Sustainability Changemaker, spoke about plastic, which people consider it as the real waste and make it the "villain."

"Everytime we think about waste, we think about plastic. We make plastic the villain...But who are the villains? We are the villains, so who has to solve the problem? We have to solve the problem," says Ripudaman Singh Bevli, “Plogman of India” and National Sustainability Changemaker.

To solve the issue of waste and people's mindset about it, he added, "Ye dil not maange more’ is the new cool — it means you don’t need more. I think it’s all about the mindset and what we’ve learned."

Earlier, he also answered the question about the behavioural, controlled or failure related to waste and said, "I think it is all of those. We have seen this generational. User behaviour is extremely important."

'Our planet doesn't have waste:' Olsson

Meanwhile, describing the fundamental truth about the global littering crisis, Shannon B. Olsson, Founder & Global Director of the echo network, has noted that our planet doesn't have waste as it is created by humans that are used for their own use.

"Solving the plastic puzzle. There actually is no such thing as waste. I am actually an ecologist. Our planet doesn't have waste. Everything that is used by a living thing is another source for a living being. It is a construct that our humanity has created, and that is why we are living beyond our boundaries," says Shannon B. Olsson, Founder & Global Director, the echo network.