NEWS / BLOGS
Plastic in the ocean: Plastic producers team up and pledge $1bn to combat the plastic problem
JESSICA TAYLOR
Plastic-producing companies around the world have teamed up and committed to investing more than $1 billion to cut our plastic waste.
The Alliance to End Plastic Waste (AEPW), made up of almost 30 companies, will build solutions that will reduce the amount of plastic created and help deal with single-use plastic that has been disposed of.
The AEPW also announced plans to build better infrastructures for waste management in large urban areas and potential partnerships with organisations such as the United Nations to train government officials in solving the plastic problem.
David Taylor, chairman of AEPW and CEO of Procter & Gamble, said: “Everyone agrees that plastic waste does not belong in our oceans or anywhere in the environment.
“This is a complex and serious global challenge that calls for swift action and strong leadership. This new alliance is the most comprehensive effort to date to end plastic waste in the environment.”
Taylor urged other companies to join the partnership to help in the fight against plastic.
The AEPW, made up of companies from North and South America, Europe, Asia, Africa and the Middle East, will also be supporting the Renew Oceans project, which is running an ocean cleanup project with a particular focus on the River Ganges.
Read Full Article at Source: https://www.standard.co.uk/futurelondon/theplasticfreeproject/plastic-in-the-ocean-pollution-1-billion-investment-a4042881.html
Recycling is not enough. Zero-packaging stores show we can kick our plastic addiction
Wrapped, sealed, boxed, cling-filmed and vacuum packed. We have become used to consumables being packaged in every way imaginable.
The history of “packaging” goes back to the first human settlements. First leaves, gourds and animals skins were used. Then ceramics, glass and tin. Then paper and cardboard. But with the invention of plastic and the celebration of “throwaway living” since the 1950s, the environmental costs of an overpackaged world have become manifest.
Plastic now litters the planet, contaminating ecosystems and posing a significant threat to wildlife and human health. Food and beverage packaging accounts for almost two-thirds of total packaging waste. Recycling, though important, has proven an incapable primary strategy to cope with the scale of plastic rubbish. In Australia, for example, just 11.8% of the 3.5 million tonnes of plastics consumed in 2016-2017 were recycled.
See Full Article at Source: https://theconversation.com/recycling-is-not-enough-zero-packaging-stores-show-we-can-kick-our-plastic-addiction-106357
To get to a circular economy we have to change not just the cup, but the culture
January 8, 2019
Single use plastics drive the linear economy, and it is really hard to bend that into a circle.
TreeHugger has followed Triple Pundit since it started. (Its founder, Nick Aster, helped build TreeHugger and managed our technical side for the first three years.) Mary Mazzoni of 3P recently wrote 8 Things That Moved the Circular Economy Forward in 2018 and illustrated the post with an image of the new Starbucks cup and sippy lid that they are rolling out and that Katherine covered earlier this year.
The circular economy, as defined by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, "entails gradually decoupling economic activity from the consumption of finite resources, and designing waste out of the system." It is based on three principles:
Design out waste and pollution
Keep products and materials in use
Regenerate natural systems
Read Full Article at Source: https://www.treehugger.com/plastic/if-you-want-circular-economy-you-have-change-our-culture-not-cup.html
The answer to plastic pollution is to not create waste in the first place
By Monica Wilson
With China refusing foreign waste under its new policy, countries are forced to handle their own plastic pollution
As holiday shopping ramps up, so do the dizzying varieties of plastic packaging tossed in recycling bins. And while we wish a Christmas miracle would transform this old garbage into something new, the reality is the waste left over from the holiday shopping frenzy is more likely than ever to end up in a landfill or incinerator. Until January of this year, the United States and other Western countries were foisting their low-value plastic waste on to China, with little concern for the environmental degradation this caused. To protect its citizens from the burden of foreign pollution, in the beginning of this year, China refused to be the world’s dumping ground and effectively closed its doors to plastic waste imports.
China’s new National Sword policy of refusing foreign waste has brought a long-overdue moment of reckoning for the recycling industry, and by proxy, for manufacturers. It’s clear recycling alone cannot come close to addressing the ballooning amounts of plastic waste piling up all over the country. Even before China’s waste ban took effect,only 9% of plastic in the US was actually recycled. No matter how diligently Americans sort their plastic waste, there is just too much of it for the US, or any other country, to handle.
On the bright side, the ban sparked a much needed conversation about improving domestic recycling infrastructure and recycling markets, and has forced both companies and the public to re-evaluate the products and packaging that were previously assumed to be recyclable.
See Full Article Here: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/dec/26/pollution-plastic-waste-environment-china
Microplastics found to permeate the ocean’s deepest points
One liter of water from the Mariana Trench contains thousands of tiny plastic pieces, according to new research.
PUBLISHED DECEMBER 6, 2018
LIKE THE FOOD particles that clump together in the middle of a kitchen sink, plastic debris is gathering in the deepest reaches of the ocean.
A new study published in Geochemical Perspectives found evidence of microplastic (plastic smaller than five millimeters) gathering in large quantities in the deepest parts of the oceans, and that could account for “missing” plastic that has stumped scientists to date.
A team of researchers from the Chinese Academy of Science analyzed thirteen regions by looking at previous studies and collecting their own samples. Earlier this year, a plastic bag was found in the deepest reaches of the Mariana Trench, 36,000 feet below the surface. Researchers spotted it while using video to survey the region for plastic debris.
To better understand plastic that can't as easily be spotted, the Chinese researchers analyzed water samples and broke out the amount of microplastic they found in a single liter, about four cups.
Read article at source here: https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/2018/12/microplastic-pollution-is-found-in-deep-sea/
Initiative launches to unite superyacht industry against single-use plastics
21 NOVEMBER 2018
BY MIRANDA BLAZEBY
A new environmental initiative targeting the superyacht industry's plastic consumption has been launched.
Founded in 2017, the Clear Ocean Pact launched at the Superyacht Forum last week and aims to motivate the sector to reduce its dependency on plastics.
The foundation presented its five point plan, which aims to raise the awareness of the sector's plastic footprint and “change its mindset” towards single use plastics.
It encourages them to seek out "viable alternatives, innovations and ideas" instead.
The foundation estimates that every 10,000 crew consumes 3.2 million plastic water bottles a year, equalling 100 tonnes of single use waste.
See Full Article at Source: https://www.boatinternational.com/yachts/news/initiative-launches-to-unite-superyacht-industry-against-single-use-plastics--38889?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=BOAT%20Briefing%20%20Daily%20Newsletter%20%2022%20November%202018&utm_content=BOAT%20Briefing%20%20Daily%20Newsletter%20%2022%20November%202018+CID_634c698a1b5067c5bac7e9845807bc92&utm_source=email&utm_term=READ%20MORE
Oceans Have Absorbed 60% More Heat Than Scientists Thought
Nov. 01, 2018 07:00AM EST
The landmark report from the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change published last month warned that humans needed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions 45 percent below 2010 levels by 2030 for us to have a shot at limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels.
Now, another study published in Nature Wednesday found we might have even less time than that. This is because the oceans have been absorbing much more heat than previously calculated, meaning the earth is more sensitive to carbon dioxide emissions than scientists thought.
"We thought that we got away with not a lot of warming in both the ocean and the atmosphere for the amount of CO2 that we emitted," research leader and Princeton University geoscientist Laure Resplandy told The Washington Post. "But we were wrong. The planet warmed more than we thought. It was hidden from us just because we didn't sample it right. But it was there. It was in the ocean already."
How Much More Warming Is This?
In the past 25 years, the oceans have warmed 60 percent more than previously thought.
What Does This Mean?
It means that policy makers now have even less leeway when it comes to reducing greenhouse gas emissions if they want to keep warming to 1.5 or even 2 degrees above pre-industrial levels. The findings reduce the total amount of carbon dioxide humans can safely burn before crossing those thresholds by 25 percent.
They also have implications for the ocean-related impacts of climate change: the health of marine life and the pace of sea level rise.
Read Full Article at Source: https://www.ecowatch.com/oceans-heat-absorption-climate-change-2617077826.html
The Great Pacific Garbage Patch Isn’t What You Think it Is
It’s not all bottles and straws—the patch is mostly abandoned fishing gear.
BY LAURA PARKER
The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is the world’s largest collection of floating trash—and the most famous. It lies between Hawaii and California and is often described as “larger than Texas,” even though it contains not a square foot of surface on which to stand. It cannot be seen from space, as is often claimed.
The lack of terra firma did not deter a pair of advertising executives from declaring the patch to be an actual place. They named it the nation of Trash Isles, signed up former Vice President Al Gore as its first “citizen” and last fall, petitioned the United Nations for recognition. The publicity stunt perpetuated the myth.
The patch was discovered in 1997 by Charles Moore, a yachtsman who had sailed through a mishmash of floating plastic bottles and other debris on his way home to Los Angeles. It was named by Curtis Ebbesmeyer, a Seattle oceanographer known for his expertise in tracking ocean currents and the movement of cargo lost overboard, including rubber duck bath toys and Nike tennis shoes. The patch is now the target of a $32 million cleanup campaign launched by a Dutch teenager, Boyan Slat, now 23, and head of the Ocean Cleanup, the organization he founded to do the job.
Read Full Article at Source: https://news.nationalgeographic.com/2018/03/great-pacific-garbage-patch-plastics-environment/
Microplastics found in 90 percent of table salt
A new study looked at sea, rock, and lake salt sold around the world. Here’s what you need to know.
BY LAURA PARKER
Microplastics were found in sea salt several years ago. But how extensively plastic bits are spread throughout the most commonly used seasoning remained unclear. Now, new research shows microplastics in 90 percent of the table salt brands sampled worldwide.
Of 39 salt brands tested, 36 had microplastics in them, according to a new analysis by researchers in South Korea and Greenpeace East Asia. Using prior salt studies, this new effort is the first of its scale to look at the geographical spread of microplastics in table salt and their correlation to where plastic pollution is found in the environment.
“The findings suggest that human ingestion of microplastics via marine products is strongly related to emissions in a given region,” said Seung-Kyu Kim, a marine science professor at Incheon National University in South Korea.
Salt samples from 21 countries in Europe, North and South America, Africa, and Asia were analyzed. The three brands that did not contain microplastics are from Taiwan (refined sea salt), China (refined rock salt), and France (unrefined sea salt produced by solar evaporation). The study was published this month in the journal Environmental Science & Technology.
Read Full Article at Source: https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/2018/10/microplastics-found-90-percent-table-salt-sea-salt/
Single-use plastics ban approved by European Parliament
The European Parliament has voted for a complete ban on a range of single-use plastics across the union in a bid to stop pollution of the oceans.
MEPs backed a ban on plastic cutlery and plates, cotton buds, straws, drink-stirrers and balloon sticks.
The proposal also calls for a reduction in single-use plastic for food and drink containers like plastic cups.
One MEP said, if no action was taken, "by 2050 there will be more plastic than fish in the oceans".
The European Commission proposed a ban in May, following a surge in public support attributed to documentaries such as David Attenborough's BBC Blue Planet series.
The measure still has to clear some procedural hurdles, but is expected to go through. The EU hopes it will go into effect across the bloc by 2021.
See Full Article at Source: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-45965605
Straw bans won't fix the plastic problem, but something else can
September 24, 2018
What's really needed is a shift in American food culture.
Straw bans have gained impressive momentum over the past year. From Seattle pledging to ban straws in the city by 2020, Disney saying it would eliminate plastic straws and stirrers by next year, and San Francisco saying no even to bioplastic straws, to Starbucks remodelling its cups so as not to require a straw and Alaska Airlines removing them from food service, it's a big trend right now, aided by catchy hashtags like #stopsucking.
Lonely Whale is the group that pushed for Seattle's straw ban. Like many others in the environmental activism sphere, it views straws as a 'gateway plastic'. In other words, once people realize how easy it is to stop using straws, they will be motivated to eliminate other single-use plastics from their lives. Lonely Whale's executive director, Dune Ives, told Vox,
“Our straw campaign is not really about straws. It’s about pointing out how prevalent single-use plastics are in our lives, putting up a mirror to hold us accountable. We’ve all been asleep at the wheel.”
But how realistic is it that all the disposable plastics could be replaced with non-plastic alternatives? Think about it for a moment. Plastic-lined juice boxes and takeout coffee cups, sushi boxes and other take-home food containers, Styrofoam soup cups with lids, disposable cutlery, either loose or bundled with a paper napkin in a thin plastic bag, condiment sachets, bottled beverages, any packaged food you eat on the go, like hummus and crackers and pre-cut fruit or vegetables -- these are just a few of the plastic items people use on a regular basis. To get the plastic out of these things would be a monumental, and quite frankly, unrealistic, task.
See full article at source: https://www.treehugger.com/green-food/straw-bans-wont-fix-plastic-problem-something-else-can.html
Ocean Plastic Cleanup Project Is Better News Than You Might Think
September 18th, 2018 by Michael Barnard
Five years ago, Boyan Slat of the Netherlands had a vision. He saw the oceans cleaned of the plastic that was fouling them. He saw the inklings of a solution. Time passed. He received the United Nation’s highest environmental accolade for his vision. He did a TEDx Talk on his vision. He was chosen European of the Year by Reader’s Digest, among other interesting awards. He assembled a 60-person team of engineers.
And on September 9, 2018, his team launched a 2,000 ft / 600 meter long floating plastic tube with a ten-foot / 3 meter curtain underneath to undergo full-scale sea trials.
How likely is this to make a difference?
It has a much larger opportunity to be successful than I had originally thought. The go-to-study on this was done by Julia Reisser et al. The vertical distribution of buoyant plastics at sea: an observational study in the North Atlantic Gyre was published in 2015 in the journal Biogeosciences, which has a respectable impact factor of 3.7.
The key part of the abstract is this bit:
plastic concentrations drop exponentially with water depth, and decay rates decrease with increasing Beaufort number. Furthermore, smaller pieces presented lower rise velocities and were more susceptible to vertical transport. This resulted in higher depth decays of plastic mass concentration (milligrams/m^3) than numerical concentration (pieces/m^3).
This is well visualized in this chart from the study. The misapprehension I had been under since first hearing about the challenge was that the plastic was more evenly distributed throughout the water column. However, it’s actually concentrated, especially by mass, in the first 50 centimeters or 20 inches of the water.
Read more at source: https://cleantechnica.com/2018/09/18/ocean-plastic-cleanup-project-is-better-news-than-you-might-think/
Fleets Of Wasteshark 'Aquadrones' Could Be Cleaning Ocean Waste In The Future
A swarm of autonomous robots that can swim across bodies of water to collect garbage might be the key to saving the oceans.
A few years ago, RanMarine Technology, a company from the Netherlands, has introduced WasteShark, an aquadrone that works like a smart vacuum cleaner (essentially, a Roomba for the seas) to gather wastes that end up in waterways before they accumulate into a great big patch in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.
Wall-E On Water
Every year, about 1.4 billion pounds of trash end up in the ocean. Plastics, styrofoam, and other nonbiodegradable materials get dumped into the waters, eaten by fishes and birds or collect into what has become the Great Pacific Garbage Patch — a gyre of debris between California and Hawaii bigger than Alaska.
Trash in seas and oceans have become a huge problem, but the WasteShark might be able to help.
RanMarine said that its aquadrones are inspired by whale sharks, "nature's most efficient harvesters of marine biomass." The company claims that the vessels can collect up to 200 liters of waste before it needs to be emptied and swim across the water for 16 hours.
See full article here: https://www.techtimes.com/articles/233611/20180823/fleets-of-wasteshark-aquadrones-could-be-cleaning-ocean-waste-in-the-future.htm
Can Norway help us solve the plastic crisis, one bottle at a time?
A bottle deposit hub on the outskirts of Oslo has had a stream of high-level international visitors. Can its success be replicated worldwide?
Tens of thousands of brightly coloured plastic drinks bottles tumble from the back of a truck on to a conveyor belt before disappearing slowly inside a warehouse on the outskirts of Oslo.
As a workman picks up a few Coke bottles that have escaped, Kjell Olav Maldum looks on. “It is a system that works,” he says as another truck rumbles past. “It could be used in the UK, I think lots of countries could learn from it.”
Maldum is the chief executive of Infinitum, the organisation which runs Norway’s deposit return scheme for plastic bottles and cans. Its success is unarguable – 97% of all plastic drinks bottles in Norway are recycled, 92% to such a high standard that they are turned back into drinks bottles. Maldum says some of the material has been recycled more than 50 times already. Less than 1% of plastic bottles end up in the environment.
See full article here: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/jul/12/can-norway-help-us-solve-the-plastic-crisis-one-bottle-at-a-time
ASU scientists report 1st nationwide study showing environmental costs of lenses
Every year, about 45 million Americans rely on contact lenses to see the world more clearly. This $2.7 billion U.S. market has made contact lenses more comfortable and disposable. Every day, these plastic lenses are tossed away by consumers in various ways, perhaps without much thought to their ultimate environmental fate.
Now, Arizona State University scientists are reporting the first nationwide study that shows consumers, by discarding used lenses down the drain, may be unknowingly contributing to plastic pollution.
The ASU research team is presenting their results today at the 256th National Meeting and Exposition of the American Chemical Society (ACS), held in Boston from August 19–23.
The inspiration for this work first began from personal experience.
“I had worn glasses and contact lenses for most of my adult life,” said Rolf Halden, director of the Biodesign Institute’s Center for Environmental Health Engineering at ASU. “But I started to wonder, has anyone done research on what happens to these plastic lenses after their useful lifespan is over?”
See full article here: https://asunow.asu.edu/20180819-discoveries-asu-scientists-1st-nationwide-study-environmental-costs-contact-lenses?utm_campaign=ASU_Now%208-20-18&utm_medium=email&utm_source=ASU%20Now&utm_term=ASU&utm_content=%20https%3a%2f%2fasunow.asu.edu%2f20180819-discoveries-asu-scientists-1st-nationwide-study-environmental-costs-contact-lenses
Plastics Emit Greenhouse Gases as They Degrade
The materials are a previously unaccounted-for source of methane and ethylene, researchers find.
Aug 2, 2018
SHAWNA WILLIAMS
Need another reason to ditch straws? A study published yesterday (August 1) in PLOS ONE reports that plastics—ranging from construction materials to plastic bags—release the greenhouse gases methane and ethylene after being exposed to sunlight and beginning to degrade.
“Our results show that plastics represent a heretofore unrecognized source of climate-relevant trace gases that are expected to increase as more plastic is produced and accumulated in the environment,” the study authors write in their paper.
The researchers, all based at the University of Hawai‘i at Manoa, tested the emissions of seven types of plastics as they degraded: polyethylene terephthalate, polycarbonate, high-density polyethylene and low-density polyethylene (LDPE), acrylic, polypropylene, and polystyrene. All gave off methane and ethylene in the days after being exposed to sunlight, they found, but polyethylene, which is used to make plastic bags, was the worst offender.
See full article at source: https://www.the-scientist.com/news-opinion/plastics-emit-greenhouse-gases-as-they-degrade-64600
We’re Literally Eating and Drinking Plastic. Fossil Fuels Are To Blame.
The plastics industry sees fracking as a huge opportunity for their profit margins. But plastic has already entered our food and water supply and our bodies—one more reason we need to move off fossil fuels before the problem gets even worse.
07.30.18
Care about plastic pollution? Then it’s time to work to start moving away from fossil fuels.
Plastic is a serious problem, and it’s time we addressed it at its source: fossil fuel production. Plastics are increasingly fueled by fracking in the U.S.—the extreme method of extracting fossil fuels that is polluting our air and our water, and exacerbating climate change. Fracking provides the cheap raw materials for plastics production, which has lead industry publication Plastics News to say fracking “represents a once-in-a-generation opportunity.” More fracking equals more profit in plastics (which equals, you guessed it…more plastics.)
It is so pervasive in our environment that it’s become commonplace to digest it through the microplastics present in our food and water.
Plastic in Water, Salt…Even Beer?
Everyone drinks water, and whether you drink tap water or bottled water, you are very likely ingesting some level of plastic pollution. A recent study by Orb Media tested 159 drinking water samples from cities and towns around the world, and 83 percent of those samples contained microplastic fibers. That means food prepared with plastic-contaminated water becomes contaminated as well.
Bottled water samples fared even worse than tap water—unsurprising because it is manufactured with plastic. Another recent study by the same organization found 90 percent of bottled water analyzed from around the world contained plastic microfibers. A single bottle of Nestlé Pure Life had concentrations of microfiber plastics up to 10,000 pieces per liter. The type of plastic used to make bottle caps was the most common type of microplastic fiber found in bottled water.
See full article at source: https://www.foodandwaterwatch.org/news/were-literally-eating-and-drinking-plastic-fossil-fuels-are-blame
Ocean acidification to hit levels not seen in 14 million years
New research led by Cardiff University has shown that under a 'business-as-usual' scenario of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, ocean acidification is likely to hit unprecedented levels.
Ocean acidification occurs when CO2 from the atmosphere is absorbed by seawater, resulting in more acidic water with a lower pH.
Around a third of the CO2 released by burning coal, oil and gas gets dissolved into the oceans. Since the beginning of the industrial era, the ocean has absorbed around 525 billion tons of CO2, equivalent to around 22 million tons per day.
The rapid influx of CO2 in to the oceans is severely threatening marine life, with the shells of some animals already dissolving in the more acidic seawater.
In their new study, published in the journal Earth and Planetary Science Letters, the researchers set out to reconstruct levels of ocean acidity and atmospheric CO2 levels over the past 22 million years.
See full article at: https://phys.org/news/2018-07-ocean-acidification-million-years.html#jCp
PLANET OR PLASTIC? How India’s Fishermen Turn Ocean Plastic Into Roads
In an innovative project, fishermen in Kerala collect ocean plastic for recycling, cleaning the ocean in the process.
BY MAANVI SINGH
PUBLISHED MAY 23, 2018
This story is part of Planet or Plastic?—our multiyear effort to raise awareness about the global plastic waste crisis. Learn what you can do to reduce your own single-use plastics, and take your pledge.
KOLLAM, INDIAKadalamma—Mother Sea—that’s what Xavier Peter calls the Arabian Sea. His own mother gave him life, but Kadalamma gave him purpose, a livelihood. She has provided for him, offering up enough fish to feed his family and sell at the market. And she has protected him, sparing him thrice from cyclones and once from a tsunami.
Xavier has been trawling for shrimp and fish off India’s southwestern coast for more than three decades, his whole adult life. But lately, when he casts out his nets, he often comes up with more plastic than fish.
“Pulling the nets out of the water is extra effort, with all this plastic tangled in them,” he says. “It’s a bit like trying to draw water from a well—your bucket is somehow being weighed back down.”
See full article at source: https://news.nationalgeographic.com/2018/05/fishermen-kerala-india-recycle-plastic-pollution-culture/?beta=true
A fisherman in Kerala, India, repairs nets on a beach. Plastic pollution can damage and clog nets, but now fishermen are fighting back.
PHOTOGRAPH BY FRANK BIENEWALD, GETTY IMAGES
IMPACTS OF SUNSCREENS ON CORAL REEFS
FUNDED WITH THE SUPPORT OF THE GOVERNMENT OF SWEDEN AND THE FONDATION POUR LA RECHERCHE SUR LA BIODIVERSITE
AUTHOR: ELIZABETH WOOD
This document responds to Goal 3(5) of the International Coral Reef Initiative (ICRI) Plan of Action 2016-2018, which seeks to review issues relating to the impact of sunscreens on coral reefs.
Sunscreens contain organic (chemical) and/or inorganic (mineral) UV filters that absorb, reflect or scatter UV light. They also contain inactive ingredients such as antimicrobial preservatives, moisturisers and anti-oxidants. Sunscreen ingredients including chemical (benzophenone-3 and -4 (BP-3 or oxybenzone; BP-4), ethylhexyl methoxy cinnamate (EHMC), homosalate (HMS), 4-methylbenzylidene camphor (4-MBC), diethylamino hydroxybenzoyl hexyl benzoate (DHHB)) and mineral (titanium dioxide and zinc oxide) UV filters have been detected in coastal waters. UV filters reach coastal waters either directly as a consequence of washing off swimmers and/or indirectly from wastewater treatment plant effluents. Many of these components have also been found in marine biota including fish, molluscs and corals as well as in sediments.
See full article at source: https://www.icriforum.org/sites/default/files/ICRI_Sunscreen_0.pdf
