Life in plastic, is it fantastic?

The ubiquity and omnipresence of plastic is an overwhelming fact, more than 8 million tons of plastic are dumped in our oceans every year, impacting nearly 700 species. Considering this, the fact that only 5-10% of the world’s plastic is recycled and the long periods of decomposition of plastic waste -that goes from 10 years for a grocery back to 450 for a disposable diaper-[1] you may want to try to reduce our individual and collective plastic footprint -total amount of plastic used and discarded by a single individual, from plastic bottles to nylon clothes-[2]. In case you are curious about your plastic footprint, check these calculators:

·         To see your plastic items consumption, click here https://secure.greenpeace.org.uk/page/content/plastics-calculator

·         To calculate your total plastic footprint, click here https://www.omnicalculator.com/ecology/plastic-footprint.

Plastics are the most common form of marine debris. They can come from a variety of land and ocean-based sources; enter the water in many ways; and impact the ocean and Great Lakes[3].When it comes to discarding our plastic waste, there are three main ways for our daily plastic ending up in the oceans:[4]

1. Throwing plastic in the bin when it could be recycled

Plastic you put in the bin ends up in landfill. When rubbish is being transported to landfill, plastic is often blown away because it’s so lightweight. From there, it can eventually clutter around drains and enter rivers and the sea this way.

2. Littering

Litter dropped on the street doesn’t stay there. Rainwater and wind carries plastic waste into streams and rivers, and through drains, which lead to the ocean. Careless and improper waste disposal is also a big contributor – illegal dumping of waste adds greatly to the plastic surge in our seas.

3. Products that go down the drain

Many of the products we use daily are flushed down toilets, including wet wipes, cotton buds, sanitary products. Microfibres are even released into waterways when we wash our clothes in the washing machine. They are too small to be filtered out by waste water plants and end up being consumed by small marine species, eventually even ending up in our food chain.

What are the facts?^[5]

·         Over 300 million tons of plastic are produced every year for use in a wide variety of applications.

·         At least 8 million tons of plastic end up in our oceans every year, and make up 80% of all marine debris from surface waters to deep-sea sediments.

·         Marine species ingest or are entangled by plastic debris, which causes severe injuries and deaths.

·         Plastic pollution threatens food safety and quality, human health, coastal tourism, and contributes to climate change.

·         There is an urgent need to explore the use of existing legally binding international agreements to address marine plastic pollution.

·         Recycling and reuse of plastic products, and support for research and innovation to develop new products to replace single-use plastics are also necessary to prevent and reduce plastic pollution.

What can be done?^[6]

·         Global concern and public awareness regarding the impact of plastic on the marine environment are currently increasing. Legal efforts have been made at the international and national levels to address marine pollution. However, compliance with these laws is still poor, partly due to limited financial resources to enforce them. Existing international legally binding instruments should be further explored to address plastic pollution.

·         Recycling and reuse of plastic materials are the most effective actions available to reduce the environmental impacts of open landfills and open-air burning that are often practiced to manage domestic waste.

·         Governments, research institutions and industries also need to work collaboratively redesigning products, and rethink their usage and disposal, in order to reduce microplastics waste from pellets, synthetic textiles and tyres. This will require solutions which go beyond waste management, to consider the whole lifecycle of plastic products, from product design to infrastructure and household use.