Every year, some 8 million metric tons of plastic enters the ocean, entangling or choking wildlife and ending up in the guts of zooplankton and fish. This plastic never fully biodegrades but rather breaks into smaller and smaller pieces, making it nearly impossible to retrieve. If trends continue, the ocean could contain one pound of plastic for every three pounds of finfish by 2025. Early studies have shown that the chemicals leached from plastic can impact reproduction and life cycles in shellfish and cause brain damage in fish, many of which we then eat.
This is unacceptable. For 30 years, Ocean Conservancy has mobilized the International Coastal Cleanup to mitigate marine debris. More than 12 million volunteers have collected nearly 230 million pounds of trash from beaches and waterways since the 1980s. They have seen firsthand the real impact of items like plastic shopping bags, straws, water bottles, and other often-disposable items. We are proud of this mammoth initiative and are on track for 2018 to be our biggest cleanup yet.
But trying to solve the problem through cleanups alone is like mopping up an overflowing sink without turning off the tap. We need to stop plastics from getting into the ocean in the first place. A circular economy, including effective waste management, provides a long-term solution.
More than 2 billion people worldwide lack access to proper waste collection and management. An estimated 80 percent of ocean plastic comes from land, with nearly half from just five countries in Southeast Asia where consumption and waste generation have outpaced governments’ abilities to collect trash.
A circular economy can help mitigate the ocean plastic problem as well as many others. But even the best, most recyclable products and materials are still trash if they reach the ocean. Effective waste collection and recycling is critical to ensuring the loop is complete. A circular economy that improves collection, recycling, and end use of materials will let us keep valuable resources in the system and out of the ocean.
No one sector can tackle this alone. That’s why Ocean Conservancy launched the Trash Free Seas Alliance in 2012, to unite industry, scientists, and conservationists to combat marine debris. And that is why we work with governments around the world, to ensure appropriate, supportive policies are implemented.
Waste management is often led by local governments. But there are national-level policies that can help to direct and support these efforts. In 2016 ministers from the 21 economies of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation forum endorsed a series of policy and practice recommendations that provide guidance for establishing the political, economic, legal, and regulatory conditions to prioritize and incentivize investments in waste management by countries, multilateral development banks, and the private sector.
These recommendations encourage countries to set ambitious, attainable targets with supporting action plans. APEC countries will measure and reward progress through performance indicators, and encourage and acknowledge frontrunner cities for their achievement. End-of-life incentive policies will be used to stimulate recycling market demand and increase product recyclability. Finally, the recommendations prioritize solutions with strong environmental standards, transparent monitoring, and community engagement. Indonesia is already putting these ideas into practice: in 2016, its government set a goal to reduce marine debris in its waters by 70 percent, and its National Marine Debris Action Plan addresses several of these recommendations.
The private sector and civil society must engage as well. Companies can use their marketing power for awareness and education, to guide consumer preferences in the right direction. They can allocate funds toward collection of their products — much like the dairy industry did in the days of the milk man. They can develop ingenious ways of recycling materials. They can also use their business expertise to support new projects and entrepreneurs that will build next-generation waste management systems.
In October, Ocean Conservancy, the Trash Free Seas Alliance and Closed Loop Partners, with PepsiCo, 3M, Procter & Gamble, American Chemistry Council, and the World Plastics Council, joined to announce the creation of a $150 million funding mechanism for waste management projects in southeast Asia.
Implementing a circular economy, and solving the marine debris problem, takes action from every sector. Governments have a role to play in implementing sound, smart, science-based and locally relevant solutions that allow the private sector and civil society to act. Together, we can benefit not just the ocean, but people and communities around the world.
Susan Ruffo has over a decade of experience working on environmental issues in and out of government. She is currently managing director for international initiatives at Ocean Conservancy.