Plastic waste entering oceans expected to triple in 20 years

[Eugene]

Related: Evaluating scenarios toward zero plastic pollution (Science)

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Source: The Guardian

Plastic waste entering oceans expected to triple in 20 years

Efforts to cut waste will reduce volume only by about 7%, say researchers

Fiona Harvey Environment correspondent
Published on Thu 23 Jul 2020 19.00 BST

Plastic waste flowing into the oceans is expected to nearly triple in volume in the next 20 years, while efforts to stem the tide have so far made barely a dent in the tsunami of waste, research shows.

Governments could make drastic cuts to the flow of plastic reaching the oceans through measures such as restricting the sale and use of plastic materials, and mandating alternatives, but even if all the most likely measures are taken it would only cut the waste to little less than half of today’s levels, the analysis found.

Previous estimates put the amount of plastic reaching the oceans each year at about 8m tonnes, but the true figure is much higher at about 11m tonnes, according to the paper published in the journal Science.

If current trends continue, the amount of plastic waste polluting the oceans will grow to 29m tonnes a year by 2040, the equivalent of 50kg for every metre of coastline in the world.

All the efforts made and announced so far to cut plastic waste, by governments and companies, will reduce that projected volume by only about 7% by 2040.

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Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/jul/23/plastic-waste-entering-oceans-triple-20-years-research

[Delarage]

1. I saw a Frontline episode about this

Pretty sure it was Frontline--but basically stated how, as we have often been in the past, we were on the verge of really limiting plastics until the plastic industry came up with this fake recycling idea and bought politicians and created fake news to get us to feel better about using it. The problem is, a lot of the plastic types in common use can't be recycled and no one wants to deal with it. It ends up getting bundled up, dumped in poor or developing nations and/or in the ocean. I am really trying to reduce my use of plastics. If there is an alternative product available without plastic, I get it. I use totes at stores, bring my own take-out dishes. But it would help if governments would take some big steps to deal with this.

[Magoo48]

2. I've been involve in marine litter removal for many years. It can be heartbreaking.

At this point it may not be relevant since the world is only paying what amounts to lip service to Climate Catastrophe. Our next generations will be overwhelmed attempting to adapt and survive a new reality we truly cannot imagine yet are absolutely responsible for ignoring. We still do the work; what else Can we do?