A Plastic Ocean

• In the last 10 years, we have made more plastic than the century before that 

• Plastic can get in animal’s digestive system, causing them to become malnourished and weakening their immune system, leading to certain death 

• 63 billion gallons of oil are used every year just to provide the United States with plastic water bottles 

• US throws away 38 billion bottles every year, which means 2 million tons of plastic are going into landfills just from water bottles 

• An average person consumes about 300 pounds of single use plastic per year 

• Durability of plastic = pro and con 

• Every single plastic ever made is still on the planet in some form 

• By 2050, it is expected that plastic production will triple, while only a fraction is recyclable 

• Every fifteen minutes, 19,068,000 pounds of plastic are produced around the world 

• Over 80 percent of ocean plastic comes from land-based sources 

• Plastic in the ocean can come from anyone’s garbage, even if you don’t live close to the sea

• 80 percent of the litter on the Great Lakes’ shorelines is plastic, which can flow through the river systems and canals into the Atlantic Ocean 

• Around 8 million tons of plastic is dumped into the oceans every year 

  • More than 50 percent sinks to the bottom 

• In the Western Mediterranean, there is a 1:2 ratio of plastic to plankton 

• Anything moving within the gyre will move towards the center of the gyre, which creates enormous islands of trash 

  • There is a pit of plastic in the North Pacific Ocean that is twice the size of Texas

• It is estimated that there are more than 5 trillion pieces of plastic in our oceans 

• Plastic smog = microplastics from larger plastics exposed to UV light, oceanic waves, and salt 

• Toxins and chemicals from industries stick to microplastics, causing them to become poison pills 

• Microbeads in scrubs, toothpaste, and cosmetics are one of the main sources of microplastics 

• It is estimated that the North Atlantic Ocean has 3,440 metric tons of microplastic only.

• A hurdle is a tiny pellet that functions as a raw material in the production of plastic items

• Plastic intermixes in the food chain ⇒ biological magnification, which directly affects us as humans 

• Some people use plastic to start fires (used for cooking, etc). Plastic is cheaper and easier to burn than kerosene, but it can cause respiratory issues. 

  • The phthalates (chemicals that make plastics flexible, transparent, and strong) that evaporate from the plastics have endocrine-disrupting properties and other toxic effects 

  • Endocrine disruption disrupts the body’s hormonal system and interferes with growth, reproduction, metabolism, and early development 

• The majority of ocean plastic comes from China, Thailand, Vietnam, Philippines, Indonesia, and Sri Lanka 

• Supermarkets won’t buy fish with ingested plastic in them from local fisherman, which has completely destroyed the market 

• You are more likely to eat plastic when consuming shellfish because you eat the whole animal 

• 2.6 billion people rely on the ocean for their main sources of protein 

• Around 90% of all seabirds are predicted to have swallowed plastic at some point in their lives

• Plastic produces gas inside of oceanic animals such as sea turtles, which makes them unable to dive down into the water

  • Plastic bags can be mistaken as jellyfish

• Around 1 trillion plastic bags are used around the world each year -- which means nearly 2 million are used each minute, with each use averaging about 12 minutes 

• Toxins from plastics enter the bloodstream and bioaccumulate in the fatty tissue and around the vital organs

• Manila landfill = larger than 2000 tennis courts 

  • Trash leaches into the Manila Bay

  • A lot comes from the rivers and washup up from typhoons

  • There are no garbage collectors, so community members toss it there

  • 1500 tons added daily 

  • The kids don’t go to school -- they scavenge for plastic and sell it to the junk shops 

  • Solution: use bioremediation (natural organisms that break down dangerous substances into less toxic or non-toxic materials) and phytoremediation (green plants that help detoxify water and soil contaminated with metals or excess minerals) in the canals

  • Solution = behavior of the people 

• People in Tuvalu have to live in burrow pits filled with plastic because there is no where to put the trash  -- people get cancer and lose fertility -- they can’t even eat the fish in the pits

• Pyrogenesis = the use of a plasma torch to destroy combustible waste

  • Transforms it back to its core elements 

  • Has no negative effect on the environment 

  • Runs off its own energy 

  • It’s affordable 

  • But it is too big (can’t be transported)

• 92.68% of people over the age of 6 in America have detectable levels of BPA(Bisphenol A --an industrial chemical used to manufacture plastic) in their bodies

  • Twice as high in kids ages 6-11 than people of older ages 

  • The FDA does not have any regulations for how many or what levels of achemicals having estrogenic activity can be released from plastics

  • Over 90% of all plastics still release chemicals that release estrogenic activity 

  • Stainless steel and glasses without sealers or colorants are safer 

  • Foil doesn’t leach these chemicals 

  • Sunlight increases risk of exposure 

  • Only solution -- Demand safer plastic 

    • Most places only serve in plastic 

Solutions:

• Demand that your supermarket wrap items in paper or leave the plastic with them for them to dispose of it properly 

  • Dont put plastic in garbage that you know is going to landfill 

  • Germany became first country in the world to pass packaging laws forcing plastic manufacturers to be responsible for the disposal of the plastic that they sold

    • There is profit to be made -- recycling is a lucrative industry 

  • Pressure the government to classify plastic as a hazardous substance 

  • Rwanda has banned plastic bags 

  • Invest in recovery technology 

  • Plasticenergy makes plastic waste a currency so people in low income countries can earn a salary while preventing plastic from entering the ocean 

    • Founder = Shaun Frankson and David Katz 

    • Established in Haiti where plastic is exchanged for solar cell phone charging, sustainable cook stoves, and money 

    • Microeconomy on recycling 

  • Plasticenergy (also known as Cynar) created technology that can transform wrappers into diesel using Pyrolysis, which is decomposition caused by the application of heat to chemical compounds such as plastic 

    • Each machine can process around 20 tons of plastic everyday, which makes around 18,000 gallons of diesel or 113 barrels of oil everyday