Purpose Challenge to Rid the Ocean of Plastics, 31/12/2016Blue Ocean Challenge

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The trillion dollar life saving opportunity: removing the 5,25 trillion pieces of plastic debris in the ocean

Source: Plastic Pollution in the World’s Oceans: More than 5 Trillion Plastic Pieces Weighing over 250,000 Tons Afloat at Sea; Understanding the Economic Benefits and Costs of Controlling Marine Debris in the APEC region (2009)

• Total amount of plastic debris in the ocean is estimated to be ~5,25 trillion pieces of debris (2015); known as the ‘plastic soup’ or ‘Great Pacific Garbage Patch’

• Most of these pieces are microfibers littering in the deep sea, with just a small percentage floating due to the higher than water density of most plastics (seeappendix slide).

• All information based on limited sampling in North Pacific and North AtlanticOceans; little data available on Southern hemisphere oceans.

Total amount of plastic debris in the oceans: 5,25 trillion pieces

• Roughly 269,000 tons of plastic is estimated to float on the surface, a small percentage of the total amount of plastic in the ocean

• The species that fishermen report seeing most today is the ‘plastic bag’• Plastic floating at the surface is potentially easiest to clean up

Amount floating on the surface: 269,000 tons

• The total waste production in plastics annually for our species is estimated around275mln metric tons, of which 8mln tons enter the ocean annually.

Annual increase in numbers: +8 million metric tons of additional plastic

Total amount of plastic in the

ocean

Amount floating on the surface (addressable)

Annual increase

• For the APEC region alone, marine debris is estimated to cost 1,265 billion USD (2008). This is felt most in coastal communities, tourism, shipping, fishing and coastal agriculture - but can be felt more broadly in the future.

• Marine litter is also calculated to kill ~1million sea animals annually, as well as ~1million birds.

The trillion dollar opportunity (that saves millions of lives)

The trillion dollar

opportunity

The main drivers behind the problem seem to be consumer negligence, poorly regulated manufacturing, and adverse economics

Sources: Ocean Conservancy; www.oceancrusaders.org; Wikipedia

Out of the 100 mlnmetric ton plastic coastal waste, +8 mln ton enters the ocean annually

…with corre-sponding waste production

2,5 billion metric tons ofsolid waste production annually in 192 countries

Out of 2,5 billion metric ton waste, 275 mlnmetric tons is plastic waste

100 millionmetric tons of this plastic is coastal plastic waste

Drivers and trends…

* Recycling rates tend to differ starkly; general recycling rate in AUS is 36%, but in areas with container deposit legislation 74%

Shoppers worldwide use ~500bln single-use plastic bags annually

Consumers drink 53bln gallons of plastic bottled water annually, resulting in 3bln pounds of plastics*

Recycling plastics is way more expensive than producing it for manufacturers, and not economically viable

Doing our laundry releases synthetic fibres into the water

Beach-goers leave litter on the beach (cigarettes packages, bottles etc.)

Ships/offshore platforms dump garbage into the oceans

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We know roughly what kind of plastic materials enter the ocean; with food packaging, bottles and plastic bags on top of the ‘to be regulated’ list

Source: Understanding the Economic Benefits and Costs of Controlling Marine Debris in the APEC region (2009)

599.833

550.961

443.064

378.535

311.074

288.953

272.092

228.8

83.989

74.978

55.098

52.23

28.419

20.716

0 200 400 600 800

Food wrappers/containers

Caps/lids

Bags

Bottles plastic

Bottles glass

Cups, plates

Beverage cans

Straws/stirrers

Clothing/shoes

Pull tabs

Balloons

Toys

Six-pack holders

Shotgun shells

…ocean/waterway activities...Shoreline and recreational activities…

Frequency of findings of litter, APEC region 2009

…and smoking related activities

1907717

169629

70041

32438

0 2000000

Cigarettes/filters

Cigar tips

Tobacco packs/wraps

Cigarette lighters

92863

58071

50422

29421

26222

22835

18570

15612

14520

9773

6344

6039

5836

3947

0 40000 80000

Rope

Fishing line

Plastic sheets/tarps

Strapping bands

Bait containers

Buoys/floats

Bleach/cleaner bottles

Fishing lures/lights

Oil/lube bottles

Fishing nets

Crab/lobster/fish traps

Light bulbs/tubes

Pallets

Crates

55,5% of all findings 5,9% of all findings 35,7% of all findings

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…and that the problem is one of collective action between countries in different regions – although aligning Southeast Asia will prove critical

Source: Plastic waste inputs from land into the ocean, Science (2015)

27.70%

10.10%5.90% 5.80% 5.00%

3.20% 3.00% 2.90% 2.70% 2.50% 2.00% 1.90% 1.60% 1.50% 1.50%

0

0.05

0.1

0.15

0.2

0.25

0.3

China produces +25% of the plastics, with Indonesia as a good second… (mismanaged plastic waste per annum, % of total plastic waste)…

0

1

2

3

4

5

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…although the per person rate of plastic waste production in kg per diem is highest in Sri Lanka, South Africa and Turkey

We also know that different plastic types behave differently in the ocean, and can therefore be found in different places

Object Material

Water bottle filled w/air Polyethylene terephthalate

Styrofoam piece Polystyrene

Candy wrapper Combination plastic

Trajectory 1:floating

Object Material

Water bottle without cap

Polyethylene terephthalate

Party cup Polystyrene

Trajectory 3: sinks

Object Material

Bottle cap (water) HDPE

Bottle cap (soda) Polypropalene

Medicine bottle piece Polyethyleneterephthalate

Fork Polystyrene

Grocery bag HDPE

Continental Shelf (found near shore) Pelagic Zone (found in ocean)

Trajectory 2: floating until polluted

Sources: British Plastics Federation

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Locations for the large ‘garbage patches’ are roughly predictable due to our knowledge of the global currents, and can be used for cleanup operations

Eriksen M, Lebreton LCM, Carson HS, Thiel M, Moore CJ, et al. (2014) Plastic Pollution in the World's Oceans: More than 5 Trillion Plastic Pieces Weighing over 250,000 Tons Afloat at Sea. PLOS ONE 9(12): e111913. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0111913http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/j ournal.pone.0111913

Main areas of debris location, clustered based on size of plastic particles

initial solution space linked to source and value chain activities

Upstream Downstream Sales Post-sales

Sour

ceO

cean

-bas

ed20

%La

nd-b

ased

80

%

Ocean Cleanup Initiativecleaning up the Pacific Garbage

Patch through technological innovations.

Updated MARPOL regulationsGovernmental (global) regulations for

ships/off-shore platforms for what to bring to sea and what to throw away.

Plastics tax for consumersGovernmental regulation making plastics

less attractive for buyers (e.g. supermarkets) through ‘plastic tax’.

Consumer pay additional fees.

Discouraging plastic fabricationEncouraging of – and economic support for –the development of non-plastic alternatives.

Community clean-ups using fansEngaging the communities (e.g. surfer

community, sailor community) to engage in clean-ups/removal of plastic bagsz

Plastics tax for buyersGovernmental regulation making plastics

less attractive middlemen selling the goods to others.

Stimulating innovationFunding of, or economic support for,

plastic alternative development programs which are enviro-sensitive.

Tax cuts for enviro-friendly productsProducts that remove/recycle plastics can receive a tax cut (e.g. VAT 21% -> 15%, where the company can keep half), to

make them more attractive

‘Litter filters’ for river/sea crossingsBuilding filters for waste disposal into

oceans, government regulated.

Heavy fines for illegal disposalSanctions for improper disposal of plastics.

Updated international trash agreements

Trade pacts/agreements to include trash handling for economic zones

Boosting consumer awareness

Educating children and adults on the proper use of

plastics.

Product lifecycle phasesSource: Purpose+ team

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