The Plastic Odyssey - epic adventures from our homes to our oceans

Maybe the title is too poetic for such a serious problem, but the journey of plastics is quite incredible. This Youtube video by the National Geographic  (thank you Holly Griffin!) gives an overview of the lifecycle of plastics - from the closely-guarded method of producing plastics, to their use in everyday products, and then following that journey to their dumping on land and/or oceans. 

We all buy products which we never really thought had plastic in them (toothpaste?!), and up until recently, I'm sure we all used copious amounts of plastic bags before the 5p charge starting hitting our student pockets hard. The more prudent among us will re-use our water bottles, and try to use the correct bins at University (although I recently had a look and a lot of the different bin holes all lead to the same bag...). And whether we do this out of genuine concern for the environment, or just to save money, it never really crosses our mind how these products are made, or what the next step is in their journey once we consume them. 

So how does all of this plastic end up in the ocean?

    Source: Any London Waste

Plastic pollution in our oceans has been widely researched, and many campaigns exist to advocate a change. However,  riverine pathways to the oceans have not received due attention, despite their being one of the main systems that transport anthropogenic plastic litter into oceans (Rech et al, 2014). A 2013 study into the Laurentian Great Lakes found higher concentrations of microplastics than any other water body on Earth, with up to 466,000 microplastic particles/km2 downstream of two major cities. This proximity to both urban centres and industrial plants greatly increased pollution levels within the lakes. Many of these particles entered the lakes through drainage systems and sewage treatment overflow - especially during periods of heavy rain.  With such massive pollution levels, these lakes 'represent an important, potential upstream source of plastic pollution into the North Atlantic Gyre'. 

This failing of designated water-treating infrastructures is not isolated to the Great Lakes. Morritt et al, (2014)  conducted a study looking at sub-surface items in the upper Thames Estuary. In a short period of time, 8490 plastic items were captured in fyke nets. 20% of these were sanitary products, and sites of higher contamination were in the vicinity of sewage treatment plants. Again, it can be assumed that these plants are not effectively treating or managing waste, and letting it filter out into rivers means it will eventually reach the sea. Below is an overview of the findings from the Thames:

          Source: Morritt et al, 2014

While this litter can be the result of direct disposal, and illegal dumping into waterways, it can also more be the result of heavy rainfall washing the streets clean and transferring the pollutants into sewers and then rivers. While the Port of London Authority operates the 'driftwood service', using Passive Driftwood Collectors (PDCs) to scoop up larger floating debris, this ignores the unseen debris polluting the benthic zone which are gradually fragmenting into smaller particles as they abrade on each ebb and flood tide. Litter is too easily circumventing the barriers meant to stop it. 

The main concern highlighted by both of these studies is the lack of attention being focused on our freshwater bodies. Not only are they polluted on the surface, but also within the water column. This inattention is allowing continued pollution by the very infrastructures designed to filter out rubbish and maintain clean rivers. If sewage plants can not handle the amount of rubbish, there needs to be an re-evaluation in their design. If London, a financial hub city, cannot maintain the health of the Thames, then how can other cities and countries which lack the technology, resources, and money be expected to create their own waste management industries and maintain them to a efficient standard? If nations can not address the problem of plastic pollution in water ways to which they have riparian rights, then how could we ever organise a global, international system to clean our oceans and prevent their continued pollution? 

Waste management is one of the fundamental focal points to find a solution to the problem of Plastic Soup, and there needs to be greater transparency in the successes and failings of this industry. My next posts will be evaluating current trends and paradigms in waste management, in both global and local contexts, as well as the detrimental effect of inadequate management.

War on Plastic

Something to tide you over while I work on my next post. Sorry for the delay - not used to blogging! This is an expertly clipped and scanned section from Time magazine (Vol 186, No. 15-16, 2015).

Can you see the text? It gives a brief roundup of 'The war on plastic bags'. Denmark began in 1994. California was due for a ban but it was defeated by opponents. Then we have some rather surprising entries. Bangladeshi banned plastic bags in 2002 after a series of deadly floods were caused by blocked sewers, and Rwanda actually has a black market for plastic bags after it banned them completely in 2008. I say 'surprising entries' because until I saw the article above, I was assuming (wrongly) that more developed countries were leading initiatives toward environmental stability - such as through banning or charging for plastic bags. What I didn't recognise is that many countries, often less developed, have had to introduce these measures for more practical reasons - to counteract the imminent dangers that widespread plastic bag use can cause. 

What I think this article really highlights is that there is no global solution to plastic pollution. Each nation has different incentives guiding attitudes toward plastics, and each of these need to be understood if we are to fully address the problem of plastic pollution, particularly in our oceans. 

Plastic Soup - the consequences and what comes next!

Firstly, welcome to my blog! I will be blogging about plastic pollution in our oceans and waterways, but with a more specific focus concerning on-land initatives to try and reduce the amounts of plastic reaching the ocean. In this first post, I'll give a quick introduction to why plastic pollution is a problem, and the next posts will be more involved in looking at changing attitudes and legislation towards plastics and waste. I was primarily inspired in this topic by the recent 5 pence charge on plastic bags rolled out (rather late) in England, and how this is one example of many worldwide to tackle the issues surrounding plastic pollution http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-34346309 .

Before starting this, I had never heard of the term 'Plastic Soup'. But it's actually very fitting for the issues facing our oceans. http://www.plasticsoupfoundation.org/en/ - Here is the initial website which introduced me to the term, and from there I have been reading through more and more websites all about the impacts of plastic pollution in oceans and waterways.

Just to give a brief summary of the consequences of plastic debris in the oceans:

- Hazardous to animals and marine life: both in terms of eating/choking/getting stuck in plastic items (many of us will have seen the turtle whose shell was deformed by a plastic six pack ring), but more recent evidence suggests that the chemicals released when the plastic begins to decompose proves harmful to marine species too. "Bisphenol A (BPA) has been shown to interfere with the reproductive systems of animals" - this from a report by the National Geographic - Plastic Breaks Down in the Ocean After All - and Fast.

- The Great Pacific Garbage Patch as one example of the many huge concentrations of plastic debris that are gathered by ocean currents. While some predict this mass is the size of Texas, estimate sizes are speculative due to the complexities invovled in assessment. 

- The concentration of pollutants throughout the food chain - with us humans at the top. As animals ingest more and more toxins, these have the possibility to transfer to us as we consume fish. 

These are just three consequences, but the issue of plastic pollution permeates much deeper than these, as I will hope to address in time. Keep your eyes peeled for the next posts, and any opinions/comments are welcome!