This article is so complete, that I've just copied part of the body of the report, with the link...so you can get the real detail!
We know the problem; and, increasingly, we know how to solve it. It’s time for decision-makers, including leading global consumer brands that have been identified as part of the problem, to start taking the necessary steps to prevent plastic from ending up in the ocean, now.
Despite years of growing awareness, the flow of single-use plastics continues from and into communities around the world, through waterways, and into our oceans. An estimated 150 million metric tons is already in the ocean. But here is some good news – according to a report released today by The Pew Charitable Trusts and SYSTEMIQ, we could quickly cut the volume of plastic ending up in global oceans by 80 percent using existing technologies.
“If we want to significantly reduce plastic leakage, we have the solutions at our fingertips,” Yoni Shiran, Program director at SYSTEMIQ and one of the authors of the report, told Sustainable Brands™. “Solutions need to be vastly scaled, better prioritized; and in some cases, complemented with additional — more effective — solutions.”
The report strongly argues in favor of immediate, strong, coordinated action. There is no more time to waste. Unfortunately, years of inaction — and intentional distortion by the plastics industry — has created a massive environmental crisis. We’re consuming and producing more plastic than even before, recycling less, and allowing far too much to end up in the ocean. And the surge in single-use plastic due to health concerns around the COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated the crisis.
While the finger is often pointed at countries in Asia – China, Indonesia, Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam are responsible for more ocean-bound plastic than the rest of the world combined — it is really a global problem. Until the end of 2017, the United States, Europe and Canada were shipping their waste plastic to these Asian countries, some of which was likely ending up in the ocean, because they couldn’t recycle it domestically.
Can we achieve plastic neutrality?
Learn more from WWF, National Geographic, Valutus and more on efforts to rethink the plastics value chain and strive for plastic neutrality — at Sustainable Brands 2020.
The new report brought together a diverse range of experts and scientists, with the goal of proposing an actionable plan for decision-makers to use. It highlights eight measures that they believe could reduce ocean plastic quickly — including reducing growth in plastic production, substituting some plastics with alternatives such as paper and compostable materials, designing products and packaging for recycling, and more. Brands are a key target of the report.
Read more here: https://sustainablebrands.com/read/waste-not/report-existing-technologies-can-stem-flow-of-plastic-into-the-oceans-by-80?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=nl_200727
