The importance of whale poop to maintain healthy oceans
Here are some fun facts about whales that I bet you didn’t know. There are two main groups of whales: baleen whales (which include humpbacks and blue whales) and toothed whales (which include orcas, belugas and sperm whales). The difference? One has teeth, and the other has fibrous ‘baleen’ plates. Another fun fact is that the Antarctic blue whale is the largest animal on the planet, weighing up to 200 tons and reaching up to 30 metres in length. These big blue whales can consume about 3600 kg of krill daily.
What I bet you didn’t know is how important whales and their poop are in sustaining marine life and minimizing the impacts of climate change. The ocean is full of whale poop which floats on the uppermost layer of the ocean’s water. Although whales will feed in deeper waters, they will poop when they swim up to the surface to breathe. Whale poop can help with the growth of phytoplankton, the tiny plants that are the foundation of the aquatic food web. Small fish and invertebrates will eat the plant-like organisms, and then the smaller animals are eaten by bigger ones.
The phytoplankton not only contribute at least 50 percent of the world’s oxygen, but they do so by capturing more than 37 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide produced. When the phytoplankton die, the carbon they captured will sink into the deep ocean, where it won’t return to the surface for thousands of years. Unfortunately, with the rise in ocean temperatures, an increase in pollution and the rise of microplastics found in the ocean, phytoplankton levels are dropping in certain parts of the world.
How do whales contribute to nutrient recycling, help to maintain healthy oceans and even increase phytoplankton levels? The process is called the “whale pump”. Whale’s poop contains nutrients such as nitrogen, phosphorus and iron, which phytoplankton need to grow. Whales benefit the entire ocean ecosystem by creating conditions encouraging fish populations to grow.
University of Alaska Southeast researchers are testing this relationship between whale poop and climate change. They are testing whale poop and comparing, in a lab, how well phytoplankton grows in different types of feces compared with plain seawater.
To date, they have tested whale poop samples from humpbacks, harbour porpoises and grey whales and found that there was more growth in some conditions that contained whale poop. With climate change intensifying and the physical and chemical characteristics of the ocean changing, the whale pump may become even more important for bringing nutrients up from the deep.
Unfortunately, many species of whales (including the blue whale, vaquitas, the grey whale, etc.) from around the world are at risk of disappearing. Some things impacting whale populations include ship strikes, bycatch (whales being trapped in fishing nets), habitat degradation and climate change. Conservation efforts, such as international agreements, marine protected areas, and efforts to reduce entanglement in fishing gear, are helping to protect and recover some whale species.
This isn’t the first time we’ve seen the impact animal poop can have on climate change. Elephant dung, which sometimes has seeds in it, is helping to grow trees and restore the forest’s role as climate sinks. Whale poop has a very similar impact. It not only helps feed the entire marine ecosystem but also significantly contributes to maintaining the ocean’s role as a carbon sink. Without whales pooping in our oceans, the health and balance of the ocean’s ecosystems will be compromised. We need the oceans, the whales, and the phytoplankton to help fight against the challenges of climate change.
Harnessing the Power of AI to Protect Sea Turtle Populations
Scientists and conservationists using AI to protect sea turtle populations are providing innovative solutions to address the challenges faced by these remarkable creatures. From monitoring nests to tracking migration, identifying species, and developing conservation methods, AI technology offers unprecedented opportunities to protect and ensure the survival of sea turtle populations. This blog post explores how AI revolutionizes sea turtle conservation and highlights specific examples of its application in monitoring, tracking, and species identification.
AI to Protect Sea Turtle Nests
Sea turtle nests are vulnerable to a number of threats, including predators, disturbances, and natural disasters. Traditionally, monitoring sea turtle nests has been a labor-intensive and time-consuming process. Scientists would have to patrol beaches on foot, looking for nests. This process was often inefficient and unreliable.
Using AI to protect sea turtles has revolutionized the way sea turtle nests are monitored. AI algorithms can detect and track sea turtle nests through the analysis of satellite imagery. This is a much more efficient and effective way to monitor nests, as it allows conservationists to cover a wider area and monitor nests in real-time.
AI algorithms can also identify potential threats to sea turtle nests. For example, AI algorithms can identify areas where nests are at risk of being washed away by storms or where nests are disturbed by humans or animals. Conservationists can then use this information to take steps to protect the nests.
AI-powered tracking systems can revolutionize our understanding of sea turtle migration patterns. Traditionally, tracking sea turtles has been a laborious and time-consuming process. Scientists would have to attach tags to sea turtles and then wait for the tags to wash up on shore or be retrieved by fishermen. This process was often inefficient and unreliable.
AI-powered tracking systems have revolutionized our understanding of sea turtle migration patterns. These systems use satellite tags to track sea turtles migrating across the ocean. The tags collect data on the sea turtles’ movements, such as their speed, location, and depth. This data is then transmitted to satellites, which send it back to scientists.
AI tracking helps to identify crucial nesting and feeding grounds. The data collected by AI-powered tracking systems can be used to identify crucial nesting and feeding grounds for sea turtles. This information can then protect these areas from development or other threats. Scientists have used AI sea turtle tracking systems to identify important nesting grounds for loggerhead sea turtles in the Mediterranean Sea. This information has been used to designate these areas as marine protected areas, which helps to protect the turtles from predators and other threats.
AI-powered tracking systems help to mitigate threats such as entanglement in fishing nets. AI-powered tracking systems can also reduce threats such as entanglement in fishing nets. Scientists can use the data collected by these systems to identify areas where sea turtles are at risk of entanglement. This information can then be used to educate fishermen about the risks and develop new fishing methods to reduce the risk of entanglement. Scientists have used AI-powered tracking systems to identify areas in the Gulf of Mexico where sea turtles are at risk of entanglement in shrimp trawls. This information has been used to educate fishermen about the risks and to develop new fishing methods that reduce the risk of entanglement.
Identifying Sea Turtle Species
AI algorithms can accurately identify different sea turtle species based on unique facial features. Sea turtles have unique facial features that can be used to identify them. For example, loggerhead sea turtles have a distinctive “W”-shaped ridge on their carapace, while green sea turtles have a more rounded carapace.
One example of this is the facial recognition work being done by Google DeepMind. The organization has developed an AI algorithm that can identify sea turtle species with great accuracy. This algorithm is trained on a dataset of images of sea turtles, and it is able to learn the unique facial features of each species and of individual animals within a population. One of the greatest challenges of sea turtle conservation is identifying them; getting a turtle to be still long enough to read a tag generally means capturing the creature. Facial recognition AI to protect sea turtles saves them from traumatic capture and release events.
This breakthrough in AI to protect sea turtles aids researchers in tracking population numbers, assessing species at risk, and tailoring conservation efforts accordingly. The ability to accurately identify sea turtle species is essential for conservation efforts. By knowing which species are present in an area, researchers can track population numbers and assess which species are at risk. This information can then be used to tailor conservation efforts accordingly.
See also: World’s Smallest, Most Endangered Sea Turtles Hatch For 1st Time In 75 Years In Louisiana.
Developing Innovative Conservation Methods
Using AI to protect sea turtle populations requires immense processing power that was not available even ten years go. This advanced research facilitates the development of novel conservation methods tailored to protect sea turtles from various threats. By analyzing vast datasets, AI algorithms reveal patterns, predict environmental changes, and enable the creation of targeted conservation strategies. Leveraging AI to protect sea turtle populations, conservationists can devise comprehensive plans to address habitat loss, pollution, climate change, and other critical challenges faced by sea turtles. With AI to protect sea turtle populations, conservation efforts can achieve greater efficiency and effectiveness in safeguarding these magnificent creatures.
Artificial intelligence is revolutionizing sea turtle conservation, offering a range of transformative applications that aid in monitoring, tracking, species identification, and innovative conservation methods. The examples provided, such as the Sea Turtle Tracker app, the Sea Turtle Conservancy’s satellite-based tracking, and the University of Florida’s species identification algorithm, showcase the immense potential of AI in protecting sea turtle populations. As AI to protect sea turtle technology evolves, we anticipate even more groundbreaking applications that will enhance our understanding of sea turtles, support effective conservation strategies, and secure a brighter future for these incredible marine creatures.
Ocean carbon removal is a process that aims to remove excess carbon dioxide from our oceans. As we all know, the ocean plays a critical role in regulating our planet’s climate by absorbing large amounts of CO2 from the atmosphere. However, this absorption has a limit, and as we continue to emit more and more greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, the ocean’s ability to absorb CO2 is reaching its threshold.
The process of removing carbon dioxide involves capturing it directly from seawater or indirectly through biological processes, such as photosynthesis carried out by marine organisms like phytoplankton. Once captured, it can be stored permanently in deep-sea sediments or used for various industrial purposes.
Ocean carbon removal has gained significant attention recently due to its potential for reducing atmospheric CO2 levels and mitigating climate change impacts on marine ecosystems. Additionally, this solution can generate ocean-based carbon credits, which provide financial incentives for companies investing in sustainable practices that reduce their carbon footprint.
Ocean carbon removal offers promising solutions for mitigating climate change while protecting our oceans’ health but also requires careful evaluation of its environmental risks and economic feasibility before implementation at scale.
The company Planetary Technologies has released an innovative ocean-based carbon removal protocol. The protocol aims to provide a standard for measuring and verifying the effectiveness of ocean-based carbon removal projects.
The technology adds a mild alkaline substance to the ocean, which reduces acidity and converts dissolved carbon dioxide into a salt that remains dissolved in the ocean for up to 100,000 years. This process allows for more atmospheric carbon dioxide to be absorbed by the ocean.
The company has been testing its technology in the U.K., Canada, and the U.S. and claims it could remove up to 1 million tonnes of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere by 2028 while restoring marine ecosystems. The publication of the protocol is a major step forward for the nascent market for marine carbon removals.
How does it work?
Ocean carbon removal is a process that involves removing carbon dioxide from the Earth’s atmosphere and storing it in the ocean. The process works by using natural or artificial processes to convert atmospheric CO2 into dissolved bicarbonate ions, which then sink and become trapped in deep-ocean sediments.
Natural processes include photosynthesis by marine organisms such as phytoplankton, while artificial methods involve injecting CO2 directly into seawater or using specialized equipment to capture CO2 from the air.
One of the key benefits of ocean carbon removal is its potential to mitigate climate change. By removing excess CO2 from the atmosphere, we can slow down global warming and reduce its impacts on our planet.
However, there are also concerns about how this technology might impact marine ecosystems. Injecting large amounts of CO2 into seawater could alter pH levels and affect marine life while capturing too much atmospheric CO2 could disrupt natural carbon cycles.
Ocean carbon removal has enormous potential for reducing greenhouse gas emissions and mitigating climate change. However, careful planning and monitoring will be necessary to ensure that these technologies are deployed safely and sustainably.
What are the benefits?
The benefits of ocean carbon removal are numerous and far-reaching. One of the primary benefits is that it provides a solution to one of the biggest challenges facing our planet today: climate change. By removing carbon from the atmosphere, we can slow down global warming and reduce its devastating effects.
In addition, ocean carbon removal has a lower environmental impact than other methods, such as land-based solutions or direct air capture. This is because oceans cover more than 70% of the Earth’s surface, making them an ideal location for large-scale carbon sequestration projects without disturbing natural habitats or ecosystems.
Another benefit is that it can create new economic opportunities in coastal communities through jobs related to monitoring, maintenance, and technology development. Furthermore, companies can earn ocean carbon credits by participating in these programs, encouraging investment in sustainable practices while funding future initiatives.
Ocean carbon removal helps protect marine life by reducing acidification levels caused by excess CO2 emissions. Acidification harms many marine species, including coral reefs which support millions of people worldwide through fishing and tourism industries.
What are the Concerns?
Despite the numerous benefits of ocean carbon removal, there are also concerns that need to be addressed. One of the primary concerns is the potential environmental impact on marine ecosystems. Large-scale ocean carbon capture technologies deployment may interfere with fish habitats and disrupt food chains.
Another concern is the lack of regulatory frameworks for validating and verifying the efficacy of ocean carbon credits. With no established standards in place, it becomes difficult to ensure transparency and accountability in measuring how much carbon has been removed from oceans.
Additionally, some experts warn that relying on carbon removal could divert attention away from more pressing climate solutions, such as reducing greenhouse gas emissions at their source. Without a comprehensive approach to addressing climate change, we risk overlooking other important factors contributing to global warming.
As we continue exploring ways to reduce our impact on the planet’s environment, it’s essential we address these concerns head-on by conducting thorough research and creating clear regulations around monitoring the effectiveness of this promising new technology.
A Piece of the Big Picture
The release of Planetary Technologies’ ocean-based carbon removal protocol is a significant milestone in the fight against climate change. The ability to remove carbon dioxide from our oceans not only helps reduce greenhouse gas emissions but also has positive effects on marine life and ecosystems. While there are concerns about potential environmental impacts and costs associated with this technology, it is important to continue exploring innovative solutions like these to address global warming.
Furthermore, individuals can get involved by supporting research efforts or advocating for policies that promote ocean-based carbon capture and storage projects. Ultimately, reducing our carbon footprint requires collective action at all levels – from governments and businesses to individuals.
By working together towards a sustainable future, we can protect our planet’s health while creating new opportunities for economic growth and innovation. Ocean carbon removal is just one piece of the bigger picture, but an important one in our journey towards a greener tomorrow.
A significant amount of the conversation surrounding climate change concerns the release of carbon dioxide into our atmosphere. While this is important, the priority is most concerned with reducing or eliminating fossil fuel emissions.
While achieving this goal is paramount in creating a clean, eco-friendly world, the topic of carbon sequestration has been under the radar until recently. When most think of carbon sequestration, they imagine carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology or think of trees.
Both are valuable and productive carbon sequesters; however, they are not the only areas or mechanisms useful for reducing carbon dioxide in our atmosphere. Our world’s oceans are single-handedly the largest carbon sinks we have, and many marine organisms participate in this important process.
Phytoplankton makes up an important role in carbon deposition onto the ocean floor. In recent years, they have been thriving due to mass amounts of dust being created and deposited.
Carbon sinks and carbon eaters.
In the ocean, there are multitudes of different organisms sequestering carbon. Seagrass is one of the largest carbon sequesters and provides large habitats for other fish and marine animals to thrive in.
However, despite the outsize role that some marine organisms play in carbon sequestration, phytoplankton also makes up a key role.
Phytoplankton generally pulls up their nutrients from the ocean and use those nutrients to turn carbon dioxide into organic matter, which then gets deposited back onto the ocean floor.
Due to climate change-induced wildfires and natural disasters, phytoplankton have been thriving in recent years. According to a new study published in Science Magazine and led by Toby Westberry out of Oregon State University, there is a direct correlation between the amount of dust being brought into the ocean and the numbers and health of phytoplankton in the area.
They used satellite imaging to observe the differences in the coloration of the water before and after a major dust storm or wildfire occurred. They noticed that the water in the affected areas began to turn green, indicating larger numbers of phytoplankton.
The researchers also found that depending on the altitude of the marine environment, there is an observed difference in the health and numbers of phytoplankton. In lower altitude areas, there were fewer phytoplankton despite being healthy, and in higher altitude areas, there were more phytoplankton as well as being more healthy.
It all adds up.
Phytoplankton, while important, doesn’t make up as much of an impact on climate sequestration as one might hope. This is because dust-related phytoplankton growth only makes up 4.5% of the global yearly carbon dioxide absorbed by the ocean. Though, in some areas, the amount of carbon absorbed can reach highs of 40% of the total amount.
Nonetheless, It is important to be aware of the multitudes of different ways carbon sequestration can occur. These systems are large and complex and take up many different forms. To address the issue of storing carbon and removing it from our atmosphere, we must understand it won’t be a “one-size-fits-all” approach that is successful. It will take multiple different mechanisms working together and complementing each other to save our world. Phytoplankton, it seems, will be playing an important role in this.
An enormous, 1,600-foot-tall coral reef was discovered in Australia’s Great Barrier Reef, scientists announced Monday, in the first such find in more than a century.
The massive underwater structure — the first newfound reef in 120 years — dwarfs iconic skyscrapers such as New York City’s Empire State Building and the Petronas Twin Towers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
The detached reef was first observed Oct. 20 by a team of Australian scientists aboard a research vessel from the Schmidt Ocean Institute, a nonprofit foundation that supports marine research. The 12-month expedition is designed to explore the oceans surrounding Australia and map the seafloor around the northern Great Barrier Reef.
“This unexpected discovery affirms that we continue to find unknown structures and new species in our ocean,” Wendy Schmidt, the institute’s co-founder, said in a statement.
On Sunday, the team used an underwater robot to explore the new reef, finding that it measures almost a mile wide at its base. The reef’s tallest point extends to roughly 130 feet below the ocean’s surface, according to the researchers.
The robotic dive was streamed live over the weekend, offering close-up views of the massive reef structure.
“We are surprised and elated by what we have found,” Robin Beaman, a marine geologist at James Cook University in Queensland, Australia, who is leading the expedition, said in a statement.
The reef is located off the coast of North Queensland, in the area around Cape York. Seven other detached reefs have been discovered in this region since the late 1800s.
“To find a new half-a-kilometer tall reef in the offshore Cape York area of the well-recognized Great Barrier Reef shows how mysterious the world is just beyond our coastline,” Jyotika Virmani, executive director of Schmidt Ocean Institute, said in a statement. “This powerful combination of mapping data and underwater imagery will be used to understand this new reef and its role within the incredible Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area.”
Beaman and his colleagues will continue exploring the northern area of the Great Barrier Reef until Nov. 17. Data from the expedition will be publicly available through AusSeabed, a national Australian seabed-mapping program.
The Pacific Ocean is the deepest and largest ocean on the planet, the ocean is located between a number of continents as depicted by the image below, these include the Australian, Asian, North and South American continents. Interestingly, the Pacific Ocean derives its name from the Latin phrase ‘Mar Pacifico,’ meaning a peaceful sea. The name was coined by the first European explorer to reach the Pacific, Ferdinand Magellan in the early 1520s, after sailing through a patch of calm waters on the ocean.
Source: NeedyFish
The size of the Pacific Ocean
The Pacific covers an estimated area of 165.25 million square kilometers ( 63.8 million square miles), covering about 30% of the earth’s surface. The size of the Pacific exceeds the total expanse of all the world’s seven continents. The Pacific also represents about half of the planet’s total water surface area.
Economic importance
Although its name refers to a calm and peaceful sea, the Pacific is a massive body of water teeming with life. Every year, the Pacific Ocean contributes billions of dollars to different countries across the world through multiple economic activities, as an example fishing from the Pacific contributes over 70% of the world’s catch.
Additionally, the Pacific is a great source of natural resources, including metal, sand and minerals. Even with the large quantities of mineral resources, only a few have been exploited, such as magnesium, bromine, and salt. The ocean also contains large deposits of oil, gas, and petroleum.
The Pacific is responsible for providing some of the key shipping and trade routes globally, including the North and South Pacific routes. The North Pacific route connects North America (specifically the West Coast) to East Asia. In terms of trade volumes per route and distance, the North Pacific route is the longest and the largest compared to other channels. The South Pacific route, on the other hand, interconnects Western Europe, North America, New Zealand, and Australia. Worldtradia released some stats back in 2017 that saw the North Pacific trade route see traffic volumes (number of vessels) of 30.5 million. The next busiest route being the North Atlantic with volumes just over 22.3 million.
The depth of the Pacific
The Pacific is the deepest ocean on earth, with an average depth of 13,000 feet (4,000 meters). Scientifically, the deepest points of any ocean are known as deep trenches. Out of the 20 major trenches worldwide, 17 of them are found in the Pacific, with the Mariana Trench being the deepest of them all. The Challenger Deep (which is the deepest point in the Pacific and on earth) measures at 10,994 meters (or 36,040 feet). In 2012, it took James Cameron, a National Geographic explorer and film producer, 2 hours and 36 minutes to reach the bottom of the Challenger Deep.
The Pacific is shrinking by 1cm a year
Scientists have discovered that the Pacific is shrinking at a rate of 1cm per year due to tectonic plates. Let’s put the academic hat back on and explore the why, tectonic plates are pieces of the earth’s crust and uppermost mantle, commonly referred to as the lithosphere. As an estimate, the plates are around 100 km (62 mi) thick and mainly consist of two types of material: oceanic crust and continental crust. This crust is always in a state of flux i.e. constant motion. The movement of these plates occur at a rate of a few centimetres per year, causing a collision known as subduction. As a result, the Pacific plate pulls away from the North American plate at about 1cm per year, causing the ocean to shrink in the same proportion.
What Is the Pacific Ring of Fire?
The largest volcano on earth is located in the Pacific, with over 75% of the world’s volcanos coming from the ocean’s basin. The volcanoes and earthquakes that originate from the Pacific occur from an area in the ocean known as the Ring of Fire. The occurrence of earthquakes and volcanoes here are as a result of heavy volcanic activity and the movement of tectonic plates. It is reported that over 80% of the world’s tsunamis also occur in the Pacific’s Ring of Fire.
Source: NeedyFish
Islands of the World
There are hundreds of thousands of islands across the world, some of which are yet to be inhabited. Among the endless list of ocean islands found on the planet, the Pacific has the highest number. With about 25,000 islands, the Pacific Island countries have become home to millions of people. This total equates to their being more islands in the pacific than in all the other oceans put together, why? The reason being is because the Pacific experiences the highest volcanic activity compared to all other oceans, thanks to the vigorous movements that occur in the Ring of Fire. Following oceanic crust movements that happen at the floor of the ocean, this can lead to a series of oceanic or volcanic islands being formed.
The El Nino Climate Cycle
El Nino is the Pacific’s climate cycle that impacts weather patterns globally. The pattern consists of unusual warming of the waters on the surface of the Eastern Pacific. El Nino influences local weather, the strength of ocean currents, and temperatures across South America, Australia, and beyond. This cycle has a significant impact on the global climate, and to some extent, can cause some lasting changes. The 2016 El Nino saw severe droughts in Africa and South-East Asia, catastrophic coral bleaching in the Great barrier reef and wildfires in Indonesia and Canada.
Source: NeedyFish
Source: NeedyFish
The La Niña Climate Cycle
The impacts of a La Niña climate cycle tends to be the exact opposite of the impacts of an El Nino Cycle. La Niña represents a period of cooling for the surface ocean waters across the tropical west coast of South America. During a La Niña year, winter temperatures in the US will be cooler than normal in the Northwest and warmer than normal in the Southeast.
The Birthing of Hurricanes
Hurricanes, also known as typhoons when formed over the Pacific, are the most violent storms experienced on earth. Evidence in the past has proven that the Pacific can stir extremely strong hurricanes. Hurricane Patricia, for example, was the strongest Pacific typhoon ever recorded in history, affecting Central America, Texas, and Mexico. Typhoon Nepartak is another Pacific storm that significantly affected Taiwan.
Hurricanes and cyclones are fuelled by warm sea surfaces (the Pacific being warmer than any other ocean on earth). The warmth of the Pacific waters can be persistent for a year, allowing a hurricane to last longer. This is why La Niña and El Nino are never ignored.
Increased marine pollution
Being the largest ocean on earth, the Pacific extends to several continents and a significant number of countries. Consequently, the ocean is more exposed to high levels of pollution. The Pacific is particularly prone to plastic, which comprises over 90% of the visible pollutants and debris covering the ocean. Studies indicate that the Great Pacific Garbage Patch (the ocean’s garbage collection site) has grown 100 times bigger than it was 40 years ago. Nuclear waste and ocean dumping have also contributed to marine pollution significantly.
The Great Pacific Garbage Patch
The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is the ocean’s collection of debris (caused by human activity). A lot of plastics are pushed by the ocean currents into floating patches of debris, forming the Great Pacific Garbage Patch (GPGP). Today, GPGP is the largest plastic accumulation zone in the world’s oceans, covering an estimated area of 8 million square kilometres. The patch is so huge that it is estimated to be 2.3 the size of Texas. There are collective efforts by international organisations and individuals to control GPGP from growing.
Source: NeedyFish
Source: NeedyFish
Overfishing of the Pacific
Overfishing is the primary contributor of decline to aquatic life worldwide. Research shows that large quantities of fish are removed from the Pacific (every year) , far exceeding the rate they are able to reproduce. An estimated 1.6 million pounds (over 725,000 kgs) of fish are removed from the reefs of Pohnpei each year. Generally, over 30% of the species found in the coral reefs of Oceania are threatened with extinction.
In 2013, there was a recorded decline in the population of Pacific bluefin tuna. The Pacific bluefin tuna is one of the rarest fish species found in the Northern Pacific. The same trend has continued to date. In 2018, the value of a Pacific bluefin tuna was ranging at above $320,000. This is due to the continued decline in the Pacific bluefin tuna stocks. Why? The answer is simple, overfishing! And what promotes overfishing? Overfishing can be as a result of the increase in illegal fishing, lack of fishing regulations and increased human activity in the ocean.
Summary
This Ocean is a lifeline to almost everyone on this planet, we therefore, need to respect it. The ocean doesn’t belong to us, we don’t own it, we shouldn’t see it as a trash can!! Instead, humanity should consider ourselves as “stewards”, protecting the ocean and its inhabitants, so it can support future generations of life, both sea life and human life. Our mindset has to change!
Conservationists have warned that the coronavirus pandemic could spark a surge in ocean pollution – adding to a glut of plastic waste that already threatens marine life – after finding disposable masks floating like jellyfish and waterlogged latex gloves scattered across seabeds.
The French non-profit Opération Mer Propre, whose activities include regularly picking up litter along the Côte d’Azur, began sounding the alarm late last month.
Divers had found what Joffrey Peltier of the organisation described as “Covid waste” – dozens of gloves, masks and bottles of hand sanitiser beneath the waves of the Mediterranean, mixed in with the usual litter of disposable cups and aluminium cans.
The quantities of masks and gloves found were far from enormous, said Peltier. But he worried that the discovery hinted at a new kind of pollution, one set to become ubiquitous after millions around the world turned to single-use plastics to combat the coronavirus. “It’s the promise of pollution to come if nothing is done,” said Peltier.
In France alone, authorities have ordered two billion disposable masks, said Laurent Lombard of Opération Mer Propre. “Knowing that … soon we’ll run the risk of having more masks than jellyfish in the Mediterranean,” he wrote on social media alongside video of a dive showing algae-entangled masks and soiled gloves in the sea near Antibes.
The group hopes the images will prompt people to embrace reusable masks and swap latex gloves for more frequent handwashing. “With all the alternatives, plastic isn’t the solution to protect us from Covid. That’s the message,” said Peltier.
In the years leading up to the pandemic, environmentalists had warned of the threat posed to oceans and marine life by skyrocketing plastic pollution. As much as 13 million tonnes of plastic goes into oceans each year, according to a 2018 estimate by UN Environment. The Mediterranean sees 570,000 tonnes of plastic flow into it annually – an amount the WWF has described as equal to dumping 33,800 plastic bottles every minute into the sea.
These figures risk growing substantially as countries around the world confront the coronavirus pandemic. Masks often contain plastics such as polypropylene, said Éric Pauget, a French politician whose region includes the Côte d’Azur.
Gloves, masks and bottles of hand sanitiser have been collected around France’s Côte d’Azur. Photograph: Courtesy Operation Terre-Mer
“With a lifespan of 450 years, these masks are an ecological timebomb given their lasting environmental consequences for our planet,” he wrote last month in a letter to Emmanuel Macron, calling on the French president to do more to address the environmental consequences of disposable masks.
Earlier this year the Hong Kong-based OceansAsia began voicing similar concerns, after a survey of marine debris in the city’s uninhabited Soko Islands turned up dozens of disposable masks.
“On a beach about 100 metres long, we found about 70,” said Gary Stokes of OceansAsia. One week later, another 30 masks had washed up. “And that’s on an uninhabited island in the middle of nowhere.”
Curious to see how far the masks had travelled, he began checking other nearby beaches. “We’re finding them everywhere,” he said. “Ever since society started wearing masks, the cause and effects are being seen on the beaches.”
While some of the debris could be attributed to carelessness, he speculated that the lightweight masks were at times also being carried from land, boats and landfills by the wind.
“It’s just another item of marine debris,” he said, likening the masks to plastic bags or straws that often wash up on the city’s more remote shorelines. “It’s no better, no worse, just another item we’re leaving as a legacy to the next generation.”
Still, given the likelihood that porpoises and dolphins in the region could mistake a mask for food, he was bracing himself for a grim find. “We’re constantly getting them washing up dead and we’re just waiting for a necropsy when we find a mask inside,” he said. “I think it’s inevitable.”
2019 Update: 225 Containers Shipped Per Day to Countries with Poor Waste Management and 120 Million Kg of Carbon Emissions
In just two short years, the world has awoken to the hidden, harsh realities of the plastic waste trade that is called “recycling.” More than 100 investigations and reports have shown serious environmental and social harms in receiving countries. In the recent “Plastic Wars,” FRONTLINE and NPR showed plastic waste from the United States (U.S.) dumped and burned in Indonesian communities in 2019. Making climate change worse, millions of tons of carbon have been emitted in shipping U.S. plastic waste to far frontiers where the reports show that the plastic waste may not have actually been recycled.
Now, a new reason to end export of post-consumer plastic waste has appeared: coronavirus COVID-19. The virus is spread from human contact and was found alive on “a variety of surfaces” of the Diamond Princess cruise ship after 17 days, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Since transit times of sea freight shipments can be less than 17 days and the investigations and reports clearly show that exported post-consumer plastic waste is often manually sorted by poor workers of all ages in unsafe conditions, there is the potential for people in receiving countries to be exposed.
Circulating post-consumer plastic waste around the world doesn’t create the clean economy we need to protect human health and ecosystems. There were more than enough valid reasons to stop the plastic waste trade before the outbreak of the global pandemic in 2020. It is clear now more than ever: the harms and risks far outweigh the perceived benefits of avoiding plastic waste disposal to U.S. landfills. Actions to find markets for discarded plastic materials collected in U.S. communities should not negatively impact communities in other countries.
A Brief Recap
Back in 2017, there was little public understanding of what happens to plastic waste that consumers in industrialized countries put in bins for recycling. Outside of the waste and recycling industry, the U.S. public assumed that safe, clean U.S. factories ground up the plastic and American workers made it into new products. With credit to theNew York Times Opinion video “The Great Recycling Con,” some of us thought it was like a scene from Toy Story. The public didn’t know that the U.S. exported 276,200 shipping containers (1.5 million metric tons) of plastic waste to countries with poor waste management in 2017. As shown in the documentary “Plastic China,” it turns out that our plastic waste was not cleanly or efficiently processed into new plastic products that Americans bought. It was sometimes crudely sorted, shredded and melted by impoverished families in unsafe, unhealthy conditions into low quality plastic that never returned to the U.S. in new products. A waste and recycling expert now states that even before China’s policy changes, “a lot of areas fooled themselves into thinking they were recycling when they were really not.”
Two years ago in 2018, China enacted the National Sword policy restricting plastic waste imports to protect their environment and develop their own domestic recycling capacity. In response, many recyclers moved their operations from China to other countries in Asia, leading to the rise of over two hundred illegal operations in Malaysia. Since exporting plastic waste is a convenient way for the U.S. and other industrialized countries to count plastic waste as “recycled” and avoid disposal costs and impacts at home, there was a significant increase of plastic waste shipments to other countries instead of China. As Malaysia’s Environment Minister stated: “Garbage is traded under the pretext of recycling.” The executive director of the New Haven Solid Waste and Recycling Authority agreed: “Ninety percent of our stuff was going over to China. They were taking all of our plastics, cardboard, paper, you name it. We were in essence shipping them our garbage.”
One year ago, we published “157,000 Shipping Containers of U.S. Plastic Waste Exported to Countries with Poor Waste Management in 2018” to quantify the amount of U.S. plastic waste exports and document the harms that were being caused in other countries. Over the past year, we called for an end to this irresponsible method of handling of our nation’s plastic waste and asked U.S. waste companies and cities to stop exporting it.
Now we report that progress was made in 2019 in reducing U.S. plastic waste exports down to 88,000 shipping containers to countries with poor waste management. Much of the reduction was due to the effective enactment of a plastic waste import ban by India in August 2019. Another positive trend has been an increase in public awareness and opposition to this irresponsible practice and commitments from some waste/recycling companies and communities to stop exporting. But we’ve also learned that the social, environmental and economic harms caused by plastic waste exports in developing countries are even worse than we knew a year ago. In addition, the significant carbon emissions from the sea freight of exporting all U.S. plastic waste around the world have been overlooked while contributing to climate change.
As we started 2020, several nations continued to be flooded with U.S. plastic waste and we had hit a plateau in reducing plastic waste exports. Figure 1 shows that the U.S. exported 436 million kg in 2019 and is still exporting over 5,600 shipping containers (30 million kg) of plastic waste every month to countries with high waste mismanagement. That means about 225 large 20-ft (TEU) shipping containers per day landed in countries without adequate environmental, health, safety and labor laws to be processed by “recyclers” who provide no proof of what happens to the imported plastic waste.
The actual amount of U.S. plastic waste that ends in countries with high waste mismanagement may be even higher because the U.S. exports millions of kgs of plastic waste to countries like Canada and South Korea who may re-export U.S. plastic waste to other countries. Figure 1 shows that as plastic waste exports to India declined, exports to Malaysia dramatically increased, more than tripling from 3 million kg/month in January 2019 to 9.8 million kg/month in December 2019.
Figure 1 – 2019 U.S. Plastic Waste Exports to Countries with High Waste Mismanagement Rates
1.Food chain contamination: As the BBC reported in November 2019: ”the burning of plastic waste in Indonesia, much of which has been sent there by the West, is poisoning the food chain. Environmental group IPEN found, in one East Java village, toxic dioxins in chicken eggs 70 times the level allowed by European safety standards.”
2.Harm to domestic waste collection and recycling system development in countries that need it most. In June 2019, the Guardian USA reported that “a surge in foreign waste shipments is disrupting efforts to handle locally generated plastics” in Turkey, a country with a 16% waste mismanagement and less than 1% recycling rate. As an Istanbul recycler stated: ‘‘I want to tell people in U.S. this: recycle in your own yard. Don’t bring down our income and put us all in danger of hunger.’’ As Malaysia’s Prime Minister stated: “We don’t need your waste because our own waste is enough to give us problems.” The mayor of a Philippine town flooded with plastic waste imports said: “I think we have enough waste in the country to process, reuse and recycle. We don’t need waste from abroad.” In Indonesia, recycling businesses prefer to process imported plastic waste instead of investing in collection of domestic plastic waste. Proving the point, industrialized South Korea recently restricted import of PET bottle plastic waste in order to promote collection and recycling of domestic PET in their own country.
3.Health and safety impacts to workers and communities: The Center for Public Integrity showed evidence of plastic packaging labeled “Made in USA” being burned and dumped in Malaysia. Burning of plastic is causing breathing problems in residents who live nearby facilities in Malaysia. A village in Indonesia is being buried by plastic waste imports. The Guardian reports that in Valenzuela City, Philippines residents blame recycling plants for pungent smells and respiratory illnesses.
4.Global plastic waste shell game: As some countries restrict imports, there are reports of exporters and brokers mislabeling waste and routing it through Hong Kong to avoid traceability. The Malaysian government found that brokers have been falsifying declaration forms by using other Harmonized System (HS) codes to bring in plastic scraps. As the South China Morning Post reported in January 2020, “Hong Kong is one of biggest re-exporters of waste after mainland China stopped importing it.” While Hong Kong itself has very limited plastic recycling capacity, it has become an intermediate port that enables more shipments into Asia, both legal and illegally. The re-export step creates confusion in the traceability of plastic waste. Environmental groups in Hong Kong are calling on authorities to not accept plastic waste that is not destined for reprocessing there. Even when illegal waste is found, returning the waste to the country of origin is problematic. In October 2019, the Basel Action Network reported that illegal U.S. waste shipments that were supposed to be returned to their U.S. senders were instead shipped to India, Thailand, South Korea, and Vietnam. Inspection of paper imports identified illegal plastic waste hidden in the bales.
5.Potential transmission from post-consumer plastic waste: Stored piles of plastic waste and manual sorting of post-consumer waste are creating risks for disease and virus transmission:
a.Plastic waste piles: The Tamil Nadu (India) Health Secretary said that plastic waste is one of the reasons for mosquito breeding that is causing an increasing number of dengue fever cases. The city of Laredo, Texas sent collected recyclable materials directly to landfill over concerns that storage of materials at the recycling center posed a risk to community health.
b.Manual sorting: The CDC advises that people with the coronavirus should not share dishes and drinking glasses and their waste products should be disposed. But the WHO states that “Some people become infected but don’t develop any symptoms and don’t feel unwell.” The WHO also states that coronavirus can live on plastic surfaces for “up to several days.” While a direct link has not yet been proven, it is logical to reason that post-consumer waste may pose a potential health risk to both U.S. and foreign workers that manually sort collected materials from people who are unaware that they have the virus. The risk is particularly acute in poor countries where workers lack health and safety equipment. At the time of this update in early April, concern over coronavirus spread has led to the closure of some municipal recycling curbside and community collection programs to protect workers, including throughout Orange County, California. The situation is still unfolding and the latest news is being reported by Waste Dive.
Tracing the Paths of U.S. Plastic Waste Flows
Figure 2 shows the 2019 exports of plastic waste by origination and destination for the fifteen states with largest amount of plastic waste exports.
California: With ports on the West Coast and a large population, California shipped the most plastic waste to countries with high waste mismanagement: 78 million kg (14,675 TEU shipping containers). This included 6.6 million kg (1233 TEU shipping containers) to Turkey – a nautical distance of 11,301 miles away. The carbon emissions of sea freight of California’s plastic waste exports to Turkey alone are equal to the annual carbon emissions of 364 U.S. cars. (See carbon emissions estimation below).
Northeast States: Prior to the enactment of India’s ban on plastic waste imports on August 30, 2019, states in the Northeast U.S. were shipping millions of kg each month to the country. At the peak in May 2019, New Jersey shipped 3 million kg to India in one month. By December 2019, this declined 87% to 382,000 kg.
Southeast States: While Southeast U.S. states are cited as a top location for U.S. domestic plastic recycling, the U.S. Census Bureau data shows that these states are major exporters of plastic waste to countries with high waste mismanagement rates. Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Alabama and Tennessee exported 80 million kg of plastic waste to countries with poor waste management in 2019 and did not recycle that plastic waste in their states.
Figure 2: Top 15 U.S. States Exporting Plastic Waste to Countries with Poor Waste Management in 2019
The Forgotten Carbon Footprint of Plastic Recycling: Sea Freight and Long-Distance Trucking Emissions
Commonly cited metrics for carbon emission savings from recycling post-consumer plastic compared to using other materials or new plastic overlook two major sources of carbon emissions: sea freight and long-distance trucking. The Association of Plastic Recycler’s Life Cycle Impacts of Postconsumer Recycled Resins study is based on trucking and rail distances less than 500 miles for moving bales to processors.
Figure 3 shows the top 20 U.S. district dispatch ports exporting plastic waste in 2019. The carbon emissions from the sea freight can be credibly estimated through use of an existing sea freight carbon emissions calculator. While long distance trucking of the plastic waste from inland states to dispatch ports also creates carbon emissions, it is not possible to estimate those emissions due to lack of land logistics and route data.
Figure 3: Top 20 U.S. District Dispatch Ports Exporting Plastic Waste in 2019
Sea Freight Emissions: Employing the Kuehne and Nagel Sea Freight Carbon Calculator, the carbon emissions of dispatch port-to-receiving country port were made for the 451 shipping routes in 2019. For example, the carbon emissions of shipping 4,030 shipping containers from Los Angeles to Hong Kong was 3.45 million kg which is equal to the emissions from 750 cars for an entire year (based on the U.S. EPA’s estimate of 4600 kg of CO2/car/year). Overland transport to Canada and Mexico from nearby states and shipments less than 1 full TEU shipping container were excluded from the carbon emissions analysis.
The total sea freight carbon emissions from 2019 U.S. plastic waste exports is estimated to be 120 million kg which is equal to the emissions from 26,000 cars per year. It should be noted that while import trade from Asia enables low cost return shipping via empty containers, the “carbon cost” of adding freight weight to ships is not free or low carbon. Added tonnage requires additional fuel for transporting the freight weight.
Diversion Goals Are Pushing Plastic Waste Exports and Freight Carbon Emissions
U.S. states and the Federal Government have been promoting “diversion” of waste from landfills for decades. The pressure to “divert” plastic waste appears to be a driver for exporting plastic waste since the U.S. lacks domestic plastic reprocessing capacity. Even in states where secure landfills are available with long term capacity at low cost, plastic waste is being trucked long distances to ports and shipped to countries with poor waste management to meet diversion goals. Too often, the media supports the myth that “diversion” is an admirable goal and achievement without evaluating the final fate and destination of the collected waste.
It is time for every state and community to examine the unintended, harmful consequences of their diversion goals and revise legislation to ensure responsible management of each state’s waste. Actions to find markets for discarded plastic materials collected in U.S. communities should not negatively impact communities in other countries. The carbon emissions of waste thousands of miles around the world also cannot be overlooked.
Public Sentiment to Stop Plastic Waste Exports Grows
There has been good news over the past year as some U.S. waste collection companies and communities have ended plastic waste exports to countries with high waste mismanagement. In 2019, Waste Management adopted a corporate policy to ship post-consumer plastics to only North American plastic recyclers/processors. Casella Waste Systems, the nation’s fifth largest waste collection and sortation company, no longer exports residential plastics.
As investigations and reports showed that plastic waste exports were dumped or burned after being shipped thousands of miles, the awareness has led to growing public and professional sentiment against the offshoring practice. As the Cape May Herald reported, “Even staunch advocates of recycling began to question how this made any environmental or economic sense.”
According to chemical industry experts at Independent Commodity Intelligence Services (ICIS), “China is no longer a route for recycling and the expectation is that countries now deal with their own waste.” A representative of the Solid Waste Association of North America (SWANA) stated: “We’re producing a lot of waste ourselves, and we should take care of it ourselves.”
“We Cannot Turn a Blind Eye to the Hard Truths Being Uncovered”
Faced with the knowledge that their plastic waste could harm communities in other countries, responsible U.S. communities are choosing to stop exports:
Cordova, Alaska: The Copper River Watershed Project has stopped collecting plastic waste because “we cannot turn a blind eye to the hard truths being uncovered. By continuing to recycle plastic, evidence strongly suggests we as a nation may actually do more harm than good because we are simply passing the problem onto countries less fortunate than ours and we are avoiding the inevitable changes society will need to make if we really want to do what is best for the environment.”
Erie, Pennsylvania: The city now instructs residents to only recycle #1 and #2 plastic bottles and jugs, stating: “We cannot collect an item for recycling, unless we have an end user who is willing to purchase and recycle that item. China used to accept most of the #3, 4, 5, and 7 plastics, but it turns out that most of these plastics were not actually being recycled. They were mostly being burned for fuel.”
San Carlos, California: ReThink Waste, a public agency that operates the Shoreway Material Recovery Facility (MRF) in San Carlos, California, publishes a traceable account of the destination of collected plastics and does not export to countries with poor waste management and states that collected plastics #3-7 material is sent to landfill.
Plastic Waste Trade Lacks Transparency and Accountability
But not all waste/recycling companies and communities have stopped exporting plastic waste to countries with poor waste management. Some companies and communities are aware that their waste is being shipped to poor countries and others employ brokers as middlemen in the process. Use of brokers presents a challenge to reducing plastic waste exports to countries with poor waste management because brokers are financially incentivized to maximize shipments and the original waste generators can claim that they don’t know where their waste is going and tell residents that it is “recycled.” Use of brokers to trade waste means that contracts can change hands several times between the source and the destinationwithout accountability. States and cities do not require that brokers or MRFs report the final destination or fate of collected materials, including final destination countries for plastic waste exports.
As a representative from a major waste company stated, “Plastics that are sold to brokers have the potential to be sent overseas, as well as to Canada, as the broker has the ability to do what they see fit with the material.” While some brokers may operate legitimate export businesses, the lack of transparency and accountability creates an open playing field for unethical business practices.
In the comprehensive survey of the 367 MRFs in the U.S. performed for Greenpeace’s Circular Claims Fall Flat report, some MRFs stated that materials collected in their communities are shipped to countries with poor waste management or to brokers. For example:
San Diego, California: City representative states about local recycler: “If they can’t find a domestic buyer for a bale of cardboard or plastic bottles, they’re going look anywhere else in the world — Vietnam, Indonesia, other parts of Asia.”
Charlotte, North Carolina: The local newspaper reports that “the county and its contractor, Republic Services, sometimes give away bales of plastic and mixed paper or even pay countries to take them.” The county’s solid waste director states: “I have no guarantee what someone will do with it once they get it. Where it goes is a bit out of our control sometimes. If it stays in this country, we know it will be taken care of. When it goes to a different country, they aren’t as environmentally safe. Whether they recycle it or landfill it or burn it, we don’t know.”
Illegal Plastic Waste Trade Grows
Reports of illegal plastic waste trade and unethical business practices grew in 2019. By January 2020, Malaysia announced that it had closed more than 200 illegal recycling factories. Flooded with plastic waste exports for more than a year, countries increased inspection and returned more plastic waste to exporting countries. But the lack of traceability made this difficult to do. Throughout Asia, there are many ports of entry that make it difficult for countries to monitor what is actually in shipping containers.
Examples of illegal trade activity and return of plastic waste:
“It’s Our Waste”: Other Countries Take Responsibility
There are compelling reasons for the U.S. and other countries to stop exporting plastic to countries with poor waste management, including reducing plastic pollution to the ocean and freight carbon emissions, increasing the focus on development of domestic waste management and recycling systems in developing countries and spurring domestic innovations to responsibly address plastic use and waste.
Other industrialized countries faced with similar plastic waste and export challenges are moving to take responsibility for their plastic waste:
United Kingdom (UK): The Environmental Bill 2020 would restrict exports of plastic waste to non-OECD countries for recycling.
European Union (EU) Circular Economy Plan: Announced on March 11, 2020, the plan aims to ”restrict exports of waste that cause negative environmental and health impacts in third countries by focusing on countries of destination, problematic waste streams and operations.”
Basel Amendment agreed to by 184 countries: In May 2019, the Parties (countries) to the United Nations Basel Convention adopted the Plastics Waste Amendment to “to specifically include plastic waste in a legally-binding framework which will make global trade in plastic waste more transparent and better regulated.” According to the head of the UN organization that administers the Basel Convention, the Basel Amendment is intended to keep more recycling of plastic scrap in the countries where it is created.
Canada: In February 2020, a bill was introduced to the House of Commons to prohibit the export of non-recyclable plastic waste from Canada to foreign countries. The Member of Parliament introducing the bill stated: “We have the means and capability to ensure the proper disposal of plastic waste right here in our own country, and we shouldn’t be exporting it for someone else to deal with.” But while Canada is a signatory to the Basel Convention, the country recently requested extra time to comply with the treaty, which will be enforced starting 2021.
The Responsible Response is to Stop Offshoring Plastic Waste
Now that the curtain has been pulled back and the harms of plastic waste exports have been exposed, the responsible response is to stop. While exporting may help U.S. communities meet “diversion goals” and avoid the problem and cost of disposing their plastic waste to landfill or incineration, there’s no denying that we’re offshoring the problem, harming other countries and making a carbon intensive, long distance contribution to the plastic pollution in the ocean we share.
Firm and effective bans are not yet in place in many countries and the end of harmful plastic waste imports is not certain as illegal trade flourishes. We cannot expect other countries to restrict and inspect our harmful plastic waste exports or expect them to stop the illegal waste trade at the receiving end. After conducting an investigation of exports to Malaysia, Greenpeace Italy stated: “We know that only a small number of containers leaving Italian ports are properly checked. A civilised country cannot close its eyes and dump the problem on a less developed nation.” In the Philippines, Greenpeace and EcoWaste Coalition identified policy loopholes in Philippine laws as an enabler of illegal and ‘legitimized’ waste trade.
The most effective way to stop the harmful and illegal plastic waste trade is to stop loading U.S. plastic waste onto ships for export.
While the U.S. and other countries have been exporting plastic waste to countries which are ill-equipped to manage it, those same countries are being blamed as the leading polluters of plastics to the ocean. The Save Our Seas 2.0 Bill largely blames Asian countries for plastic pollution to the ocean and does nothing to stop plastic waste exports to those countries. The recent addition of some types of plastic waste to the Basel Convention will not stop the flow of U.S. plastic waste to countries who are not equipped to safely and securely manage it due to illegal waste trade and non-ratification and opposition by the current U.S. Federal Administration. As the Guardian reported in May 2019, “The US is not a party to the convention so it did not have a vote, but attendees at the meeting said the country argued against the change, saying officials didn’t understand the repercussions it would have on the plastic waste trade.”
The Right SOS: Stop Our Ships
There now isproposed legislation in the U.S. Congress to stop plastic waste exports to countries with poor waste management. The plastic waste export restrictions in the “Break Free From Plastic Pollution Act of 2020,” championed by Senator Udall and Representative Lowenthal, are a major step towards taking responsibility for our plastic waste and reducing long-distance plastic pollution to the ocean, as well as here at home. Representative Lowenthal stated that “he was especially proud the bill would prevent plastic waste being exported to less developed countries where it ends up in landfills and waterways, harming human health and endangering wildlife.”
The harms of plastic waste exports to other countries and sea freight carbon emissions are proven. Our response is a measure of our integrity in dealing other countries and our true concern for the ocean and climate. At the federal, state and local levels, we must bring an end to irresponsible, damaging plastic waste exports.
More Facts & Figures: U.S. Plastic Waste Exports from 2010 to 2019
Table 1 summarizes the latest trends in the U.S. plastic waste export and recent news related to plastic waste import bans.
Table 1 – Trends in U.S. Plastic Waste Exports and Latest News
Jan Dell, PE, is an Independent Engineer and Founder of The Last Beach Cleanup. Jan has worked with companies in diverse industries to implement sustainable business practices in their operations, communities and supply chains in more than 40 countries including throughout Asia. Named a 2019 National Geographic Explorer. Appointed by the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, Jan was the Vice Chair of the U.S. Federal Advisory Committee on the Sustained National Climate Assessment in 2016-2017.Send her an email here.
