It hardly comes as a surprise to anyone who has walked along a beach. Just bend down and pick up the remains of household items, plastic bags, fishing equipment, toys, packaging … or pretty much everything we surround ourselves with. If the problem is to be solved, American researchers at the 5 Gyres Institute believe that we must know what we are facing. 170 trillion plastic particles is the answer. For now. 170 trillion plastic particles is just an average calculation. It can be twice as much. Photo: The Ocean Cleanup Dramatic increase from 2005 The researchers behind the study have collected both previously published data and new data. The answer they get is discouraging to us living on the planet now. It is much more than previously estimated, and most of it has ended up there in the last 15 years. Until 1990, it is difficult to establish any pattern in the flow of plastic pollution in the sea. From 1990 to 2005, the amount seems to go up and down a bit, perhaps because the available data is limited. But – from 2005 until now there has been a dramatic and rapid increase. An increase which, according to the researchers, requires immediate action. Marcus Eriksen is the lead author of the study which shows that plastic pollution in the sea is worse than we have thought. Photo: private Marcus Eriksen is the initiator of the non-profit organization 5 Gyres Institute and lead author of the study. In the last 15 years, he has led 20 expeditions around the globe. – We have studied the sea surface and the abundance of plastic pollution there. That data, in addition to all published data over the past 40 years, is the basis on which we have calculated, he says. A clean-up job of enormous dimensions Several organizations are working to clean up plastic in the world’s oceans. The Ocean Cleanup is the most famous, founded by the then 18-year-old Dutchman Boyan Slat in 2013. The Ocean Cleanup is funded by donations and has worked for 10 years to collect plastic waste in rotating ocean currents (gyres) around the globe. One of them is the North Pacific Gyre. It is three times the size of France. Enormous amounts of plastic float around in the current. The Ocean Cleanup has very ambitious goals. They say they will clear all plastic from the ocean and make themselves unemployed. The equipment they use is constantly being developed. Recently they launched System 03 for use out at sea. In addition, they make so-called Interceptors that collect plastic in rivers. It has proven to be a quick and cost-effective way to prevent plastic from reaching the ocean. Huge chains are towed after boats and collect plastic in the Pacific Gyre Photo: The Ocean Cleanup The plastic is collected in what looks like a trawl bag Photo: The Ocean Cleanup An Interceptor from The Ocean Cleanup collects plastic in Los Angeles. Photo: The Ocean Cleanup In total, The Ocean Cleanup has picked up 3,200 tonnes of plastic in 10 years, or 320 tonnes per year. year. At the same time, we know that at least 8 million tonnes of plastic end up in the world’s oceans every year. The Ocean Cleanup’s efforts are by no means enough. It’s a drop in the ocean. Stronger and more effective measures are now needed. Old fishing gear is a large part of the plastic floating around in the world’s oceans. Photo: The Ocean Cleanup I don’t think the Ocean Cleanup can achieve the goals Marcus Eriksen in the 5 Gyres Institute is well aware of the work of Boyan Slat and The Ocean Cleanup. Marcus Eriksen has himself taken part in several expeditions to survey the amount of plastic in the world’s oceans. Photo: private He thinks the statements and objectives of The Ocean Cleanup sound strange. – 10 years ago they said they would remove all plastic within 10 years, Now it’s 90 per cent. There are great slogans and advertising expressions, but they have no basis in reality. Historically, global disasters, such as holes in the ozone layer or smog over big cities, have been solved with agreements and legislation, not clean-up afterwards. The Ocean Cleanup maintains to news that they believe they will technically be able to clear 90 percent of all floating plastic by 2040. At the same time, they say they need help from governments and international institutions to reach the goal. To remove 1 kilogram of plastic in the world’s oceans, The Ocean Cleanup says they use approx. 10 euros. Eriksen believes that it is not an efficient use of money. He claims fishermen from Hawaii would fill their boats with plastic waste if they had received 0.25 euros per kilo. Clearing will never be enough anyway, he says. – The solution is to stop the flow of plastic through laws and business models that eliminate or remove plastic pollution. Plastic is not a problem in remote areas. Norwegian waters are also full, as here in Øygarden. Photo: Sissel Rikheim / news Marcus Eriksen believes we need binding international agreements with the main focus on prevention rather than clean-up. That is what can save our oceans, he believes. – We have to start further up, in boardrooms where decisions are made on which products are to be made. The industry must take responsibility in the “life cycle” of what they produce. Systems and treaties must be created for everything from packaging to recycling. What happens if it is not stopped? Thousands of species are affected by plastic pollution. It is found in every nook and cranny of the planet. Plastic pollution affects the health of both us and the planet. Microplastics are found in our food, in our blood, in our organs, even in breast milk. Eriksen says the increase in plastic pollution exceeds attempts to reduce plastic pollution. He is tired of hearing about how much we have to recycle, while at the same time the willingness to enter into statutory agreements on the use of recycled plastic is met with resistance. – Recycled plastic must be collected, transported, sorted, cleaned and melted back into plastic pellets before it can be used again. It is more expensive than new plastic. We must design to make recycling a success. Until that happens, there is no point in spending energy talking about it, says Marcus Eriksen. Want to create international rules On 27 May, the second round of international negotiations will begin which will try to agree on global, binding laws to prevent plastic pollution. All good forces are gathered there, including The Ocean Cleanup with observer status. It all takes place under the auspices of the UN in Paris and Climate and Environment Minister Espen Barth Eide is in place. Climate and Environment Minister Espen Barth Eide leads a group that advocates for international laws and agreements against plastic pollution. – Plastic pollution is one of the world’s fastest growing environmental problems, he says to news Photo: Truls Alnes Antonsen / news He leads a group with a name that obliges; High Ambition Coalition, the high ambition coalition. It advocates precisely what Marcus Eriksen calls for; an agreement that will stop plastic pollution by 2040. For news, Barth Eide is ready in his speech before leaving for Paris. – It is impossible to solve the problems created by the huge amounts of plastic waste in the world without international cooperation. We have become used to cheap plastic being available for all possible uses – and now we are beginning to see the consequences of that. The Minister for Climate and the Environment knows how important it will be to reach an agreement. – The agreement must cover the entire life cycle of the plastic. For Norway, it is important that as many as possible of the obligations and measures in the agreement become legally binding. The world is in a hurry The negotiations have not yet progressed so far that a concrete agreement text is on the table, but Espen Barth Eide believes and hopes that things will go their way. – We must ban the use of dangerous chemicals in plastic, we must set requirements that make it easier to reuse and recycle the plastic and we must stop the leakage of plastic into the nature around us. Climate and Environment Minister Espen Barth Eide has some work to do. Photo: Eivind Molde / news Perhaps the globe depends on it. The study by Marcus Eriksen and his colleagues in the 5 Gyres Institute not only shows that there is more plastic in the ocean than we have thought. It also shows that without significant and comprehensive policy changes, the amount of plastic in the ocean will triple by 2040. 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Much more plastic waste in the world’s oceans than previously estimated – news Trøndelag
