Can we reverse the tidal wave of plastic pollution?

The Global State of Plastic Pollution

40% of the ocean’s surface already sits beneath plastic wasteland flotillas. Unless we change course, there will be more plastic than fish in the ocean by weight by 2050. The biggest cause lies in single-use items such as bottles, straws and grocery bag. These have an average useful lifespan of twelve minutes but survive for hundreds of years.

To date, we have used five trillion plastic bags to transport shopping home just once, before discarding them. It is the single-use behavior which has galvanized policymakers and businesses across the world to act and reverse the trend, be it through outlawing bags or removing plastic straws.

Single-use products destroy fish populations, as illustrated in 2019 when a pregnant sperm whale washed ashore in Europe with 22 kilograms of plastic in its stomach. Even if the plastic breaks down, microplastics can permeate freshwater supplies as indicated by a recent survey indicating 93% of bottled waters from 9 countries contained micro-plastics. They pervade the environment to such an extent that the Queensland’s Environment Conservation Group removes 10,000 plastic items a month from waterways – mainly single-use bottles – with no let-up in sight.

The Seabin Project installs floating rubbish bins in ports, harbors and marinas: major sources of ocean litter with the average sea bin collecting up to half-a-ton of debris every year. British company Recycling Technologies have developed an innovative technology that recycles any plastic into a reusable material known as Plaxx to solve the non-recyclable problem. Finally, companies such as Origin Materials focus on the top of the supply chain, aiming to manufacture renewable bottles out of sawdust, cardboard, and other sustainable materials.

Travel and hospitality companies have joined the plastic-free movement. Australian Airline Qantas hopes to become the first zero-waste operator – pledging to reuse, recycle, or compost every waste item produced on its flights having run a successful trial in 2019. While Etihad recently completed a world-first by landing a plastic-free ultra-long-haul flight in Brisbane earlier in the year.

Among major hotel chains, Hilton committed to remove plastic straws from all its 650 hotels across the world – alongside taking plastic water bottles out of conference rooms, as the operator hopes to cut its environmental impact in half by 2030.

The Hyatt, Four Seasons, Marriott International, and Nikki Beach hotels have also curbed usage of plastic straws and stirrers. While the Six Senses chain of resorts has taken the movement one step further with its Earth Lab initiative, aiming to create a zero-waste operation and ensure all materials used onsite are either reused; or recycled.

Closer to home, Star Entertainment Group has announced plans to reduce single-use plastics from its 60 bars, 7 hotels and head offices across Australia. Instead offering sustainable paper and biodegradable alternatives. The move forms part of a wider initiative to curb carbon emissions by 30% by 2023. To move towards an economy which places sustainability top-of-mind, however, will require action at the highest level: the New Plastics Economy report argues for improved infrastructure in how producers both design, then use, plastic. The study calls for a rethink of packaging so that the 30% of plastics which are currently destined for landfill can be given a second life once they have fulfilled their primary purpose. It also urges an overhaul of the recycling process to make it easier to process waste materials, which would make recycling more economically viable in certain regions; excessive cost often deters nations from scaling recycling efforts.