This week, I was asked in to East Coast FM to have a chat with Declan Meehan about a report on the discovery of over 38 million piece of plastic on uninhabited Henderson Island located 5,000 km from the nearest population.
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The plastic problem has received lots of media attention in the last few months, both internationally and in Ireland, so the latest report on Henderson Island doesn’t surprise me.
I’ve been following stories of the Great Pacific Garbage patch for years now (one of five marine garbage patches worldwide) and scheming ways to someday get out there to see it for myself. -If you ever wanted to witness the true scale of human impact on the planet, I can’t think of a bigger representation than an area of plastic “soup” that is alleged to be somewhere between the size of Texas to twice the size of the continental United States! |
We’ve spread plastic globally, roughly doubling the amount of debris in the marine environment every decade. Plastic is being used more and more, not just in food packaging but also in clothing and items we think are paper-based like coffee cups. A report by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation in 2016 forecast there will be more plastic than fish in oceans by 2050! The Irish alone generate 35kg of plastic packaging waste each year, but worldwide only 10% of plastic waste is actually recycled.
Not only has our plastic waste migrated to uninhabited islands, but it’s also in the bellies of more than 200 marine species, including all sea birds. Plastic in the marine environment attracts algae growth and so it smells like krill to marine animals. They fill up on this plastic and then risk starvation due to a lack of calories and nutrition.
This plastic then goes back up the food chain when we consume seafood, including farm-raised species such as mussels, and water contaminated with micro-plastic which passes through filtration systems. Plastic acts as a hormone disruptor when it is injested, contributing to cancers and developmental disorders.
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About 20% of marine trash comes from ships and offshore platforms while the rest comes from litter being blown into the sea, picked up by tides on the beach, or intentional garbage dumping. Ireland, as an island nation, is particularly susceptible to contributing and being impacted by this kind of pollution. However, as with most environmental problems in this country, we’re behind in how we’re dealing with it.
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We’ve adapted to recycling very quickly in Ireland, but due to a lack of standardised practices, we don’t recycle well and our incinerator-focused waste system is more inclined to use plastic as a fossil fuel source to burn rather than to make new products.
Recycling is energy intensive and downright confusing, as I found out trying to manage the waste at Electric Picnic last summer. When it comes to saving our oceans and ourselves from plastic, we need to focus on reducing. You can start by buying reusable beverage containers made of things like silicon or stainless steel. Check out the Conscious Cup Campaign recently set up by an informal group of Irish citizens who are campaigning against single use disposable cups (of which we dispose of half a billion per year!), encouraging individuals to carry reusable cups and cafes to incentivise this by offering a discount and publicising it well. In Ireland, Starbucks already offers 35c off the cost of tea/coffee if you bring your own mug, which is equivalent to getting your 8th cup of coffee for free (better than your average loyalty card).
We need to urge retailers and wholesalers to use less packaging. In Germany, buyers remove all packaging at the shop and leave the retailer to dispose of it, which is a huge incentive to get retailers to reduce waste. In San Francisco, they’ve banned the sale of plastic bottles at public events to encourage people to bring their own containers. In France, they’ve banned the sale of all single use cutlery, plates and cups altogether.
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Even here in Ireland, Friends of the Earth discovered huge success when we ran a deposit refund scheme on plastic cups and bottles, paying out 20 cents for every cup that was returned. In total, EUR 31,000 was given to those who returned cups. Over 150,000 cups stayed out of an incinerator and the arena grounds were practically devoid of plastic as a result.
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One “eco-entrepreneur” earned over EUR 1,000 in refunds, covering the cost his festival ticket and leaving him with more than EUR 700 in spending money!
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Last year, Cashel became the first town in Ireland to begin the journey to become a Zero Waste community to join over 200 cities and towns worldwide that aim to create little to no waste through waste prevention, reuse and repair, recycling and composting efforts. Expect to see lots of innovation coming out of Cashel in the next few years as they discover creative ways to convert waste into resources. Here’s hoping it becomes a model for the rest of Ireland to follow.
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Zero Waste Cashel
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Keep fighting the good fight!
-Cara Coming Up: I'll be at Bloom in the Park June 1-5th showcasing Friends of the Earth's Postcard Nature garden at the main entrance. Find out what we're planning here and come say hi if you're visiting Bloom. |
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