Plastic-waste-inputs-from-land-into-ocean

JennaR.JambeckGoodmorningeveryone.MynameisJennaJambeckandIamanassistantprofessorofenvironmentalengineeringfromtheUniversityofGeorgia.WhenIhadtochooseafocusinenvironmentalengineering,Ifellinlovewiththestudyofsolidwaste,whichistrash,orbetterknownasanythingthatyourecycleorthroweveryday.ThereasonIfeltwastewassodifferentfromdesigningwaterorwastewaterfacilitieswasthatitsocloselyinvolvedpeople.Andpeoplehavestrongreactionstoit–especiallywhenawastemanagementsystemmightbephysicallyclosetothem.Yetitissomethingwecreateeverydayandhavetomanage.SoasItalktoday,Iwillgoovermanynumbers,butasIdo,Ihopeyou’llkeepinmindthesamethingthatIdo–thattherearealwayspeoplebehindthesenumbers.Itseemslikewehavebeenhearingalotlatelyabouttheconcernsoverplasticinouroceansandestimatesofplasticintheocean.Researchinterestinthisissuehasgrowntremendouslyinthelast10years.Andtheresultsyou’rehearingtodayarisefromascientificworkinggroupthatwasfoundedattheNationalCenterforEcologicalAnalysisandSynthesis3.5yearsago.Weareadiversegroup–oceanographers,marineecologists,solidwasteexperts,statisticians,industrialecologists,polymerscientistsandengineers.Whenwegottogether,ourstartingpointwastoaskourselves–Whatarethemajorsourcesofplasticintheocean?Quickly,wefoundoutthatthatland-basedinputswouldbeamajorsource.Sowesetouttofindouthowmuchitwas.Nowwhatwedidisdifferentthanthenumbersyouhaveheardbefore–thosenumbersestimatetheamountofplasticalreadyintheocean–wecallthis“thestandingstock”.Whatwelookedatwasanannualinput–howmuchgoesineachyear.Andthisisexcitingtoreportbecausethisisthefirsttimewehavebeenabletoconnecttheoceantothelandwithanumber,andI’llexplainmoreaboutthisnumberbutthewaywearemostcomfortablereportingthisistosay“Weestimatethatpeopleadded8millionmetrictons–andametrictonis1000kilograms,sothat’s8.8millionAmericantons–ofplastictotheoceanin2010.”Ourmethodsforthisestimateweretolookatperpersonwastegenerationratesin2010from192countrieswithacoastlineintheworld.Becausepeople’sactivitiesnearestthecoastareresponsibleformostoftheplasticgoingintothewater,welimitedouranalysistoa50kmstripofthecoastline.Fromthere,welookedatwhatpercentofthatwasteisplastic,andwhatpercentageofthatismismanagedwaste(whichmeanslitterorwhenwasteisnotcapturedanddumpedontheland).Fromtherewehadthreescenariosofinputintotheocean:low,midandhigh.Our8millionmetrictonestimateisthatmid-rangescenario.8millionmetrictonsofplasticisequalto5bags(likethis)filledwithplasticgoingintotheoceanalongeveryfootofcoastlineintheworld.That…ishuge.Anditcangetworse.Ifweassumeabusinessasusualprojectionwithgrowingpopulations,increasingplasticconsumptionandincreasedwastegeneration,by2025,thisnumberdoubles–wemaybeadding17.5millionmetrictonsofplasticperyear.Ifthathappens,thenourcumulativeinputovertimefrom2010to2025isprojectedtobe155millionmetrictons.Thepurposeofthisworkwastocreatethisglobalestimate.ButrememberwhatIsaidbefore–behindthesenumbersarepeople,peoplelivinginculturallyandsociallydifferentcountriesoftheworld.Andwehadtousecountry-leveldatatobuildoutourframework–sowedoindeedhavealistofcountriesthataretopcontributors.AndthishasbeengettingalotofattentionsoIwanttobeclearabouthowwethinkaboutthislist–itisnotaboutfingerpointing,butexaminingthingsthatstronglyinfluenceacountry’srankinthislist:first,thepopulationdensityinthecoastlines–howmanypeoplearegeneratingwastewithin50kilometersofthesea?Next,howMUCHplasticwasteiseachpersongenerating?Andfinallythemismanagedwastepercentageplaysarole–howmuchofwhatallthosepeoplethrowawayaccidentallyendsupintheocean?Sowhatyouwillfindnearthetoparemostlymiddleincomecountrieswithrapidlygrowingeconomiesthathavenotyetbeenabletodevelopwastemanagementsystemstohandletheincreaseinwastegenerationthatcomesalongwitheconomicgrowth.Thereisonehighincomecountryonthelist,theUnitedStates,andwhileourwastemanagementsystemsarewell-designedandveryeffective,andtheonlymismanagedwasteisfromlitter,wehavealargecoastalpopulationandalargewastegenerationrate.Weknowthesolutions:wemustcutbackonplasticwastegenerationandincreasetheamountwecaptureandmanageproperly.Thatsoundssimple.Weknowhowtodesignwastemanagementsystems,butwastemanagementisnotjustadesignproblem,itisalsohassocialandculturaldimensions.Soweneedtoworktogetheratacombinationoflocalandglobalinitiatives…andweneedglobalparticipationfromvariousstakeholders,andbaseduponthediverseglobalinterestinthiswork–Iamoptimisticthiswillhappen.Bychangingthewaywethinkaboutwaste,valuingthemanagementofit,collecting,capturingandcontainingit,wecanopenupnewjobsandopportunitiesforeconomicinnovation,andinaddition,improvethelivingconditionsandhealthformillionsofpeoplearoundtheworldandprotectouroceans.KaraLavenderLawGoodmorning.MynameisKaraLavenderLaw.IamaresearchprofessorofoceanographyatSeaEducationAssociation(SEA)inWoodsHole,MA,homeoftheSEASemesterundergraduatestudyabroadprogram.WithourstudentsIhavesailedandsampledboththeAtlanticandPacificOceansforplasticdebris,andforthepast8yearsIhavebeenactivelyresearchingthesources,distribution,andfateofplasticintheocean.Whydowecarehowmuchplasticisintheocean?WhileIwouldargu