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The Transition | October 2024
People and progress in solving the ocean plastic crisis
About OpenOceans Global. Our work centers on mapping ocean plastic, curating the best solutions, and linking together a community of ocean plastic experts and leaders. Learn more on the Weather Channel's Pattrn interview, NBC7/39's Down to Earth segment, and ArcNews.
Past issues of The Transition
The Transition takes first place in journalism awards competition
 For the second year in a row, The Transition has taken first place in the SanDiego Press Club Excellence in Journalism Awards. Entries were judged by press clubs from around the country. The San Diego Press Club with its 400 members is one of the largest in the U.S.
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In This Issue: (links to articles below)
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Did you know?
The fashion industry is the fastest-growing waste stream in the US, and, according to the USEPA, only 15% of textiles are recycled.
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Taking a Deeper Dive
Study shows human health is seriously harmed by plastics
 Image credit: Minderoo Foundation
The Plastic Health Umbrella Review, a study by the Minderoo Foundation in collaboration with JBI at the University of Adelaide “provides the most robust evidence yet that human health is seriously harmed by plastics, across the entire human life cycle. The study is a comprehensive overview of substantial and concerning evidence of how chemicals in plastic are harming our health. This isn’t just a wake-up call, it’s a global human health emergency,” according to the authors. Here are the key findings:
- We are exposed to chemicals in plastic through our daily lives. These exposures start from preconception and affect all stages of life, and include: before birth and at birth, childhood, and adulthood.
- This exposure is linked to a wide range of health impacts. Significant risks include impacts on fertility, neurodevelopment, chronic diseases, and more.
- None of the plastic chemicals examined can be considered safe. (Bisphenols, Phthalates, PCBs, PBDEs, and PFAS).
- We cannot assume unstudied plastic substances are safe.
- The plastic chemicals examined are a tiny fraction of the thousands used in plastics.
The report says that “Many thousands of chemicals are used in plastics. The Umbrella Review found that most plastic chemicals, as well as polymers and microplastics, have been insufficiently or never studied for human health effects. Considering the evidence of harm found in the few chemicals that have been examined, we should take a precautionary approach, and not assume safety for the rest.”
The Minderoo Foundation provides fact sheets for each of the five types of plastics studied.
IMDOS is developing a marine debris/litter monitoring system
Image credit: IMDOS
After several years of planning, the Integrated Marine Debris Observing System (IMDOS) project is finalizing its structure and decision-making bodies to meet its goal of supporting the development of a global interoperable marine debris/litter monitoring system. The group’s work is intended to benefit the research community, as well as policy- and decision-making bodies and the private sector.
The organization has six main objectives:
- Advocate for the transition to a long-term, coordinated, global marine debris observing system.
- Discover and engage with existing and proposed marine debris monitoring, remote sensing, and numerical modeling initiatives to propose coordination under a common framework.
- Foster communication and synergies within the expanding marine debris community, and with researchers and decision-makers.
- Advise on the development of marine debris information products for assessment reports for all stakeholders.
- Provide recommendations on the design and evolution of a global marine debris observing system.
- Give guidance on assessment and harmonization of marine debris monitoring methodologies.
IMDOS was developed as a joint project between the Group on Earth Observations (GEO) Blue Planet Initiative, the Global Ocean Observing System (GOOS), and UNEP’s Global Partnership on Plastic Pollution and Marine Litter (GPML).
The new structure is built on existing partnerships, including the above organizations, IOC, UNESCO, and the G7/G20 countries. By providing guidance on harmonizing data, standardizing monitoring methods, leveraging technology, and harnessing the power of a global community, IMDOS aims to support and strengthen a network of sustained observations to enhance marine debris research and to inform actions to tackle the growing global plastic pollution problem.
The group’s activities will align with the UN Agenda 2030 and the UN Ocean Decade. IMDOS will allow data from multiple sources to be interoperable, comparable, and accessible.
An interim scientific committee was formed in 2022 which adopted an IMDOS strategy in 2023. A call for participants has been launched. The group will be guided by a Steering Committee formed by the Advisory Committee and a Work Program Committee. The Work Program Committee will be made of the chairs and co-chairs of 14 Task Teams envisioned by the organizers. Members of the Steering Committee will be announced at the end of October.
CSIRO network helping Asian countries with plastic waste
An Indonesian neighborhood beset by plastic debris. Image credit: CSIRO
CSIRO, Australia’s national science agency, has developed a Plastic Innovation Network in Southeast Asia to “tackle the urgent, global problem of plastic waste.” With chapters in Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, and Laos/Cambodia, the network is addressing plastic waste in a region that leaks as much as 70% of the world’s plastic into the ocean.
One aspect of the program is the Indo-Pacific Plastic Innovation Network (IPPIN) which supports entrepreneurs across the region to change plastic problems into profitable and sustainable solutions. It offers free, online but highly competitive innovation programs. For example, a project in Indonesia is making biodegradable plastic from cassava. The Vietnam chapter is part of the Mekong Plastic Innovation Alliance. The network is supportive of CSIRO’s Ending Plastic Waste Mission, which aims to “change the way we make, use, recycle and dispose of plastics.”
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"This is a thing that will impact us moving forward forever. This is the start. This is not anywhere near done." - Patrick Krieger, vice president of sustainability at the Plastics Industry Association, talking about the plastic treaty in Plastics News
Image credit: Plastics News/Leo Michael
- The Vital Role of Aluminum Recycling in Achieving Carbon Neutrality Goals, Waste Advantage, October 23, 2024
- SWANA Announces New Guidelines on Extended Producer Responsibility, Waste Advantage, October 21, 2024
- Does Everything in Your Blue Bin Really Get Recycled? You Would Be Surprised, The Wall Street Journal, October 19, 2024
- Why the US loses $800 million a year in unrecycled aluminum cans, Business Insider, October 18, 2024
- Kia Introduces World’s First Car Accessory Made Using Recycled Plastic from the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, Waste Advantage, October 15, 2024
- PVC booms and Helene recovery, Plastics News, October 4, 2024
- “Instant annoyance”: Plastic bottle caps just got a confusing makeover, The Wall Street Journal, October 4, 2024
- Republic Services Launches Circularity Index to Help Businesses Improve Sustainable Practices, Waste Advantage , October 3, 2024
- Can you trust companies that say their plastic products are recyclable? US regulators may crack down on deceptive claims, The Conversation, September 23, 2024
- California is One Step Closer to Tackling Fashion Waste, Waste Advantage, September 27, 2024
- New study reveals a countdown to save oceans from plastic pollution, PHYS.ORG, September 24, 2024
- How the EU’s Bottle Cap Requirement is Shaping Plastic Waste Management, E+E Leader, September 2, 2024
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Help Locate Plastic-Fouled Coastlines
Each month we share an image of a beach fouled by plastic. To report a shoreline pervasively fouled by significant amounts of plastic debris, use our online plastic trash reporting app. Thank you!
This Month’s Coastal Hotspot: Cocos (Keeling) Islands, Australia
 Image credit: The Guardian/Nature/Jennifer Lavers
A comprehensive survey in 2019 of the beaches in the Cocos (Keeling) Island group found an estimated 414 million anthropogenic debris items, weighing 238 tonnes, had been deposited on the islands . As reported in the journal Nature, “the quantity of debris buried up to 10 cm beneath the beach was 26 times greater than the amount visible; that previous surveys that only assessed surface garbage might have “drastically underestimated the scale of debris accumulation.” The plastic was mostly single-use items, bottles, cutlery, bags, and straws that came from the deep ocean. Six hundred people live on the 27 islands, a remote territory of Australia in the Indian Ocean. According to The Guardian, “tourism [is] a primary source of income for the local community. However, the impact of debris on tourism and [their] beaches is increasingly difficult to avoid.”
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Solutions to the Ocean Plastic Crisis
See more solutions on our ocean plastic solutions page. Have a solution we should know about? Submit it here.
This Month's Featured Solution: WasteShark
Image credit: RanMarine
WasteShark is a robot that removes floating pollution from ports, harbors, canals, marinas, and other coastal waters. Developed by RanMarine Technology, based in the Netherlands, the robot can navigate shallow waters and narrow channels, collecting plastic waste, plastic bags, and bottles, and “eat” up to 500 kg of waste daily, the equivalent of 21,000 plastic bottles. The units are designed to be efficient, long-lived, non-threatening, and unobtrusive, weighing under 100 lbs., and measuring 5x4 feet. The plastic and debris collected are easily disposable through a removable basket. The firm offers an autonomous model equipped with LIDAR technology that uses geofencing to clean a particular area. WasteShark can also take water samples and collect important data about the health of the aquatic environment using sensors and cameras. These tools detect oil and other chemical spills, and the information is used to protect ecosystems. RanMarine has deployed over 100 WasteSharks globally, including in the Nordics, Europe, Singapore, India, the UK, UAE, USA, Australia, South Korea, and South America.
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Meet the Experts and Leaders
OpenOceans Global is identifying ocean plastic experts from around the world. Here is an expert leading efforts to reduce plastic pollution that you should know about.
Dr. Audrey Hasson, Executive Director and EU Coordinator, GEO Blue Planet Initiative
Image credit: Audrey Hasson
Dr. Audrey Hasson is the Executive Director and EU coordinator for the GEO Blue Planet Initiative and leads several Thematic Working Groups including Marine Litter, Sargassum, and Fisheries. The initiative is the ocean and coastal arm of the Group on Earth Observations (GEO) and promotes the sustained development and use of ocean observations for the benefit of society. Dr. Hasson is also a coordinator for the Integrated Marine Debris Observing System (IMDOS), which is working to support the development of a global interoperable marine debris/litter monitoring system to benefit the research community, as well as policy- and decision-making bodies and the private sector. Dr. Hasson is a physical oceanographer specializing in the remote sensing of sea surface salinity. She has been a post-doctoral researcher for the American, French, and European Space Agencies (NASA, CNES, and ESA). Dr. Hasson has authored and co-authored over 15 peer-reviewed scientific papers and has built comprehensive expertise in the use of in-situ, modeling and satellite-borne data. She has also participated in several research seagoing expeditions and has a particular interest in public outreach. Hasson received the 2016 Women in Science post-doctoral prize from the L’Oréal Foundation / UNESCO, honoring her achievements as an early career scientist. She holds a Ph.D. in physical oceanography from the University of Toulouse (France). She also has a BS in atmospheric science from the University of Melbourne (Australia) and a BS in mathematics from the University of Wellington (New Zealand).
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