Plastic mass found in stomach of whale

Published in News24, 10-26-15

An adult female orca, identified as L-91, eating a salmon as her newborn calf swims near the San Juan Islands in Washington state's Puget Sound. (NOAA Fisheries/Vancouver Aquarium via AP)

Taipei - Taiwanese marine biologists have discovered a mass of plastic bags and fishing net in the stomach of a dead whale, underlying the dangers posed by floating ocean trash.

The 15m mature sperm whale was spotted stranded off the southern town of Tongshi on October 15.

Coastguards and scientists returned it to the ocean but three days later it was found dead around 20 kilometres away.

Marine biologists from a local university who conducted an autopsy over the weekend found a mass of plastic bags and fishing net sizeable enough to fill an excavator bucket.

Professor Wang Chien-ping, head of the whale research centre at National Cheng-Kung University, said the garbage was probably a major factor in the death.

Wang told AFP the whale could have suffered heart or lung disease and multiple infections.

"But... the large amount of man-made garbage in the stomach could reduce its appetite and cause malnutrition. It was likely a critical cause of death."

The Society of Wilderness said the case highlighted the growing threat from ocean trash.

"We frequently heard of marine animals killed after swallowing lots of garbage, but this one was the biggest in size for many years," said He Chih-ying, spokesperson for the conservation group.

Styrofoam-eating worms could be the answer to plastic waste crisis

Published in LiveMint, Oct. 5, 2015 by Preetha Banerjee
 

Study reveals how a species of mealworm can consume and also digest this plastic-like material

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According to a 2012 report by Global Industry Analysts, plastic consumption is to reach 297.5 million tonnes by 2015. Photo: Ramesh Pathania/Mint 

 

New Delhi: Remember the white, light-weight foam cups and plates you threw away after one use at the house-party? Mealworms, which are actually beetle larvae, were served the same styrofoam for dinner and they gorged on it!

Researchers at Stanford University have come up with a new study co-authored by Wei-Min Wu, a senior research engineer at the university that reveals how a species of mealworm can consume and also digest this plastic-like material, universally deemed as the necessary evil, bringing us very close to solving the global plastic waste problem.

And the problem is gargantuan in a country like India with its masses of plastic waste generated every day.

In 2012, the Supreme Court had said that plastic poses a threat more serious than the atom bomb for the next generation after two Andhra Pradesh-based NGOs reported that 30-60 kg of plastic bags had been recovered from the stomachs of cows who confuse plastic bags for food.

Though India had banned plastic bags below 20 µm in thickness, way back in 2002, to prevent them from clogging the drains and choking the rivers, according to a CPCB (Central Pollution Control Board) report released early this year, plastic waste generation in 60 cities of India is over 15,342 tonnes per day.

And there is literally nothing we can do with this waste.
Enter mealworms.

What happened in the lab:
100 mealworms ate between 34 and 39 milligrams of Styrofoam—about the weight of a small pill—every day and converted about half of it into carbon dioxide, as they would with any food source.

The best part is that within 24 hours, they excreted the remaining plastic after converting them into biodegraded fragments which appeared to be safe to be used as soil for crops.

The take away— mealworms can survive healthily on a diet of Styrofoam!

Is this a first?
No, waxworms have shown the way.

Earlier researches have shown the larvae of Indian mealmoths have microorganisms in their guts that can biodegrade polyethylene, a plastic used in products such as garbage bags.

But Styrofoam in particular was thought to be non-biodegradable and more hazardous for the environment and hence the new findings are valuable.

“There’s a possibility of really important research coming out of bizarre places,” said Craig Criddle, a professor of civil and environmental engineering who supervises plastics research by Wu and others at Stanford, as quoted in Stanford News Service that broke the news. “Sometimes, science surprises us. This is a shock.”

What’s next?
Another area of research could involve searching for a marine equivalent of the mealworm to digest plastics, Criddle said. Plastic waste is a particular concern in the ocean, where it fouls habitat and kills countless seabirds, fish, turtles and other marine life.

Here are some shocking figures on plastic waste generation that will make us like these worms even more:

• In 2013, Americans generated about 254 million tonnes of trash and plastics comprise about 13% of that, according to the United States Environmental Protection Agency.

• According to a 2012 report by Global Industry Analysts, plastic consumption is to reach 297.5 million tonnes by 2015. And why not? Plastic is almost unbreakable, lightweight, flexible, moisture resistant and doesn’t pinch your pocket.

• Plastic garbage accumulating in sea and choking marine life is a growing concern with eight million tonnes of plastic trash ending up in the ocean in 2010 as per a new study.

If these slimy worms can put a stop to this unmanageable trouble, we won’t cringe

California joins six other states in banning plastic microbeads

Published in BioTechin.Asia by Laxmi Iyer on October 12, 2015 

California state has followed Illinois and five other states including Colorado, Indiana, Maine, Maryland and New Jersey in banning plastic microbeads. Illinois was the first to ban microbeads in June 2014. Governor Jerry Brown of California signed the legislation on Thursday that bans these tiny abrasives used in exfoliators and other personal care products.

(Read More: Water pollution due to microbeads: a major problem in today’s world)

“We’re obviously incredibly excited,” said Stiv Wilson, director of campaigns at the nonprofit group the Story of Stuff Project. “We just passed a very simple ban on plastic microbeads without any loopholes.”

The consumer products industry had objected to certain aspects of the bill, arguing that it was overly restrictive and did not allow companies to come up with environmentally friendly alternatives. The California rules include a prohibition against biodegradable microbeads, which other states with similar legislation allow.

Lisa Powers, a spokeswoman for the Personal Care Products Council, said in an email that the industry trade group had taken a neutral position on the bill.

Microbeads look like tiny dots suspended in cleansers and other toiletries. Manufacturers including Johnson & Johnson and Procter & Gamble advertise their exfoliating power, particularly in face and body scrubs.

But when consumers rinse these products off, the microbeads gets flushed into sinks and sewage from where they enter the ocean and pollute them. Billions of microbeads have the same effect as grinding up plastic water bottles and dumping them into the ocean, environmentalists say.

These are harmful and are capable of affecting our aquatic ecosystems and human health. Microbeads look similar to fish eggs- especially their size, so aquatic organisms and birds mistake it for food and consume them. And when we consume these fishes and birds, they get passed onto us through the food chain.

Awareness on this issue is on the rise, and this is a step in the right direction.

Source: NewYork Times

5 ways China, ASEAN countries can stop plastic pollution – study

Published October 08, 2015 in Rappler.com by Pia Ranada

China, Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam are responsible for more than half of all plastic waste in the ocean

PLASTIC TIDE. A rubbish collector gathers floating plastic garbage in Manila Bay. Photo by EPA/Ritchie B. Tongo 

MANILA, Philippines – China and 4 Southeast Asian countries – Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam – are responsible for more than half of all plastic waste that ends up in the world’s oceans.

A new study suggests 5 ways these 5 countries can significantly reduce their plastic leakage in the next 20 years.

The study by international group Ocean Conservancy, entitled “Stemming the Tide,” says that coordinated action in just these 5 countries alone can “reduce global plastic-waste leakage by approximately 45% over the next 10 years.”

If these countries do nothing, they will likely leak 300 million metric tons of plastic into the ocean over the next 20 years. That much trash means there would be one ton of plastic for every 3 tons of fin fish in the ocean by 2025, says the study. (INFOGRAPHIC: Plastic in our seas: Why you should care)

But the solution does not come cheap. If all recommendations, called “levers,” are implemented, countries would need to shell out $5 billion a year. But in most cases, it's a winning combination of certain levers that can get the job done, depending on the circumstances of each country. There is no “one size fits all” approach.

Here are the 5 recommendations from the study:

1. Expand garbage collection

GARBAGE COLLECTION. Collection rates in the Philippines are relatively high at 80% on average while China's national average in collection rates is 40%. Photo by Pia Ranada/Rappler 

One reason why a lot of plastic trash ends up in the ocean is because of poor waste collection in the 5 countries. The average waste collection rate is just over 40%. If the 5 countries all improve their waste collection to 80%, plastic trash leakage into the ocean could be reduced by 23%.

Waste collection is typically logistics-heavy involving door-to-door collection, hauling of garbage by trucks, and street sweeping. Often, local governments are in charge of collection but the job is outsourced to private companies or local groups.

Improving collection significantly would require a budget increase of 75% in these countries. 

2. Close leakage points within the garbage collection system

OPEN TO ELEMENTS. This is an open dump site in Olongapo, Zambales. Photo by Randy Datu/Rappler 

Collecting trash doesn’t mean it will stay out of the ocean. The study found that almost 30 million metric tons of trash in the ocean from these 5 countries had actually been collected. In the Philippines, 74% of its plastic leakage is garbage that had already been collected by authorities.

How does this happen? Collection systems in these countries have two loopholes. The first is in the transportation phase. Some garbage truck companies don’t bother to bring the trash all the way to the designated disposal facilities. To cut cost, they just dump the trash at the roadside, in informal dump sites, or in waterways.

The second loophole is the wide use of open dump sites. Half of all waste collected end up in such sites. But open dump sites lack measures to keep the garbage from going to the ocean. Even worse, many of these sites are located right beside rivers. 

To plug these leak points, the study recommends that governments be stricter and more transparent when choosing companies they will contract to transport garbage. Garbage truck companies should be fined for illegal dumping and a monitoring system should be in place. 

Open dump sites should be closed and replaced with sanitary landfills. These are disposal sites which have facilities to ensure the trash is isolated from the environment. 

But because this is costly and may take time to accomplish, the study also suggested short-term solutions. This includes creating a perimeter fence around open dump sites to help limit its size. Bulldozers, excavators, or front-end loaders can also be used to compact the waste and regularly cover each new layer of waste with soil. 

3. Treat waste through gasification with energy recovery

AN OPTION. This is a gasification plant in Gussing, Austria. Photo from Wikipedia 

The study looked at different ways of treating plastic waste that would pose economic benefits. The belief is that by adding value to plastic waste, there would be an incentive to ensure efficient collection of the trash.

Gasification, or the partial oxidation of plastic waste, can produce a type of gas that can be used for electricity generation or fuel production. In the Philippines, this could generate around $50 (P2,300) of operating profit for every metric ton of treated mixed waste.

4. Treat waste through incineration with energy recovery

BURNING WASTE. This is a waste-to-energy incineration plant in Hesse, Germany. Photo by Norbert Nagel from Wikimedia Commons 

Incineration was also seen as viable for countries like China, Thailand, and Vietnam. This involves the burning of plastic to generate electricity.

But this was also the most controversial option because countries like the Philippines have laws that ban incineration. The study recognized that while modern incinerating equipment can keep emissions within safe standards, older technology can still emit worrisome amounts of heavy metals and other toxins.

But whether incineration, gasification, or pyrolysis, waste treatment options are complex because they are in various stages of development and their viability would depend on national circumstances, says the study. 

5. Manually sort waste for recycling or conversion to refuse-derived fuel (RDF)

SORTING. This materials recovery facility in Pampanga sorts garbage for recycling. Photo by Pia Ranada/Rappler 

This method is recommended for rural areas where the amount of waste collected from households is not enough to fill gasification or incineration facilities. 

Here, the garbage can be sorted according to the value of the plastic waste. High-value plastic waste like PET bottles can be sold to recycling companies or reused in many ways. Low-value plastic waste can be shredded and pelletized to make industrial fuel for cement-kilns of cement-manufacturing companies. 

– Rappler.com

Technology has hurt our oceans, but we can also harness it to reverse the damage

Published in The Guardian, Friday 9 October 2015 by Catherine A Novelli

The ocean is being depleted of critical fish stocks, choked with discarded plastic and made increasingly acidic, and it’s our fault – but we can find the solution

The demise of global waters isn’t inevitable, but the time to act is now. Photograph: Marck Botha / Barcroft Media/Marck Botha / Barcroft Media 

• From the sea’s shore, it can be hard to believe that something as vast and deep as the ocean can be harmed by a human being. But individuals are parts of communities, and our global community has exploded to over 7 billion people. The multiplier effect of growing populations, increasing demand for food and 200 years of carbon-intensive industrial production have put a tremendous burden on the ocean.

The ocean is being depleted of critical fish stocks, choked with discarded plastic and made increasingly acidic from increased carbon emissions absorbed from the air. If things continue as they are, experts estimate that by 2025 there will be a ton of plastic in the ocean for every three tons of fish.

It doesn’t have to be like that. We can stop the flow of plastic into the ocean and move away from disposable plastics altogether using a variety of technological and scientific innovations.

One example is the Marine Debris Tracker, a free app developed by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the University of Georgia. It allows people to report when they see litter in waterways or coastlines. The crowd sourced data is then plotted on maps to show areas most in need of clean up.

As for the plastic itself, companies are finding profitable ways to reuse it or replace it entirely. For example, US-based MHG uses microbial bacteria and canola oil to make safe, biodegradable products like food containers, bottles and fishing line.

It’s harder to visualize ocean acidification from carbon absorption – though its effects may become increasingly apparent. The ocean is 30% more acidic than it was before the Industrial Revolution, which has dramatic implications for marine ecosystems that we are only just beginning to understand.

 

We need more data to understand the impacts of acidification, especially in vulnerable habitats, so much of the focus of research on this problem has been on monitoring. The XPRIZE Foundation, which has spurred technological leaps in space exploration and healthcare, in July awarded grants to developers of affordable and accurate pH sensors. These sensors can be deployed in a variety of marine environments and are particularly needed in developing countries that currently lack monitoring capabilities.

To get the most out of these technological tools, we need strong global partnerships that can put them to use. This past week Secretary of State John Kerry and I joined hundreds of policymakers, scientists and business leaders in Chile for the second Our Ocean conference. There, we committed to expanding marine protected areas and to forming international partnerships to combat illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing. (Vessels doing this are often the same ships that traffic in arms and people.)

The challenge now is to establish shared protocols and integrated data systems to catch rule breakers and, in the end, reward the honest fishing industry.

One example in the works is the mFish initiative, a partnership between governments, NGOs and the private sector. This project puts GPS and smartphone technology in the hands of fishermen in developing nations. The devices are loaded with software that can report on catches, forecast the weather and track navigation.

Scientists and regulators get data on what’s being caught and where, while boat captains get tools to plan their expeditions and bring their fish to market. A pilot project of mFish this year in the Philippines will connect 13 coastal communities and 20,000 fishermen by the end of the year, expanding to 200 communities and 100,000 people in 2016.

The threats facing our ocean are profound, but it’s far from a lost cause. As the Our Ocean conferences have demonstrated over the past two years, the global community has woken up to the problem and is ready to take action to preserve our shared marine resources. Working together and harnessing new technological tools, we can undo the damage and protect our ocean.

Catherine A Novelli is the US Under Secretary of State for economic growth, energy and the environment

Published in Peninsula Daily News by Charlie Bermant on Sept. 27, 2015

Port Townsend Marine Science Center

Volunteer Chloe Dawson, shown during a 2009 survey, prepares a sample plot on Fort Worden beach in Port Townsend before she tests it for microplastics. 

 

PORT TOWNSEND — Research gathered under the auspices of the Port Townsend Marine Science Center is being used to call attention to the effects of microplastic debris in ocean.

“There is a lot of plastic that you can't even see,” said Ann Murphy, the center's former executive director.

“Much of it is smaller than your pinky, and a size that animals can easily ingest.”

The research was in the Salish Sea, which refers to an ecosystem that includes Puget Sound, the Strait of Juan de Fuca and the San Juan Islands as well as British Columbia's Gulf Islands and the Strait of Georgia.

Murphy and retired biologist and statistician Wally Davis have published an article in the Marine Pollution Bulletin, “Plastic in surface waters of the Inside Passage and beaches of the Salish Sea in Washington State.”

The article is available at http://tinyurl.com/PDN-Plastic.

The paper combined two studies.

One conducted by the marine science center from 2008 to 2011 evaluated the abundance of plastic debris on 37 beaches.

The other, conducted by Davis, characterized plastic debris in surface waters of the Puget Sound area, Strait of Juan de Fuca and the Inside Passage to Skagway, Alaska.

Davis' study sought to quantify plastics on the surface of the water by dragging a net through various regions.

Murphy said the studies complemented each other.

“With the combination of the studies we were able to determine how much of the plastic floating on the water ends up on the beach.”

Murphy said the marine science center study relied on volunteers to gather data, estimating that more than 600 “citizen scientists” contributed more than 4,313 hours to the cause.

Both studies found that plastic foam, primarily expanded polystyrene, was the dominant pollutant.

Plastic found in surface waters was concentrated near harbors.

The studies say that an average square meter of Washington's 1,180 kilometers — which is 733 miles — of sandy beaches in the Salish Sea had 61 pieces of microplastic debris, each weighing about 5 grams, which is 4/25 of a pound.

The total load for the entire region is estimated to be 72 million pieces or 5.8 metric tons — which is nearly 13,000 pounds.

Murphy said a complete cleanup is not possible because of the small size of the plastic particles.

The only solution, she said, is for people to change their habits and be aware of the situation.

“There is not one single large polluter in this case,” Murphy said.

“The problem originates from everyday people who are careless with their waste who may not be aware of what they are doing.”

One example, Murphy said, is microplastics in the beds of pickup trucks which enters the atmosphere and makes its way onto the beach.

Murphy hopes that the paper will prompt people to change their habits.

“We need to generate more awareness through education,” she said.

“Kids might learn about it in school. They come home and tell their parents who may not have been aware of the issue.”

________

Jefferson County Editor Charlie Bermant can be reached at 360-385-2335 or cbermant@peninsuladailynews.com.

Ocean Conservancy Releases Global Report Outlining Solutions to Critical Problem of Plastic Waste in Oceans

New report outlines a path forward to reducing ocean plastic waste by 45 percent by 2025

NEW YORK, Sept. 30, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Ocean Conservancy today announced the global launch of Stemming the Tide: Land-based strategies for a plastic-free ocean – a first-of-its-kind, solutions-oriented report in partnership with the McKinsey Center for Business and Environment that outlines specific land-based solutions for plastic waste in the ocean, starting with the elimination of plastic waste leakage in five priority countries (China, Indonesia, Philippines, Vietnam and Thailand). 

"Today's report, for the first time, outlines a specific path forward for the reduction, and ultimate elimination, of plastic waste in the oceans," said Andreas Merkl, CEO of Ocean Conservancy. "The report's findings confirm what many have long thought – that ocean plastic solutions actually begin on land. It will take a coordinated effort of industry, NGOs and government to solve this growing economic and environmental problem."

Eight million metric tonnes of plastic leak into the world's ocean every year and the amounts continue to grow. Without concerted global action, there could be one ton of plastic for every 3 tons of fish by 2025, leading to massive environmental, economic and health issues. 

With at least 80 percent of ocean plastic originating from land-based sources, the report's findings propose a four-point solution to cutting leakage by 45 percent in the next 10 years, dramatically reducing ocean plastic waste by 2025 with the ultimate goal of eradicating the issue by 2035. The report estimates that total costs for implementing these solutions could be contained at $5 billion a year, with significant returns to the global economy. 

"Considering this is a global environmental challenge impacting sanitation and health, land values, important sources of global protein, and the growth of the consumer goods and packaging industries, an estimated $5 billion scale of intervention makes this one of the most solvable of the environmental challenges we collectively face," said Dr. Martin Stuchtey, director of the McKinsey Center for Business and Environment.

Stemming the Tide specifically underscores the important role of industry in driving the solutions and catalyzing public and private investment to solve the problem of ocean plastic leakage.

"We're committed to working toward a future of a plastic-free ocean," said Jeff Wooster, global sustainability director, Dow Packaging and Specialty Plastics, a partner on the report. "Companies don't make plastic with the intent of it ending up in the ocean, and we acknowledge the strong role industry must play in order to help eliminate ocean plastic waste by 2035."

In the short and medium term, the report calls for accelerated development of waste collection and plugging of post-collection leakage, followed by the development and rollout of commercially viable treatment options. In the long term, the report identifies the critical need for innovations in recovery and treatment technologies, development of new materials and product designs that better facilitate reuse or recycling.

The report further emphasizes the need for all approaches and solutions to be tailored at the regional level, specifically in the five priority countries identified, which account for half of all plastic leakage globally. While countries have made major improvements in curbing plastic leakage, greater global support is needed to scale impact swiftly in these priority regions.  

"The issue of plastic waste in our oceans is having drastic consequences on the livelihoods and health of the people of Dagupan," said Belen Fernandez, Mayor of the city of Dagupan, a coastal community in the Philippines. "Our town has had a dump site on our beach for over 50 years. We're working hard to close the dump, and increase the capacity of waste management in Dagupan. Addressing the problem of ocean plastic will have real benefits for not just the environment, but for our citizens - by improving their quality of life. I hope our city and our work will become a model for what's possible around the world." 

The report underscores that the next 10 years will be critical to effectively solve the problem of ocean plastic– a problem that is not just local, but global in nature. To achieve success, the report calls for a concerted global response driven by an international coalition of companies, governments and NGOs that will catalyze commitments from political leadership, provide local "proofs of concept," provide waste management technology support and prioritize the ocean plastic waste issue as part of the global policy agenda on the ocean and the environment.

The report is a signature initiative of the Trash Free Seas Alliance, an effort of Ocean Conservancy to unite industry, science and conservation leaders who share a common goal for a healthy ocean free of trash. The report was made possible through the support of numerous partners, including The Dow Chemical Company, The Coca-Cola Company, the American Chemistry Council, REDISA and World Wildlife Fund, as well as the following funders: Adessium Foundation, 11th Hour Racing, Hollomon Price Foundation, Forrest C. & Frances H. Lattner Foundation and Mariposa Foundation.

To download the full version of the report as well as additional assets for the launch, visit the report's landing page here.

Contact

Julia Roberson
jroberson@oceanconservancy.org
1.202.351.0476

The Stemming the Tide report is a signature initiative of the Trash Free Seas Alliance®, a unique forum launched by Ocean Conservancy in 2012 that brings together industry, science, and conservation leaders. The Alliance focuses on identifying opportunities for cross-sector solutions that drive action and foster innovation towards a healthy ocean free of trash.

About Ocean Conservancy

Ocean Conservancy is working with you to protect the ocean from today's greatest global challenges. Together, we create science-based solutions for a healthy ocean and the wildlife and communities that depend on it. www.oceanconservancy.org

About The McKinsey Center for Business and Environment

The McKinsey Center for Business and Environment works with businesses, governments, and nonprofits to tackle some the world's most pressing and important natural resource issues in ways that improve both economic growth and resource use. www.mckinsey.com/client_service/sustainability/mckinsey_center_for_business_and_environment

 

SOURCE Ocean Conservancy


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