The plastic lifecycle involves multiple stakeholders with different roles, responsibilities, and accountabilities. By working together and understanding our respective roles, we can develop effective solutions to plastic pollution and create a more sustainable future.
The highly anticipated 3rd annual Trees & Seas film-activism festival is back and better than ever, continuing its growth and fostering sustainable community progress in their own backyards, ultimately contributing to a collective global impact against plastic pollution.
The Our Ocean conference is a yearly event to draw international attention to the serious threats facing the world’s ocean, committing to concrete action around the globe to support marine conservation and sustainable development. The eighth edition of Our Ocean 2023 was held for the first time in the central American country of Panama. Apart from being amazing hosts, Panama also set an example of blue leadership when Panamanian President Laurentino Cortazzo made a major announcement to expand the Banco Volcán marine reserve six times! Making Panama one of the few countries surpassing the 30% of ocean protection threshold far before the expected year of 2030.
Official high-level photo with world leaders on day one of the conference. © Plastic Oceans International
Plastic Oceans had been selected to host an official side event at the conference about plastic pollution from the fishing industry and the impact it has on local communities. It was the perfect place to show the participants a ten-minute cut of our soon to be released film Cutting the Line, which tells the story of the Dryer family and Ocean Conservation Namibia dealing with pollution from fishing lines and how this fishing gear is heavily affecting the local seal population.
Screening of the 10-minute cut of Cutting the Line.
“Films can reach people from all ages and cultures. It reaches places where we can’t come as an organization. Films inform, they explain and educate, and they reach people’s hearts. Because that´s the place we need to get to be able to inspire meaningful change and generate action from all stakeholders.” Mark said and added: “Our Film Model for Change is not just about making films and distributing them and hoping for change to occur by itself. We have teams (and partners) around the world who take these films to communities. And build relationships with them and use our educational guides to advocate for change.”
The film presentation was followed an expert panel about lost, abandoned or otherwise discarded fishing gear. This pollution roughly represents 20% of all ocean plastic pollution, and in some parts of the world even more. A study released by the Ocean Cleanup and published in Nature in 2022 showed that between 75 and 86% of the floating plastic mass (> 5 cm) in the north pacific garbage patch could be considered abandoned, lost or otherwise discarded fishing gear (ALDFG). Apart from this international contamination, many small coastal communities are facing their own problems with discarded fishing nets. Where it threatens biodiversity, food sources and people’s income.
Plastic Oceans´ Director of Advocacy Mark Minneboo moderating the expert panel at Our Ocean Panama
An integral part of the side event was to link the issues of ghost fishing. Gear to the global plastic treaty. In the UNEA resolution from February 2022 extended producer responsibility (EPR) was mentioned as an effective solution to combat plastic pollution. The panelists agreed this could be a valuable solution for regulating gear from the fishing and aquaculture industry. Panelists concluded EPR could definitely help with traceability. Reporting of lost gear and create a closed loop system for fishing gear. Making sure it never becomes waste. Although it’s not a silver bullet and needs to be part of a larger framework. Where unavoidable waste can have value and where a global treaty can help scale local solutions to global ones.
After two intense days in Panama City. We went home motivated by all that was achieved in very little time. The ocean is taking center stage when world leaders talk about conservation. Human development and well-being. And a lot of commitments were made. We had the chance to be inspired by civil society leaders from all over the world. Learn about other impactful projects focused on plastic pollution and ocean conservation. Now it’s time to make sure that the commitments on paper and the announced collaborations become real impactful solutions. Before the next Our Ocean conference in 2024 in Greece. We will be there to ask the questions and follow up!
Mark Minneboo is Director of Advocacy at Plastic Oceans International. And he represented the organization at the Our Ocean Conference in Panama. He is in charge of the development of our advocacy program, including local, national and global perspectives. Since 2021 he has been participating in global conversations and workgroups about the Global Plastics Treaty.
In honor of the month of February, I’ve just changed my relationship status with plastics to, “it’s complicated”. It’s the best I’ve felt about plastics in a long time. Here’s why.
We must be willing to accept that not everything is black or white, good or bad, right or wrong. Quite a bit of grey area exists within many of these more complex situations, and you know why? Because it’s extremely complex.
La alianza se enfoca en ayudar a las empresas chilenas a volverse circulares.
El proyecto piloto con Searious Business se enfoca inicialmente en el mercado chileno, que actualmente consume aproximadamente 990.000 toneladas de plástico al año pero recicla sólo el 9,6%, del cual casi el 80% es plástico post industrial. Sin embargo, en los últimos años, Chile ha demostrado ser un mercado progresivo para iniciativas y soluciones circulares y ha anunciado una agenda legislativa robusta enfocada en la economía circular.Read More
Stand on the pier in the historic port of Sisal. Surrounded by the impossible blue of the ocean. There is nothing to remind the passing visitor of the vast industry. That ruled what was once a major commercial hub.
Today, Sisal is a sleepy little town which has forgotten its historic purpose. Its citizens harboring a vague memory of their ancestors and the historic wealth of the town, in excess of a century ago.
“Climate change: 12 years to save the planet? Make that 18 months.”
BBC headline, 24th July 2019.
United Nations Press Release, 28th March 2019
“Only Ten Years Left to Fix Climate Emergency.”
World Economic Forum Press Release, 20th February 2020
This last headline doubles down still further in the body of the piece, where WEF president Børge Brende goes on to explain that we only have “a very small window and if we don’t use that window in the next ten years we will be moving around deckchairs on the Titanic.”
847 is a number that Tommie Eaton – co-founder of @BambuuBrush toothbrushes – is unlikely to forget: “It’s what we started the business with. We weren’t wealthy, and everything was done from raw passion.”
£847, the equivalent of about USD$1000. Or, in other words, a spit, a lick of shoeshine, and a whole lot of gumption and drive. Which, given the current success of @BambuuBrush, the product and its values, goes to show that starting numbers are just that, a place at the start line, and nothing more.
Wilfredo Benjamin is an environmentalist, activist, teacher, explorer, and promoter of Afro-Dominican culture and history. As part of our efforts at Plastic Oceans International to tell the stories of underrepresented socio environmental voices, we are proud to present this interview with Benjamin, conducted by Managing Editor, Jon Bonfiglio.
