Governing plastic pollution in the oceans: Institutional challenges and areas for action

Ferraro, Gianluca; Failler, Pierre

doi:10.1016/j.envsci.2020.06.015

Cited by 42 publications

(20 citation statements)

References 30 publications

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“…P lastic pollution is globally recognised as a threat to marine ecosystems, habitats and wildlife [1][2][3] . One aspect of the plastic problem are microplastics that are most commonly defined as small plastic particles 1 µm-5 mm in size 4 .…”

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confidence: 99%

“…Rivers have been posited as a considerable vector of plastic runoff to the marine environment 27,28 . The Arctic Ocean receives 11% of the global freshwater discharge with main contribution from the Ob (510 km 3 ), Yenisei (630 km 3 ) and Lena (530 km 3 ) rivers [29][30][31] . Discharges of these rivers form freshened surface layers over wide areas of the continental shelf in the Kara, Laptev and East-Siberian Seas (Fig.…”

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confidence: 99%

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Microplastics distribution in the Eurasian Arctic is affected by Atlantic waters and Siberian rivers

Yakushev

Gebruk

Osadchiev

et al. 2021

Commun Earth Environ

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Plastic pollution is globally recognised as a threat to marine ecosystems, habitats, and wildlife, and it has now reached remote locations such as the Arctic Ocean. Nevertheless, the distribution of microplastics in the Eurasian Arctic is particularly underreported. Here we present analyses of 60 subsurface pump water samples and 48 surface neuston net samples from the Eurasian Arctic with the goal to quantify and classify microplastics in relation to oceanographic conditions. In our study area, we found on average 0.004 items of microplastics per m3 in the surface samples, and 0.8 items per m3 in the subsurface samples. Microplastic characteristics differ significantly between Atlantic surface water, Polar surface water and discharge plumes of the Great Siberian Rivers, allowing identification of two sources of microplastic pollution (p < 0.05 for surface area, morphology, and polymer types). The highest weight concentration of microplastics was observed within surface waters of Atlantic origin. Siberian river discharge was identified as the second largest source. We conclude that these water masses govern the distribution of microplastics in the Eurasian Arctic. The microplastics properties (i.e. abundance, polymer type, size, weight concentrations) can be used for identification of the water masses.

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confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Microplastics distribution in the Eurasian Arctic is affected by Atlantic waters and Siberian rivers

Yakushev

Gebruk

Osadchiev

et al. 2021

Commun Earth Environ

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“…As a result, it is also possible to poison the marine animals, which ingest plastic. It may destroy them directly, or weaken them, rendering them more vulnerable to other threats ( Ferraro and Failler, 2020 ). Ingested plastic can interfere with impair reproduction, growth and development of young ( Klemeš et al, 2020b ; Yang et al, 2020 ).…”

Section: Impact Of Mask Waste On Environmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Polysaccharides such as bamboo, hemp, coffee and sugar fibers are used to develop a bio mask and it prevents pollution caused by mask disposal and they can be processed and recycled ( Ho, 2020 ; Layt, 2020 ; Staff, 2020 ). Tea leaf waste also can be used to produce the filter part of the mask as it contains polypropylene and enhances the properties of poly lactic acid (PLA) in bioplastics ( Ferraro and Failler, 2020 ). This indicates there is a possibility to use natural fibers waste and raw natural fibers to produce a cost-effective sustainable biodegradable green mask.…”

Section: Solutions To Reduce the Mask Wastementioning

confidence: 99%

Environmental challenges induced by extensive use of face masks during COVID-19: A review and potential solutions

Selvaranjan

Navaratnam

Rajeev

et al. 2021

Environmental Challenges

262

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The ongoing COVID-19 disease significantly affects not only human health, it also affects the wealth of country’ economy and everyday routine of human life. To control the spread of the virus, face mask is used as primary personal protective equipment (PPE). Thus, the production and usage of face masks significantly increase as the COVID-19 pandemic still escalating. Further, most of these masks contain plastics or other derivatives of plastics. Therefore, this extensive usage of face masks generates million tons of plastic wastes to the environments in a short span of time. This study aims to investigate the environmental impact induced by face mask wastes and sustainable solution to reduce this waste. An online survey was carried out to identify the types of face mask and number of masks used per week by an individual from 1033 people. Based on this survey and available literature, this study quantifies the amount of plastics waste generated by face masks. However, this survey was limited with certain ages, country and durations (July–August 2020). Thus, the prediction of plastic waste generation, only provide fundamental knowledge about the mask wastes. Results revealed that there is a huge plastic waste remained in land and marine environment in the form of mask waste, which will contribute to micro-plastic pollution. Therefore, this paper also highlights the sustainable approach to the mask production by integrating the use of natural plant fiber in the woven face mask technology to reduce the plastic waste induced by masks. Further, upcycling the mask waste and producing construction materials also discussed.

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“…With regards to the food packaging materials, included in question Q4, these are under social scrutiny because the single use plastics, so intensely used in food packaging, are highly harmful for the environment if not carefully disposed for recycling [32][33][34]. On a related question (Q10) not many participants indicated driving their food choices according to the minimal use of packaging (27.9 + 8.2 = 36.1%).…”

Section: Influence Of Sociodemographic Variables On Sustainable Food Choicesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Environmental Issues as Drivers for Food Choice: Study from a Multinational Framework

et al. 2021

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This work intended to explore some motivations that influence people’s eating habits towards sustainability. This was an observational, cross-sectional study, carried out by questionnaire survey on a non-probabilistic sample of 10,067 participants from 13 countries (Argentina, Brazil, Croatia, Greece, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Portugal, Serbia, Slovenia, Romania and United States). Results indicated that people prefer fresh local foods from the season, being important because it allows transportation and storage to be reduced, which in many cases implies refrigeration systems and consequent energy expenditure. Although people avoid food waste at home, the awareness for the waste at restaurants still needs to be improved. Consumers seem to prefer foods that have been produced and packed in sustainable ways but still give importance to the package—understandable for food products. The results also indicated significant differences in the food choice motivations between groups for all sociodemographic variables tested (age, sex, marital status, education, professional area, living environment and country), but the association was high only for variable country. Additionally, a tree classification analysis allowed to identify the relative importance of the influential variables on the sustainable food choices, with country being the most important, followed by age and sex. Additionally, discriminant function analysis allowed establishing a model for the relation between country and six variables accounting for preservation of biodiversity, respect for life, save natural resources, save energy, reduce industrial pollution and minimal packaging. Although with some limitations, this study brings valuable insight into some aspects linked with sustainable food choices on a number of countries and how people shape their food choices according to some sustainability issues.

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Governing plastic pollution in the oceans: Institutional challenges and areas for action

Cited by 42 publications

References 30 publications

Microplastics distribution in the Eurasian Arctic is affected by Atlantic waters and Siberian rivers

Microplastics distribution in the Eurasian Arctic is affected by Atlantic waters and Siberian rivers

Environmental challenges induced by extensive use of face masks during COVID-19: A review and potential solutions

Environmental Issues as Drivers for Food Choice: Study from a Multinational Framework

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