The Story of Plastic Pollution: From the Distant Ocean Gyres to the Global Policy Stage

Rochman, Chelsea M.

doi:10.5670/oceanog.2020.308

Cited by 14 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 81 publications

(123 reference statements)

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“…The history of research on plastic pollution demonstrates that the oceans were the first areas where plastic pollution was actually noticed. Subsequently, national awareness of the threats posed by marine plastic pollution has grown (Rochman, 2020), building a foundation for an international agreement. The initial efforts to fight marine plastics focused on the shipping and fishing industries due to their relatively distinct characteristics (Bergmann et al, 2015).…”

Section: Changing To a Model Of Global Governancementioning

confidence: 99%

The global governance of marine plastic pollution: rethinking the extended producer responsibility system

Zhou,

Luo

2024

Front. Mar. Sci.

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The harm caused by marine plastic pollution to the wider environment highlights its importance as a governance issue. The Fifth United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA) adopted a resolution, “End Plastic Pollution: Towards an International Legally Binding Instrument”, which represents a shift towards globalism in the governance of marine plastic pollution. This resolution focuses on the circular economy of plastics and highlights the role of corporations in contributing to a more socially responsible society, thereby increasing emphasis has been placed on the Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) system that integrates the two factors referred to above. This paper provides a full technical explanation of the EPR system and its implementation in entities such as the European Union, the United States, and China. The challenges faced when integrating the EPR system into international legal instruments for plastic governance were identified, including the different national perspectives, the absence of a supervisor in the public domain, the obscurity of its application, and the lack of supporting measures for the implementation of the system. Therefore, new standards and requirements in the governance of marine plastic pollution and the advantages associated with implementing the full-life-cycle obligations under the EPR system on plastic producers should be fully considered. On this basis, the positioning and implications of the EPR system should be clarified by obligation-oriented regulation and extension-based interpretation. Moreover, the extended and prolonged applicability of the system, including the original sources of marine plastic wastes and considerations of the full-life-cycle of plastics, should be achieved in pursuit of improvements and upgrades in application and complementary policies. If this can be achieved, it is hoped that the goals of protecting human health and controlling plastic pollution can be achieved, contributing to the development of an ocean-based economy and a better world.

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Section: Changing To a Model Of Global Governancementioning

confidence: 99%

The global governance of marine plastic pollution: rethinking the extended producer responsibility system

Zhou,

Luo

2024

Front. Mar. Sci.

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“…As plastic pollution has become an increasing concern on the global stage, remote accumulation sites (like Midway Atoll, Henderson Island, and the ocean gyres) have captured both public attention and scientific interest. − It has been estimated that a significant fraction of marine plastic originates from cities and communities on land. Data on abundance, distribution, and composition has primarily been collected in coastal and marine environments although some recent work has included freshwater and terrestrial ecosystems. , One data gap, therefore, is empirical data from many perceived land-based sources of litter from human activity like cities.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Rapid Characterization of Macroplastic Input and Leakage in the Ganges River Basin

Youngblood

Brooks

Das

et al. 2022

Environ. Sci. Technol.

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Efforts to understand macroplastic pollution have primarily focused on coastal and marine environments to the exclusion of freshwater, terrestrial, and urban ecosystems. To better understand macroplastics in the environment and their sources, a dual approach examining plastic input and leakage can be used. In this study, litter aggregation pathways at 40 survey sites with varying ambient population counts in the Ganges River Basin were surveyed in pre-and postmonsoon seasons. We examine active litter leakage using transect surveys of on-the-ground items, in conjunction with assessments of single-use plastic consumer products at the point of sale. We find that sites with low populations have a significantly higher number of littered items per 1,000 people than those with mid to high populations. Over 75% of litter items were plastics or multimaterial items containing plastic, and tobacco products and plastic food wrappers were the most recorded items. There was no significant variation of litter densities pre-and postmonsoon. Most single-use plastic consumer products were manufactured in-country, but approximately 40% of brands were owned by international companies. Stratified sampling of active litter input and consumer products provides a rapid, replicable snapshot of plastic use and leakage.

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“…However, without much regard for the long-term consequences of such unfettered mass production, negligent waste disposal practices, shipping, and unintended runoff soon began introducing new hazards into the natural world, including the ocean. The first scientific reports on marine plastic pollution were published in 1972 when Carpenter et al, (1972) andCarpenter andSmith (1972) found plastics adrift in the Sargasso Sea in the North-Atlantic Subtropical Gyre (Rochman, 2020).…”

Section: From Mass Production To Mass Pollutionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Pinnipeds in Arctic Canada show no evidence of retained microplastic pollution

Jardine¹

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As the threat of plastic pollution continues to loom heavily over the global environment, the Arctic has drawn increasing research interest as a potential sink for debris. More specific to the Canadian Arctic, it is unclear whether marine mammals accumulate microplastics (MPs:  5mm). Pinnipeds, like walrus (Odobenus rosmarus) and ringed seals (Pusa hispida), are both ecologically and culturally significant, which poses a risk to northern food security. Here, I present the first assessment of MPs in Canadian walrus by examining the stomachs of 36 animals from Nunavut.Additionally, I expand on existing literature by evaluating the stomachs of 10 ringed seals from the Northwest Territories, Canada. I detected no MPs ≥ 80µm in any of the animals. This result suggests that walrus and seals in the Canadian Arctic either do not retain MPs or are not exposed to them, which is consistent with studies from similar regions.iii Preface and contribution statementThe samples used for the completion of this thesis were acquired through separate sources of government, academic, and non-government organization (NGO) funding and harvested in different geographical areas of Arctic Canada (Northwest Territories and Nunavut). Apart from the overall objectives of quantifying microplastics in Arctic mammalian stomachs, hunters collected the walrus and seals for different research projects. As a result, two separate manuscripts have been produced reflecting their respective contributors and focusing on each species, while I present the thesis as one unified project. I was the lead investigator and writer for both manuscripts, completed data collection and analysis, and helped with conceptualization.

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The Story of Plastic Pollution: From the Distant Ocean Gyres to the Global Policy Stage

Cited by 14 publications

References 81 publications

The global governance of marine plastic pollution: rethinking the extended producer responsibility system

The global governance of marine plastic pollution: rethinking the extended producer responsibility system

Rapid Characterization of Macroplastic Input and Leakage in the Ganges River Basin

Pinnipeds in Arctic Canada show no evidence of retained microplastic pollution

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