Why is the global governance of plastic failing the oceans?

Governance Solutions to the Tragedy of the Commons That Marine Plastics Have Become

“…In 2002, the government of Bangladesh was the first to ban plastic bags due to flooding caused by blocked stormwater drains (Dauvergne, 2018). Similarly, in 2015 in Ghana, plastic waste blocked drains and caused flooding that resulted in approximately 150 human deaths (Jambeck et al, in press).…”

“…However, the ban did not come to full effect until January 2018 revealing that implementation takes time (Stoett and Vince, 2018). Other countries that have pursued similar microbead bans or restrictions include Canada, Finland, France, Iceland, Ireland, Luxenburg, Norway, Sweden and the UK (Dauvergne, 2018).…”

“…Documentation of the ubiquity of plastics interactions between fauna and marine debris has exploded in recent years (see review by Gall and Thompson, 2015), with the number of peer-reviewed publications on the topic having quadrupled in the last few years alone (Dauvergne, 2018). Researchers have even identified what commonplace debris items are expected to have the most significant, deleterious impacts on major marine taxa and where major marine taxa are at the most significant risk (Wilcox et al, 2016).…”

Developing a Plastic Waste Management Program: From River Basins to Urban Beaches (Case Study)

“…Researchers around the globe are constantly exploring sustainable alternatives and solutions to the current worldwide situation of environmental degradation caused by solid waste. In the context of plastic waste, industrial development has contributed significantly to the diffusion of sources of pollution, and the properties of plastic itself, such as longevity, toxicity, and propensity to disintegrate into microplastics adding more complexity to the management processes [1]. In aquatic environments, concerns regarding plastics management are being even more debated, especially at the ocean scale, where marine species are dying every day.…”

A Trip Upstream to Mitigate Marine Plastic Pollution – A Perspective Focused on the MSFD and WFD

“…Plastic represents roughly 80% of all marine litter (Carney Almroth and Eggert, 2019). The past two decades have seen a dramatic increase in funding and research dedicated to understanding the characteristics of litter in the marine environment (Rochman et al, 2016;Dauvergne, 2018); yet examples of tangible reductions in marine litter, particularly plastics, are scarce. A myriad of reasons have stifled the mitigation of plastic litter.…”