The numbers are dizzying. In less than twenty years, plastic production has doubled worldwide, reaching 460 million tonnes in 2019, according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). The European Commission estimates that between 4.8 and 12.7 million tonnes of this polluting material ends up in the oceans each year, going so far as to form “continents of plastic”.
From Monday, November 25 to Sunday, December 1, representatives from 175 countries are meeting in South Korea to try to finalize a draft treaty to end plastic pollution around the world.
But scientists, governments and associations did not wait for the potential signing of this text to try, on their scale, to prevent plastic from ending up in the ocean, and damaging its rich biodiversity.
► Waste collection operations on the beaches
For more than twenty years, the Surfrider Foundation, one of the major associations fighting against ocean pollution, has organized waste collection operations on beaches.
Several collections are organized every day around the world. In 2022, the NGO identified 2,029. These operations made it possible to collect 770,420 pieces of waste.
But, beyond cleaning certain beaches, these initiatives above all make participants aware of plastic pollution and the importance of protecting the ocean, a fragile ecosystem. On average, 40,000 to 60,000 people take part each year.
► A scientific expedition on the seas and rivers of Europe
From May to November 2019, the Tara Océan Foundation schooner traveled several European seas (Mediterranean, Atlantic coast, etc.) and the mouths of ten major rivers (the Thames, the Loire, the Rhône, the Tiber, etc.) with several scientists at its edge.
The goal? Understand how plastics get into the sea, and their effects on marine organisms and the food chain.
Scientists found microplastics, i.e. particles smaller than 5 mm, in all samples taken during the 18 stopovers.
This expedition, the samples of which are still being analyzed, also made it possible to understand that plastic particles were already starting to degrade in rivers. Previously, researchers thought that this waste only decomposed in the open sea under the effect of waves and UV rays from the sun.
► Laws to reduce pollution at source
To stop the hemorrhage of plastic in the ocean, we still need to reduce its production. This is the meaning of a text voted on last April at EU level: the Twenty-Seven must reduce the quantity of packaging produced per inhabitant by 5% compared to 2018 by 2030.
In France, several plastic products have already been banned: first single-use bags in 2017, when five billion of them were distributed each year, then disposable cutlery and plates in 2021.
From January 1, school and university canteens will no longer be able to use plastic cooking and serving food containers.
Associations like Zero Waste and No Plastic in My Sea regularly organize challenges to encourage consumers to reduce their purchase of products packaged in plastic as much as possible.
Waste Reduction Week is the perfect opportunity to take action 🌱
Join the #NoPlasticChallenge to reduce waste at source and protect our planet today: https://t.co/X9ov4aODGD#SERD#alltogether#zerodechets#ecology#challengepic.twitter.com/E9eVsMzpxo
— NO PLASTIC IN MY SEA (@noplasticfrance) November 8, 2024
► Boats to “clean” the ocean
All over the world, boats crisscross the seas and oceans to collect plastic and recycle it. This is for example the case of those put into the water by the Dutch NGO Ocean Cleanup, which has set itself the objective of “clean the ocean of 90% of its plastic pollution by 2040”.
The Franco-Swiss skipper Yvan Bourgnon set up a similar project, called “Manta”. The eponymous ship, 56 meters long, will collect, process and recycle 5,000 to 10,000 tonnes of plastic waste per year, from 2026.
Although ambitious, these projects represent only a drop in the ocean compared to the millions of tons of plastic contained in the ocean, most of which, broken down into microparticles, are invisible to the naked eye.
► Dams installed on rivers
80% of plastic waste that pollutes the oceans comes from rivers. In recent years, engineers have created barriers that can be installed on waterways to catch this waste before it reaches the sea.
This is for example the case of “bubble barriers”, created by a Dutch start-up. This system, installed upstream of the Villette basin in Paris last September, would capture up to 86% of waste from a river, according to the company deploying it.