Massive, urgent action must address marine plastic pollution: world experts at Bangkok meet

[snoop1130]

Massive, urgent action must address marine plastic pollution: world experts at Bangkok meet

By Pratch Rujivanarom 
The Nation

 

 

Asian and European experts and agencies agreed at a meeting in Bangkok on Friday to work together to tackle the global issue of marine plastics pollution.

 

Representatives and specialists from official agencies, international organisations, business, and the public sectors of 51 member countries of the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) framework on Friday shared their experience and discussed actions that could be taken to reduce problems caused by plastic pollution in the sea.

 

The meeting, titled Sustainable Marine Environment: Marine Debris, on Friday agreed that urgent action was needed to address what they saw as a massive and serious problem.

 

 At stake, they agreed, were not only the survival of many marine species and the sea’s bountiful natural resources, but also the human needs for food security, public health and the livelihoods of people around the world.

 

Marine debris is now one of the major threats to the planet’s environment and all of humanity, said deputy regional director of UN Environment Asia Pacific Office, Isabelle Louis. The only hope to fight plastic-caused problems in the oceans lies in partnerships, innovative solutions and changes in lifestyles, she said.

 

 “While much attention is, appropriately, given to removal and clean-ups, the lasting solutions to the problem is mainly upstream,” Louis said.

 

“No single action is sufficient to effectively reduce plastic waste. We need a range of responses, change across the board and collective actions by all to achieve this goal.”

 

Asean’s Vongthep Arthakaivalvatee noted the transboundary nature of marine plastic pollution. Marine debris is not confined to a single source and, floating at sea, knows no boundaries, said the Deputy Secretary-General of Asean for Asean Socio-Cultural Community. Given this, multi-stakeholder collaboration at the regional and even global level is required to solve the problem, he said.

 

“From land to sea, from policymakers to industry, from the private sector to consumers, everyone needs to step up and be a part of the solution that can address the problem holistically,” Vongthep said.

 

The UN’s Louis added that the collaboration of all stakeholders will be required for campaigns to raise social awareness about plastic problems, as well as to adjust public consumption behaviours and change the business sector’s production patterns and business models. Collaboration is also needed to encourage innovative product and material development, and to find better and more efficient recycling and waste management solutions.

 

“This ASEM meeting provides an important platform that enables cross-sectoral stakeholders to actively collaborate at local, national and regional levels on the same mission to tackle the critical issues of marine debris, including plastic waste,” she said. 

 

“An exchange of the best practices from both Asia and Europe is vital to inform and shape innovative solutions to reduce waste from their point of origin, and to prevent garbage from entering the sea.”

 

According to recent studies, up to 12.7 million tonnes of mismanaged plastic waste are washed into the sea every year, causing environmental degradations, damaging marine ecosystems, and harming the livelihoods of people who depend on marine natural resources.

 

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/national/30351394

 

-- © Copyright The Nation 2018-8-3

[darksidedog]

35 minutes ago, snoop1130 said:

“While much attention is, appropriately, given to removal and clean-ups, the lasting solutions to the problem is mainly upstream,”

Indeed. Simply dragging out the amount we are currently putting in is going to be challenging enough, let alone get started on the massive amounts already out there. Until the supply reduces, the problem is going to get worse.

This is very serious, though I suspect this will be a little read thread, as many will pass it by as not exciting or gory enough.

We really can't afford to kill the oceans before we get our act together, but nowhere near enough is being done.

Or attention being paid!

Things that swim all the time are being found dead, full of plastic already, and it isn't going to get any better, any time soon.

Everybody needs to cut down on their disposable plastic, much of which wouldn't be too difficult.

Because you simply cannot rely on the authorities to be able to deal with all of it on their own.

 

 

[Topdoc]

12 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

Marine debris is not confined to a single source

But there do appear to be some major sources. According to Christian Schmidt, a hydrogeologist at the Helmholtz Center for Environmental Research in Leipzig, Germany, there are 10 rivers that contribute the most to the plastic in the oceans.

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/stemming-the-plastic-tide-10-rivers-contribute-most-of-the-plastic-in-the-oceans/

[sammieuk1]

Its the brown floaters that cause me the most alarm?

[grollies]

 

[Proboscis]

The concern I have is that this will create an opportunity for all those quangos to meet and spend tax-payer's money on conferences without actually doing anything. After much rumination, they will come up with a list of taxes on plastic use, bans on using plastic bags and a whole other bunch of stuff that will just impact the poor. Take water for instance - clean water is a big issue for the poor (the 2 billion or so who have difficulty getting access to clean drinking water). How will they get access to clean drinking water if plastic is taxed so that it is made too expensive?

 

A much better way of spending money would be to put the money into scientific research and innovation. First, scientific research into receptacles for water and other liquids for drinking that will be biodegradable or very easily and economically recyclable. Second, scientific research into how to convert plastic mined from the sea profitably into something useful that will not pollute. Third, and I believe that there already has been some distance done on this, research on a replacement for the plastic bag that is biodegradable and non-polluting.

 

That would be a start.

[Ulic]

Blah blah blah. Less talk, more action.  

[Giving it a Go]

2 hours ago, Proboscis said:

The concern I have is that this will create an opportunity for all those quangos to meet and spend tax-payer's money on conferences without actually doing anything. After much rumination, they will come up with a list of taxes on plastic use, bans on using plastic bags and a whole other bunch of stuff that will just impact the poor. Take water for instance - clean water is a big issue for the poor (the 2 billion or so who have difficulty getting access to clean drinking water). How will they get access to clean drinking water if plastic is taxed so that it is made too expensive?

 

A much better way of spending money would be to put the money into scientific research and innovation. First, scientific research into receptacles for water and other liquids for drinking that will be biodegradable or very easily and economically recyclable. Second, scientific research into how to convert plastic mined from the sea profitably into something useful that will not pollute. Third, and I believe that there already has been some distance done on this, research on a replacement for the plastic bag that is biodegradable and non-polluting.

 

That would be a start.

There is a bio-degrable bottle designed already. As the liquid is reduced, it dissolves. Plastic can make roads. Bamboo can replace plastic cutlery etc etc. The technology is already there. It is about changing the mentality but it is not going to happen overnight.

[zzidenn]

4 hours ago, Proboscis said:

The concern I have is that this will create an opportunity for all those quangos to meet and spend tax-payer's money on conferences without actually doing anything. After much rumination, they will come up with a list of taxes on plastic use, bans on using plastic bags and a whole other bunch of stuff that will just impact the poor. Take water for instance - clean water is a big issue for the poor (the 2 billion or so who have difficulty getting access to clean drinking water). How will they get access to clean drinking water if plastic is taxed so that it is made too expensive?

 

A much better way of spending money would be to put the money into scientific research and innovation. First, scientific research into receptacles for water and other liquids for drinking that will be biodegradable or very easily and economically recyclable. Second, scientific research into how to convert plastic mined from the sea profitably into something useful that will not pollute. Third, and I believe that there already has been some distance done on this, research on a replacement for the plastic bag that is biodegradable and non-polluting.

 

That would be a start.

I also agree that plastic bans can be problematic for the poor majority but then again many get their water delivered in reusable containers, multiple use glass bottles have always been a great alternative. Also the simple system that Germans use for bottle recycling, doesn’t cost the consumer anything. There are a million options. Everything that is made from plastic now used to be made from something else.

[Benmart]

2 hours ago, Ulic said:

Blah blah blah. Less talk, more action.  

I do my bit by carrying my reusable bag with me each day. Mai sai tung kap (No bag please)at each vendor. The stores are like robots wanting to bag and double bag with wild abandon.

[White Christmas13]

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-03-06/diver-films-wave-of-plastic-pollution-off-bali-coast/9508662

[grollies]

Hopefully these people will help

 

https://www.theoceancleanup.com/about/

[Gillyflower]

On 8/3/2018 at 3:12 PM, darksidedog said:

Indeed. Simply dragging out the amount we are currently putting in is going to be challenging enough, let alone get started on the massive amounts already out there. Until the supply reduces, the problem is going to get worse.

This is very serious, though I suspect this will be a little read thread, as many will pass it by as not exciting or gory enough.

We really can't afford to kill the oceans before we get our act together, but nowhere near enough is being done.

Or attention being paid!

Things that swim all the time are being found dead, full of plastic already, and it isn't going to get any better, any time soon.

Everybody needs to cut down on their disposable plastic, much of which wouldn't be too difficult.

Because you simply cannot rely on the authorities to be able to deal with all of it on their own.

 

 

I'm replying to the last sentence.  

 

I agree, most humans are copycats, and we have to have the propaganda fed to us, that it's bad to have plastic.  But you have this very recent story of the Coles plastic story in Australia. I was aghast.  In France we have a large supermarket chain (Intermarche).  Itmust be nearly ten years that they stopped plastic.  As far as I know, no one complained.  But you have also Lidle and Aldi.  Although I suspect for the supermarkets it was more from a financial motive.  Now in my small town, we have a very large market on Saturdays.  The mayor brought in a no plastic ban.  Followed for about 3 weeks, then back to plastic.  I must be honest tho' many of them are those bio????? (can't think of the word in English).  But you chaps will know what I mean.

 

It has to be on the TV etc.  I have to stop, because I get very het up over this business.