How We Can Ensure More Fish Than Plastic In Our Oceans ..

We now produce 20 times more plastic that we did in 1964, last year record-breaking sailor, Dame Ellen MacArthur warned us that there will be more waste plastic in the sea by 2050 unless we make some major world wide changes. A recent report has claimed that each year at least eight million tonnes of plastic is leaked in to the ocean. This works out as the equivalent of dumping the contents of one garbage truck in to the ocean every single minute of the year. If no action is taken this quantity is expected to increase. 

 Whilst plastic bags are actually able to break down in the sea, the toxic's that are released are digested by fish and will eventually end up in the human food chain. Larger items are an imminent threat to sea life, particularly turtles and seals. Furthermore, countless tiny fragment drift to the bottom of the ocean creating a carpet layer on the sea bed. Solving this problem will not be easy. Here are some steps and strategies the world can take now to prevent plastic having a devastating affect on the ocean:


1. The way plastic is designed, recycled and re-used needs to be rethought.
30% of plastic we create ends up in either a landfill or the ocean. A strategic rethink is required regarding packaging.

2. At-least 20% of plastic waste needs to be re-used
Reusable packaging could unlock an economic opportunity to the tune of 9 billion dollars according to a report.

3. The remaining 50% should be recycled with radically improved economics and quality
Improving packaging at the design stage would make recycling easier and also more profitable than sending it to a landfill.