Plastic Free July is a global movement that helps millions of people be part of the solution to plastic pollution. The World Ocean Initiative’s coverage includes the launch of aĀ new research programmeĀ by The Economist Intelligence Unit, sponsored by Dow, that focuses on the value that can be extracted from plastic waste. Scaling up advanced chemical recycling technologies could help create a circular system for plastic waste.
Developing effective solutions to curb plastic pollution requires a deeper understanding of the journey of plastic waste. About 11m tonnes of plastic entered the ocean in 2016āand without action, that figure could almost triple, to 29m tonnes per year, by 2040. A recent WOI article exploresĀ whatās in our plastic waste and how to close the loop.
It takes collaboration along the entire value chaināfrom plastic producers to consumers and waste recyclersāto stem the flow of plastic pollution entering oceans from emerging economies, experts said at a recentĀ World Ocean Summit Insight Hour webinar. The webinar built on some of the themes around product design and waste-management systems explored at theĀ 8th Annual World Ocean Summit Virtual Week.
Plastics will have their own dedicated track at theĀ World Ocean Summit Asia-Pacific, which will run as a virtual event on December 6th-10th 2021. Joi Danielson, partner at systems-change company SYSTEMIQ, will be a panelist for the session āPlastics: From recyclable to recycledā. Her blog, as part of The Speaker Series, can be accessedĀ here.