Thursday 6 January 2022
Richard Flanagan's book 'Toxic' should be required reading
Tuesday 20 April 2021
Plastic not so fantastic - failures in recycling a primary contaminant
Shutterstock |
After decades of seeking mainstream public attention, the dangers of plastic contamination in the environment has finally become accepted across international borders. Alas, this recognition has only occured now that the problem has reached a critical scale and impact across the world's oceans and reached as far away as Antarctica and the Northern polar region.
How much plastic is leaking into the ocean ? Estimates are still being calculated however the quantity ranges from 4.8 to 12.7 mega tonnes per year. This is a staggering amount of which 80% of plastics in the ocean originate from land-based sources.
- at the top of the list is is polythylene terephthalate (commonly referred to as PET) comprises roughly more than half of the the recyclable plastics. It is denoted on packaging with the no "1"
- the second most common form is high-density polyethylene (or HDPE) that is denoted by the no "2" on packaging. HDPE comprises a bit over a third of the recycling market and typically is used for packaging (milk and shampoo bottles) and pipes.
- next is low density polyethylene which has a "4"on its packaging and is used in clear plastic film. This plastic accounts for around 4% of the recycling market
- also with around 4% of the market is polyproplene which is denoted by the number "5". This plastic is used in yoghurt and food spread containers.
Environmentally responsible trade in waste plastics in the Asia Pacific Region - UTS Institute for Sustainable Futures |
So what are the solutions ?
In a nutshell, there are improvements that can be implemented such as -
- for exporting countries, improving their collection and sorting of plastics before despatching offshore
- improving the accountability for shipments for both exporters and importers
- checking destination processing and monitoring at the importing countries
- redesign and re-engineering of packaging design and using fewer low value or composite plastics.
Sunday 21 October 2012
Social License to Operate and Coal Seam Gas Mining
- Starting point is that no SLO exists until one is negotiated - miners cannot assume they have any social licence from the community until they engage in dialogue to establish one.
- Dynamic is the descriptive term underpinning the SLO and an SOL must be earned and then maintained.
- Key values for an SLO must include credibility, transparency and fundamentally, trust.
- Dialogue enabling communties and stakeholders to engage meaingfully with miners on issues around the acceptibility of new or continuing operations.
- Information which is sufficient and from a range of perspectives for public education to enable communities and the broader public to make informed decisions, consider trade-offs and develop realistic expectations concerning coal seam gas mining.
Saturday 27 June 2009
How long will it last?
Paper...2 to 5 months; Milk carton...5 years; Cigarette butt... 10 to 12 years; Plastic Bag...10 to 20 years; Disposable Nappy...75 years; Tin can...100 years; Styrfoam...unknown/unlimited; Plastic drink bottle...450 years (est); Nylon fishing line... 600 years (est); Glass bottle... unknown/unlimited.
These are frightening statistics when seen in the context of the volume of refuse being discharged into the ocean.
The Ocean as a floating rubbish dump
Ecology Today has drawn attention to the huge plastic waste dump which has grown and expanded in the Northern Pacific Ocean measuring twice the size of the continental United States. It stretches from around 500 nautical miles off the coast of California all the way to Japan to a depth of 10 metres below the surface of the sea.
Sea currents transport the waste into ocean “dead zones”, large areas of water that are slow moving circular currents which trap debris into one large constantly moving mass of plastic. This mass of plastic is slowly being broken down into a plastic dust that marine wildlife mistake for food with the result that many species in the food chain from fish through to ocean birds are being affected. The UN Environmental Program estimates that over a million seabirds, as well as more than 100 thousand marine mammals, die every year from ingesting plastic debris.
Ecology Today reports that the area is known as the Northern Pacific Gyre, one of five gyres in the world’s oceans. These gyres are areas of sea where water circulates clockwise in a very slow spiral. As winds are light the currents tend to force any floating material into the low energy centre of the gyre thus everything afloat becomes trapped in these “dead zones”.
Besides being a danger in itself, these vast areas of plastic pollution act as chemical sponge attracting other damaging pollutants, such as persistent organic pollutants (POPs), hydrocarbons and pesticides such as DDT that have leached or been released into the oceans from runoff or drainage. While this pollution contains huge amounts of plastic waste not all of it is floating on the surface as wave action and the heat of the sun degrades the plastic into smaller particles.
The need for action to reduce plastic contamination could not be greater given the scale of the existing environmental degradation.