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Our panel of international experts explores how the use of single-use plastics is detrimental to our environment and our health and what we can do about it.
Made possible with the editorial support of Plastic Pollution Coalition.
Introduction
by Dianna CohenWhere does all the plastic end up?
by Stiv WilsonIs the demand for plastic growing or declining?
by Judith EnckWhy are single-use plastics different from refillable or reusable serviceware?
by Martin BourqueWhat about replacements for single-use plastic like aluminum cans?
by Jane MunckeHow does plastic affect human health?
by David AzoulayWhat are endocrine disruptors and how do they affect human health?
by Andrea C. GoreWhat are microplastics?
by Abby BarrowsAre there plastic microfibers in our drinking water?
by Dan MorrisonHow much plastic is in our drinking water?
by Sherri A. Mason,Our panel of international experts explores how the use of single-use plastics is detrimental to our environment and our health and what we can do about it.
Made possible with the editorial support of Plastic Pollution Coalition.
Introduction
Co-Founder
PLASTIC POLLUTION COALITION
In 1997, Captain Charlie Moore discovered the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, a massive plastic soup floating in the Pacific Ocean, and became the first environmentalist to call for a societal shift away from “disposable” to reusable materials.
After sailing across the Pacific Ocean in 2012 to study the Western Garbage Patch, Kristal Ambrose returned to her home in The Bahamas and launched a citizen science-based initiative to study plastic concentrations on beaches in The Bahamas. The Bahamas Plastic Movement raises awareness and finds solutions to plastic pollution through educational lectures, summer camp programs, and citizen science projects. Her youth delegation successfully engaged the government of The Bahamas in 2018 to ban single-use plastics, styrofoam, and balloon releases from the entire country by the year 2020.
Jackie Nuñez cared about the environment, especially her local beaches. She participated in beach cleanups for years until one day, she came to a sobering realization: it didn’t matter how many times she helped clean up a beach — the plastic would keep coming. Afterward, she joined her cleanup colleagues at a seaside restaurant and was served a glass of water with a plastic straw she didn’t ask for. How many other people in that restaurant, in that city, in that country, were getting the same water glasses with the same unrequested straws at the same time? A light bulb went on, and The Last Plastic Straw was born. Her goal: to help educate the public about the absurdity of single-use plastics and its effects on our health, environment, and oceans, using the plastic straw as a catalyst toward eliminating our single-use plastics habit.
After China, Indonesia is the second largest plastic polluter in the world; it is responsible for nearly 10% of all marine plastic pollution. Two pre-teen sisters, Melati and Isabel Wijsen, decided to do something about it, demonstrating the power of youth by taking action in their community to drive change. Their Bye Bye Plastic Bags campaign led 23 Indonesian cities to establish taxes for plastic bags and to make further commitments to reduce their use. The movement quickly spread to fifteen different countries—including Nepal, Mexico, Italy, Colombia, Myanmar, and Australia.
These are just some of the stories of people who’ve come together through the Plastic Pollution Coalition, a global alliance with members in 60 countries on 6 continents. We’ve gathered businesses, NGOs, scientists, artists, policymakers, surfers, chefs, and people just like you to solve this urgent global crisis.
With Single-Use Plastics Explained, we’ve asked experts from across the globe to share the belief that despite the sheer mass of plastic entering our oceans, plastic pollution is a problem we can solve. They provide insights on the presence of toxic chemicals in single-use plastic food packaging, on how microplastics impact our food chain, and on the deployment of successful Zero Waste systems in the Global South. They share a multitude of innovations, from refill systems using the “milkman” model to alternative products made from paper, wood, algae, glass, and stainless steel.
The plastic crisis is real. It touches every aspect of our lives. Even if you don’t see discarded plastic in your community, tiny pieces of plastic have been found in tap and bottled water, in salt, beer, and honey, in oysters, clams, mussels, crabs, lobsters, and even inside us. The data is both staggering and real. It is now time to explore and embrace alternatives to single-use plastics in our foodware. Together, we are shifting the system to make better choices for the health of humans, animals, waterways, oceans, and our environment. We invite you to join us on this journey.
The presence of plastic waste in an ecosystem.
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Approximately 8 million metric tons of plastic enter the world’s oceans each year, causing significant harm to marine life and ecosystems.
Director of Campaigns
THE STORY OF STUFF PROJECT
Nowadays, we touch plastic more than we touch our loved ones. It’s everywhere in our daily lives, and it gets into everything – the air we breathe, the water we drink, and the food that we eat. But how?
Every time you drive your car, take a step with your shoe, open your dryer, or wash your clothes, microplastics are entering the environment.
Through a mixture of friction, erosion, and mechanical degradation, plastic gets smaller and disseminates to every corner of the globe. Yes, your shoes, clothes, and tires are all plastic. Wherever you look, you’ll find it – whether at the far reaches of the globe or in the atmosphere, plastic gets there first.
The trapping of aquatic animals in plastic debris causing harm or death.
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Global plastic production has continued to rise, reaching 368 million metric tons in 2019. Despite increased awareness about plastic pollution and initiatives to reduce plastic usage, the overall production and consumption of plastic have not significantly decreased.
Senior Advisor, Institute for Governance and Sustainable Development
BENNINGTON COLLEGE
99% of plastics used today are made from fossil fuel feedstocks. As the world economy shifts to energy efficiency and renewable energy sources, the fossil fuel industry is investing in plastic production to replace those markets
Dozens of new ethylene cracker plants, which rely on heating a waste product from fracking, ethane, are proposed in the US to be used as a main ingredient for single-use plastic packaging. The World Economic Forum has stated that plastic production and plastic use will grow 3.8% every year through 2030.
Commitments by companies to reduce the use of single-use plastics and overall plastic footprint.
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Single-use plastics like disposable food containers and packaging significantly contribute to the 8 million tons of plastic that end up in the oceans each year.
Executive Director
ECOLOGY CENTER
Why are single-use plastics different from refillable or reusable serviceware?
Single-use plastics are disposable packaging and other items designed to be used only once and then discarded. Unlike refillable and reusable food ware, single-use plastics consume a tremendous amount of energy, water, and natural resources to serve a customer for just a few minutes. Some are genuinely recyclable, like water bottles, but are still quite wasteful. Others, like to-go foodware boxes, may have a recycling symbol on them but are hard and costly to recycle, frequently ending up dumped, burned, or carelessly tossed. Still others, like plastic utensils, straws, cups, and lids, have no good destination and end up costing a lot to send to a landfill or clean up off the streets. If handled poorly, all of these items can end up polluting our oceans, killing wildlife, and harming our ecosystems.
Packaging that can be easily cleaned, refilled, and reused, reducing single-use waste and encouraging a shift toward sustainable consumption practices.
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Avoiding canned food is the most effective way to reduce your bisphenol exposure. Bisphenols are used in aluminum can linings to minimize corrosion. One bisphenol, BPA, has all the molecular characteristics of an obesogen, a term coined in 2006 to describe chemicals that potentially make us fatter. It enlarges fat cells, disrupts a protein that protects the heart called adiponectin, and functions as a synthetic estrogen. The latter means it can have sex-specific effects on growth, especially during vulnerable windows of development, like puberty. Studies have also shown that BPA can narrow the coronary arteries, increasing the risk of coronary artery disease.
Managing Director and Chief Scientific Officer
FOOD PACKAGING FORUM
Aluminum beverage cans that are collected and sorted appropriately can be recycled into new cans. When these cans are uncoated, they can transfer aluminum into foods, which can be toxic. For this reason, aluminum food containers, such as beverage cans or water bottles, have an inner lining made from synthetic, plastic-like materials. But the chemical components of these liners — like bisphenol A (BPA), a chemical that disrupts the human hormone system at low levels – also get into food.
Beyond aluminum cans, over 11,000 chemicals are used to make food packaging and other types of food contact materials. Many of these chemicals have never been tested for toxicity.
While recycling is essential for reducing waste and environmental pollution, it can also lead to chemical contamination; this risk is of specific concern when food packaging is made from recycled material because it can contain toxic pollutants like brominated flame retardants.
Another alternative is compostable packaging, but it must also be waterproof and free of hazardous chemicals, including persistent fluorinated substances (PFAs) used for making paper grease.
A chemical often found in plastics that has raised concerns due to its potential health impacts.
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Plastic and human health.
A new report by Tearfund finds that one person dies every 30 seconds in developed countries from diseases caused by plastic pollution and rubbish. Sir David Attenborough backs the report, saying: “It’s one of the first to highlight the impact of plastic pollution… on the world’s poorest people.”
Managing Attorney
CIEL
Every day, we inhale, ingest, and touch plastic particles and plastic’s chemical additives that are toxic to human health—through the food we eat, the water we drink, the air we breathe, and the toys, packaging, and clothes we use.
At each stage of its lifecycle, plastic is toxic. The extraction of fossil fuels that create plastic emits over 170 carcinogenic and/or neurotoxic chemicals in fracking alone. The refining of those fuels into plastic pellets emits chemicals like benzene that are known as bone marrow poisons. Plastic products also contain large quantities of toxic chemicals, up to 80% by mass. These include carcinogens, endocrine disruptors, and heavy metals.
Disposing of plastic through incineration, land-filling, so-called chemical recycling, or new ideas like plastic roads or houses also releases scores of toxic substances into our air, water, and soils.
Finally, plastic, in the form of macro or microplastics, contaminates and accumulates in food chains, where it can release toxic additives or concentrate additional toxic chemicals, making them available again for direct or indirect human exposure.
Individually, each stage of the plastic life cycle poses significant risks to human health. Together, the life cycle impacts of plastic paint an unequivocally toxic picture: plastic threatens human health on a global scale.
Harmful substances in single-use plastics may leach into food and beverages, leading to human ingestion of toxic compounds.
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Endocrine disruptors are chemicals that can interfere with the body’s endocrine system, disrupting the production, release, transport, metabolism, binding, action, or elimination of hormones. They can lead to adverse developmental, reproductive, neurological, and immune effects.
Endocrine disruptors are compounds that can interfere with the body’s hormones and the functions they control 1. The endocrine system controls numerous processes, including development and growth, metabolism, reproduction, and the ability of an individual to respond to stress or environmental challenges through the production of specific hormones, each of which plays unique roles in maintaining health 2. Although not all chemicals are endocrine disruptors, those chemicals that are endocrine disruptors can be found in plastics, industrial chemicals, household products, pesticides, personal care products, and others. Humans come into contact with endocrine disruptors predominantly through diet, often through the leaching of plastics and industrial chemicals from plastic bottles and food containers 3. Although endocrine disruptors are a health concern throughout life, they are particularly problematic when exposure happens early in life – the fetus, infant, and child – as the body’s developing endocrine system is vulnerable to even small disruptions of natural hormones that are important for normal development. Research shows that humans and animals whose bodies contain higher concentrations of chemicals have a greater likelihood of developing long-term endocrine and brain disorders, including neurobehavioral problems and metabolic problems such as diabetes and obesity, cardiovascular disease, and fertility problems.
Chemicals in single-use plastics, like phthalates and bisphenol A (BPA), can interfere with the endocrine system, potentially affecting hormone balance.
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In September, a panel of experts on BPA, including PPC Scientific Advisor Pete Myers, discussed peer-reviewed studies from independent academic researchers that found statistically significant health effects associated with even low-level exposure to BPA.
Independent Business Owner
DEER ISLE OYSTER COMPANY
Microplastics are synthetic polymers between 1 micron and 5 millimeters in size. They are either manufactured as microplastics or are formed through the fragmentation of larger plastics over time. Millions of tons of plastic leak into our waters each year due to large quantities of single-use plastic being consumed and mismanaged. Once in the environment, plastic pollution breaks into microplastics through sun exposure and weathering. Microplastics transport, absorb, and release hazardous chemicals throughout the environment. Harmful additives in the plastic leach out. They act as a sponge for pollutants already in the environment, absorbing and concentrating chemicals many magnitudes higher than the surrounding water. Due to their small size, these highly contaminated pieces are easily transported around the globe through ingestion, wind, and water currents. Microplastics are found in the air, marine and freshwater habitats, terrestrial ecosystems, animals, our food, drinking water, and our bodies. The long-term human and environmental health implications of microplastic pollution are unknown.
Tiny plastic particles used in personal care products, now banned in some regions due to environmental concerns.
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Orb Media Tap Water Report (Sept 2017) found that 83% of tap water samples, taken from 159 different taps in 14 countries on 5 continents, were contaminated with microscopic plastic fibers.
Orb Media Bottled Water Report found that a single liter of bottled water can contain thousands of microplastic particles. Tests on more than 250 bottles from 11 brands reveal contamination with plastic, including polypropylene, nylon, and polyethylene terephthalate (PET).
Journalist
ORB MEDIA
Yes, there are microplastics and microfibers in our drinking water.
Microplastic pollution extends from the Earth’s atmosphere to deep sea beds and the drinking water consumed by millions of people. Research conducted for the nonprofit news organization Orb Media and by other independent researchers has found microscopic plastic fibers in piped tap water from cities around the globe and microplastic fragments in the world’s leading bottled water brands. The human health implications of this contamination are unknown; there’s been precious little research into this important question. Scientists and consumers want to know if microscopic plastic particles that are inadvertently consumed with food and beverages accumulate in the body and what effect, if any, they might have on human well-being.
Submersible or remotely operated vehicles (ROV) equipped with collection devices can be deployed to target submerged or deep-sea plastic debris.
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A new study finds that, on average, people could be ingesting approximately 5 grams of plastic every week, which is the equivalent weight of a credit card. The analysis “No Plastic in Nature: Assessing Plastic Ingestion from Nature to People,” prepared by Dalberg, based on a study commissioned by WWF and carried out by the University of Newcastle, Australia, suggests people are consuming about 2000 tiny pieces of plastic every week. That’s approximately 21 grams a month, just over 250 grams a year.
Department of Geology and Environmental Science
FREDONIA
In our global tap water study, we found microplastics in 83% of the samples (94% of U.S. samples), and 99% of those microplastics were identified as microfibers. On average, there were about 5 microfibers in a liter of tap water. Looking at the same size category, we found twice as much microplastic within bottled water, though only 16% of those microplastics were identified as microfibers.
Within bottled water, it seems the majority of the microplastics come from the bottling process itself, while in tap water, we think it largely comes from contact with the air and, to a lesser extent, from the water treatment and delivery infrastructure.
Microplastics from degraded single-use plastics can enter the human body through ingestion of contaminated food and water.
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Plastic and the environment.
It is estimated that 75 to 199 million tonnes of plastic are currently found in our oceans. The amount of plastic waste entering aquatic ecosystems could nearly triple from 9-14 million tonnes per year in 2016 to a projected 23-37 million tonnes per year by 2040.
Algalita Marine Research & Education
CAPTAIN CHARLES MOORE
Synthetic Polymers, commonly known as plastics, have become a permanent part of the marine environment. Current ice and sediment cores reveal an abundance of these recently deposited anthropogenic polymers. In 1972, J.B. Colton of the National Marine Fisheries Service in Rhode Island and E. J. Carpenter of Woods Hole published articles in Science that speculated that the problem was likely to get worse and that toxic, non-polymeric compounds in plastics, known as plasticizers, could be delivered to marine organisms as a potential effect. Carpenter and Colton’s speculations were correct—probably more so than they imagined. The quantity of plastics in ocean waters has increased enormously, and toxic plastic additives, as well as toxicants concentrated by plastics from the surrounding seawater, have been documented in many marine species.
Projects focused on removing plastic debris from the world's oceans.
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The Great Pacific Garbage Patch creates severe consequences for marine life, with estimates suggesting that over 1 million seabirds and 100,000 marine mammals are killed annually due to ingestion of or entanglement in plastic debris.
Co-Founder and Researcher Director
5 GYRES INSTITUTE
“Garbage patches” are a bit of a misnomer; the term “plastic smog” is more descriptive.
Let me explain.
The contribution of plastic to the environment may come from maritime activities (shipping, fishing, illegal dumping at sea, recreational boating), land-based emissions (rivers, beaches, beach trash washing back in), and even airborne releases of microfibers, which were recently found in the Alps and Arctic snow.
Plastics from maritime activities that are lost far offshore have the best chance of migrating to the five subtropical gyres, whereas 90% of coastal emissions largely travel in coastal waters and are pushed back on shore. Only 10% or less make it from land to the subtropical gyres.
Once plastics enter the environment as macro and microplastics, they begin to fragment due to UV degradation, oxidation, embrittlement, and biological interaction. They become smaller and smaller until they are either washed ashore somewhere, ingested by filter-feeders, or become so small they are captured by deep currents that take them around the world.
These trillions of microplastics, moving horizontally and vertically in all waters, form the smog of the sea.
The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is a vast area in the Pacific Ocean where marine debris, predominantly consisting of plastic, accumulates due to ocean currents. It is not a solid mass or an island of garbage, as the name might suggest, but rather a region with high concentrations of suspended plastic particles, microplastics, and other debris.
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Researchers have found that several greenhouse gases are emitted as common plastics degrade in the environment. Their study reports the unexpected discovery of the universal production of greenhouse gases methane and ethylene by the most common plastics when exposed to sunlight.
President and CEO
CIEL
Single-use plastic packaging threatens our climate on a global scale. Throughout plastic’s lifecycle, from drilling the fossil fuels that compose 99% of plastic to refining, manufacturing, and disposing, plastic emits greenhouse gases and is a significant driver of climate change.
The plastic and petrochemical industries are poised to quadruple plastic production by 2050, largely to flood our markets with single-use plastic products. This expansion threatens humanity’s ability to keep global temperature rise below 1.5 degrees Celsius.
By 2050, plastic production and disposal could generate greenhouse emissions equivalent to 615 coal plants every year and consume up to 13% of Earth’s remaining carbon budget. Worse still, microplastics may be interfering with the ocean’s ability to absorb and sequester carbon, our biggest natural carbon sink.
Efforts to reduce or prevent emission of greenhouse gases. Mitigation can mean using new technologies and renewable energies, making older equipment more energy efficient, or changing management practices or consumer behavior.
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In the United States, states with container deposit legislation experienced an average decrease of 40% in beverage container litter on their coastlines compared to states without such laws. Researchers analyzed data from 2002 to 2016, highlighting the effectiveness of container deposit programs in mitigating plastic pollution in marine environments.
Legal Associate
SURFRIDER FOUNDATION
In the U.S., container deposit laws have been adopted in 10 states and Guam. The percentage of containers diverted from landfills is much higher in these states than in states without a program. Thus, container deposit laws are effective in helping to reduce pollution from plastics. Container deposits range from 5 cents to 15 cents, and one of the best examples of a container deposit law is in Oregon, where the deposit is 10 cents and the capture rate is 81%. In 1971, litter control was a primary reason for initiating Oregon’s bill, and since then, the percentage of beverage containers among roadside litter has dropped from 40% to 6% of the materials picked up. While container deposit laws are a big step towards increased capture of recyclable containers, reduction and reuse should be the ultimate goal, and the main focus should be on refillable containers. The best examples of refillable beverage container programs exist in Germany, where plastic beverage bottles have a deposit and are collected and cleaned, then refilled 20-25 times before being recycled, and Oregon’s BottleDrop Refillables program, where a subset of glass bottles returned are washed and refilled.
Regulations aimed at reducing the impact of single-use plastics in the European Union.
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Plastic pollution has severe consequences on marine life, with over 700 marine species being affected by plastic debris, leading to ingestion, entanglement, and habitat destruction.
Marine Biologist
SEA TURTLE
The effects of single-use plastic, including containers and packaging, on marine animal health range from detrimental to lethal. Animals are getting entangled in plastic items such as six-pack rings, plastic bags, and fishing lines, which impede their movements at best – or they can lead to a torturous death by strangulation or slow starvation. Often, plastic is mistaken as food and ingested, which can lead to obstructions of the digestive tract or the perforation of the stomach and intestinal walls, and eventually, death. Even the ingestion of smaller quantities of plastic, which are not immediately lethal, has been shown to reduce the chances of survival of individuals. More recently, studies have started to investigate the effects of certain toxins, including neurotoxins such as mercury and endocrine disrupters such as PCBs that preferentially adhere to the surface of plastics, in particular, to microplastics of 5mm or smaller. Microplastics are ingested by a variety of animals as small as zooplankton, and the toxins accumulate in an individual’s tissue (bioaccumulation). When traveling up the food chain, the concentrations of these toxins increase with each consumer (called biomagnification). More and more evidence amasses that these toxins cause infertility and other health issues such as malnutrition and high newborn mortality, especially in the top predators of food chains, such as sharks and orcas. All in all, plastic pollution affects and kills marine life throughout the ocean in various ways.
The practice of creating products with an emphasis on environmental sustainability.
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What happens to plastics?
A projection showed the recycling rate for plastic in the U.S. was only 4.4% in 2018 and could sink as low as 2.9% in 2019.
Chemical Engineer and Founder
THE LAST BEACH CLEANUP
Despite what you may think, there is no proof that plastic material recyclability or access to recycling bins genuinely reduces plastic pollution.
In The Behavioral Economics of Recycling study published in the October 2016 Harvard Business Review, Remi Trudel at Boston University performed tests that showed people used more cups and gift wrap when there was a recycling bin available. The findings suggested that “consumers feel comfortable using a larger amount of a resource when recycling is an option.” In testimony to the Colorado State Legislature in defense of expanded polystyrene (EPS) foam food containers over replacement by recyclable products, a chemical industry representative stated, “This doesn’t mean replacement products will be recycled or reduce litter.” There are many types of plastics used in food packaging and service, and most of them cannot be practically recycled due to the complexity, diversity, contamination, and geographical dispersion of the waste materials. The cost of trucks and drivers to collect plastic waste, labor to separate it into different types of plastics, fresh water to clean it, and finally, the investment to purchase the processing equipment and operation of the recycling plant is prohibitively high. Technical processes for recycling many types of plastic packaging have not been proven outside of a laboratory on real-world waste. Even the recycling of a few plastic packages that are practically recyclable, such as polyethylene terephthalate (PET) beverage bottles, is wasteful because a significant portion of the collected PET bottle material must be discarded. In 2017, the plastic bottle industry reported that 29.2% of PET bottles were collected in the U.S., but over a 1/4 (28%) of that collected material was disposed of.
A recycling system where materials are collected, processed, and reused in a continuous cycle.
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Unlike traditional mechanical recycling, which has limitations in processing certain types of plastics, chemical recycling allows for the breakdown of complex plastic polymers into their original monomers. This process enables the production of high-quality recycled plastics that can be used for a wide range of applications, including food-grade packaging.
Director of Communications
PLASTIC POLLUTION COALITION
Promoting chemical recycling distracts from the massive expansion of plastic production and the growing plastic pollution crisis. Industry deflects responsibility with a focus on “litterbugs” rather than the product manufacturers. Presenting mechanical recycling as the solution, focusing on challenges in Asia, proposing that chemical recycling will solve the problem – all of these claims are false solutions.
Analogy: Chemical recycling is to the plastic pollution crisis like carbon capture & sequestration (CCS) is to climate change. It’s prohibitively expensive, not proven to work technically, and no one wants one in their neighborhood.
Chemical recycling is flawed.
Chemical recycling plants are expensive to build and operate and rely on government subsidies, which means the public pays.
Chemical companies promote chemical recycling to address the complicated products they manufacture that are not recyclable by mechanical means.
Using environmentally friendly chemical processes in the production of materials to minimize the use of hazardous substances.
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In 2018 alone, 157,000 shipping containers of U.S. plastic pollution were exported to countries with poor waste management.
Co-Founder and CEO
PLASTIC POLLUTION COALITION
It’s short-sighted for the U.S. to ship our plastic pollution overseas, expecting other countries to deal with it or “recycle” it, often in unsafe conditions. There is no “away.” Our plastic waste may be out of sight, but in reality, it just ends up in someone else’s backyard. It is now time to guide corporations and companies to move away from toxic single-use plastic towards zero-waste systems.
Collaborative action is necessary to address complex and interconnected challenges. By enabling collaboration across diverse groups, sectors, and perspectives, we can achieve shared environmental and social goals.
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Seaweed-based packaging is emerging as a sustainable alternative to traditional plastics. Seaweed has unique properties that make it a viable material for packaging, as it is abundant, biodegradable, and does not require arable land for cultivation.
Marine Conservation Researcher
CAPTAIN CHARLES MOORE
The rapid expansion of the use of synthetic polymers over the last half century has led many to call this the “Age of Plastics.” There is no real mystery as to why plastics have become the predominant material of the current epoch. The use value of the material is truly surprising. It can substitute for nearly every traditional material, from textiles to metal, at reduced cost and weight and offers qualities unknown in naturally occurring substances, thereby feeding a worldwide industry. The plastic industry creates an infinite number of new applications and products, with growth trending sharply upward and showing no signs of slowing in the foreseeable future. Laser printing using plastic “ink” will guarantee the expanded use of polymeric feedstocks for the creation of three-dimensional objects as widely divergent as bookmarks and houses, both of which I have seen manufactured by this technology.
Although the majority of plastics produced today use finite petroleum resources, the carbon backbone of synthetic polymers can be fashioned from switchgrass, soybeans, corn, sugar cane, or other renewable resources — price alone determines the industry’s preference. The fact that synthetic polymers can be made from row crops (so-called biopolymers) has nothing to do with their biodegradability. Olefins are still olefins, and acrylates are still acrylates and behave like their petroleum-fabricated counterparts. Furthermore, biodegradability standards are not applicable in the marine environment, and marine degradability requires a separate standard. Marine degradable plastics, such as polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs), have been found to fully degrade in both seawater and marine sediments in my lab but have a negligible market share and are not poised to make rapid headway into the consumer plastics market at present. The difficulty of recycling plastics has made profitable recovery for nearly all plastics a major problem, which in turn results in failure to provide take-back infrastructure and generates haphazard discard and loss directly into the environment.
Products and materials that serve the same purpose as plastic but are biodegradable or reusable.
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The emissions from burning plastic contribute to air pollution and pose serious health risks, as exposure to these pollutants has been linked to respiratory problems, developmental issues, and cancer.
International Coordinator
GAIA
Did you know that nearly 95% of single-use plastics never get recycled? Where do they go? Unfortunately, much of it ends up in landfills, while the rest ends up getting burned in incinerators. In fact, six times more plastic waste is burned in the United States than is recycled.
Waste-to-energy” is actually a waste OF energy, resources, and money.
Incineration of plastic has been proven time and time again as ineffective and hazardous to human health. Burning trash is one of the most expensive forms of energy generation in the U.S.: 2x that of nuclear, 2x that of solar, and 3x the cost of wind. The companies that run these incinerators get millions in tax dollars, and in turn, the taxes that residents pay go toward poisoning the places where they live, work, and raise their families. Incinerators are known to emit such pollutants as carbon monoxide, mercury, and lead. Many of these pollutants – even in trace amounts – can significantly impact human health and disproportionately impact communities living close to incinerators, roughly 80% of which are lower-income communities and/or communities of color. And if that weren’t bad enough, burning plastic in incinerators will only make climate change worse. Plastic is made from fossil fuels, so every ton of plastic burned releases almost one ton of greenhouse gas emissions. Globally, burning plastic packaging adds 16 million metric tons of GHGs into the air, equivalent to more than 2.7 million homes’ electricity use for one year!
We can’t burn our plastic problem away, poisoning communities and our climate in the process. Instead, cities and states can adopt policies aimed at reducing plastic, like bans and fees, and can hold companies accountable for their wasteful products. These policies give businesses the opportunity to rethink and redesign their products and packaging so that plastic pollution will become a thing of the past. It’s time for the world to #breakfreefromplastic!
Converting non-recyclable waste into energy through incineration or other technologies, addressing waste management while generating power.
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In 2018, the world generated approximately 2.01 billion metric tons of municipal solid waste, and only 13.5% of it was recycled, highlighting the urgent need for zero-waste initiatives globally.
President and CEO
ZERO WASTE EUROPE
Zero Waste is a philosophy that aims to avoid waste and preserve resources through responsible production and consumption practices. Keeping within the environmental boundaries of our planet will require systemic change, with no hazard to people’s health or our ecosystems, and will mean embracing the principles of a more circular economy.
Following the Zero Waste path entails a behavioral change that will move us away from our current throw-away society, curb plastic pollution, and ensure more sustainable management of resources, especially regarding the use of single-use and short-lived plastics. These have the highest disposal rates and the lowest recyclability, while posing a major challenge to our health, ecosystems, and economy.
By reducing our use of single-use products, by making products responsible by design (long-lasting, reusable, recyclable, toxic-free, and incorporating recycled content), and by investing in waste prevention systems such as reuse, we can join others who have already started down the Zero Waste path.
A holistic approach to waste management that aims to minimize and ideally eliminate landfill disposal, prioritize recycling, and promote resource efficiency.
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About
The Single-Use Plastics Platform is produced by The Lexicon, an international NGO that brings together food companies, government agencies, financial institutions, scientists, entrepreneurs, and food producers from across the globe to tackle some of the most complex challenges facing our food systems.
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The Single-Use Plastics Platform was developed by Green Brown Blue, an invitation-only food systems solutions activator produced by The Lexicon with support from Food at Google. The activator model fosters unprecedented collaborations between leading food service companies, environmental NGOs, government agencies, and technical experts from across the globe.
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We have no idea who grows our food, what farming practices they use, the communities they support, or what processing it undergoes before reaching our plates.
As a result, we have no ability to make food purchases that align with our values as individuals, or our missions as companies.
To change that, we’ve asked experts to demystify the complexity of food purchasing so that you can better informed decisions about what you buy.
The Lexicon of Food’s community of experts share their insights and experiences on the complex journey food takes to reach our plates. Their work underscores the need for greater transparency and better informed decision-making in shaping a healthier and more sustainable food system for all.
Over half the world’s agricultural production comes from only three crops. Can we bring greater diversity to our plates?
In the US, four companies control nearly 85% of the beef we consume. Can we develop more regionally-based markets?
How can we develop alternatives to single-use plastics that are more sustainable and environmentally friendly?
Could changing the way we grow our food provide benefits for people and the planet, and even respond to climate change?
Can we meet the growing global demand for protein while reducing our reliance on traditional animal agriculture?
It’s not only important what we eat but what our food comes in. Can we develop tools that identify toxic materials used in food packaging?
Explore The Lexicon’s collection of immersive storytelling experiences featuring insights from our community of international experts.
The Great Protein Shift
Our experts use an engaging interactive approach to break down the technologies used to create these novel proteins.
Ten Principles for Regenerative Agriculture
What is regenerative agriculture? We’ve developed a framework to explain the principles, practices, ecological benefits and language of regenerative agriculture, then connected them to the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals.
Food-related chronic diseases are the biggest burden on healthcare systems. What would happen if we treated food as medicine?
How can we responsibly manage our ocean fisheries so there’s enough seafood for everyone now and for generations to come?
Mobilizing agronomists, farmers, NGOs, chefs, and food companies in defense of biodiversity in nature, agriculture, and on our plates.
Can governments develop guidelines that shift consumer diets, promote balanced nutrition and reduce the risk of chronic disease?
Will sustainably raising shellfish, finfish, shrimp and algae meet the growing demand for seafood while reducing pressure on wild fisheries?
How can a universal visual language to describe our food systems bridge cultural barriers and increase consumer literacy?
What if making the right food choices could be an effective tool for addressing a range of global challenges?
Let’s start with climate change. While it presents our planet with existential challenges, biodiversity loss, desertification, and water scarcity should be of equal concern—they’re all connected.
Instead of seeking singular solutions, we must develop a holistic approach, one that channel our collective energies and achieve positive impacts where they matter most.
To maximize our collective impact, EBF can help consumers focus on six equally important ecological benefits: air, water, soil, biodiversity, equity, and carbon.
We’ve gathered domain experts from over 1,000 companies and organizations working at the intersection of food, agriculture, conservation, and climate change.
The Lexicon™ is a California-based nonprofit founded in 2009 with a focus on positive solutions for a more sustainable planet.
For the past five years, it has developed an “activator for good ideas” with support from Food at Google. This model gathers domain experts from over 1,000 companies and organizations working at the intersection of food, agriculture, conservation, and climate change.
Together, the community has reached consensus on strategies that respond to challenges across multiple domain areas, including biodiversity, regenerative agriculture, food packaging, aquaculture, and the missing middle in supply chains for meat.
Lexicon of Food is the first public release of that work.
Over half the world’s agricultural production comes from only three crops. Can we bring greater diversity to our plates?
In the US, four companies control nearly 85% of the beef we consume. Can we develop more regionally-based markets?
How can we develop alternatives to single-use plastics that are more sustainable and environmentally friendly?
Could changing the way we grow our food provide benefits for people and the planet, and even respond to climate change?
Can we meet the growing global demand for protein while reducing our reliance on traditional animal agriculture?
It’s not only important what we eat but what our food comes in. Can we develop tools that identify toxic materials used in food packaging?
Explore The Lexicon’s collection of immersive storytelling experiences featuring insights from our community of international experts.
The Great Protein Shift
Our experts use an engaging interactive approach to break down the technologies used to create these novel proteins.
Ten Principles for Regenerative Agriculture
What is regenerative agriculture? We’ve developed a framework to explain the principles, practices, ecological benefits and language of regenerative agriculture, then connected them to the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals.
Food-related chronic diseases are the biggest burden on healthcare systems. What would happen if we treated food as medicine?
How can we responsibly manage our ocean fisheries so there’s enough seafood for everyone now and for generations to come?
Mobilizing agronomists, farmers, NGOs, chefs, and food companies in defense of biodiversity in nature, agriculture, and on our plates.
Can governments develop guidelines that shift consumer diets, promote balanced nutrition and reduce the risk of chronic disease?
Will sustainably raising shellfish, finfish, shrimp and algae meet the growing demand for seafood while reducing pressure on wild fisheries?
How can a universal visual language to describe our food systems bridge cultural barriers and increase consumer literacy?
This game was designed to raise awareness about the impacts our food choices have on our own health, but also the environment, climate change and the cultures in which we live.
First, you can choose one of the four global regions and pick a character that you want to play.
Each region has distinct cultural, economic, historical, and agricultural capacities to feed itself, and each character faces different challenges, such as varied access to food, higher or lower family income, and food literacy.
As you take your character through their day, select the choices you think they might make given their situation.
At the end of the day you will get a report on the impact of your food choices on five areas: health, healthcare, climate, environment and culture. Take some time to read through them. Now go back and try again. Can you make improvements in all five areas? Did one area score higher, but another score lower?
FOOD CHOICES FOR A HEALTHY PLANET will help you better understand how all these regions and characters’ particularities can influence our food choices, and how our food choices can impact our personal health, national healthcare, environment, climate, and culture. Let’s Play!
The FOOD CHOICES FOR A HEALTHY PLANET game allows users to experience the dramatic connections between food and climate in a unique and engaging way. The venue and the game set-up provides attendees with a fun experience, with a potential to add a new layer of storytelling about this topic.
Starting the game: the pilot version of the game features four country/regions: Each reflects a different way people (and the national dietary guidelines) look at diets: Nordic Countries (sustainability), Brazil (local and whole foods instead of ultra-processed foods); Canada (plant-forward), and Indonesia (developing countries).
Personalizing the game: players begin by choosing a country and then a character who they help in making food choices over the course of one day. Later versions may allow for creating custom avatars.
Making tough food choices: This interactive game for all ages shows how the food choices we make impact our health and the environment, and even contribute to climate change.
What we eat matters: at the end of each game, players learn that every decision they make impacts not only their health, but a national healthcare system, the environment, climate and even culture.
We’d love to know more about you and why you think you will be a great fit for this position! Shoot us an email introducing you and we’ll get back to you as soon as possible!
Providing best water quality conditions to ensure optimal living condition for growth, breeding and other physiological needs
Water quality is sourced from natural seawater with dependency on the tidal system. Water is treated to adjust pH and alkalinity before stocking.
Producers that own and manages the farm operating under small-scale farming model with limited input, investment which leads to low to medium production yield
All 1,149 of our farmers in both regencies are smallholder farmers who operate with low stocking density, traditional ponds, and no use of any other intensification technology.
Safe working conditions — cleanliness, lighting, equipment, paid overtime, hazard safety, etc. — happen when businesses conduct workplace safety audits and invest in the wellbeing of their employees
Company ensure implementation of safe working conditions by applying representative of workers to health and safety and conduct regular health and safety training. The practices are proven by ASIC standards’ implementation
Implementation of farming operations, management and trading that impact positively to community wellbeing and sustainable better way of living
The company works with local stakeholders and local governments to create support for farmers and the farming community in increasing resilience. Our farming community is empowered by local stakeholders continuously to maintain a long generation of farmers.
Freezing seafood rapidly when it is at peak freshness to ensure a higher quality and longer lasting product
Our harvests are immediately frozen with ice flakes in layers in cool boxes. Boxes are equipped with paper records and coding for traceability. We ensure that our harvests are processed with the utmost care at <-18 degrees Celsius.
Sourcing plant based ingredients, like soy, from producers that do not destroy forests to increase their growing area and produce fish feed ingredients
With adjacent locations to mangroves and coastal areas, our farmers and company are committed to no deforestation at any scale. Mangrove rehabilitation and replantation are conducted every year in collaboration with local authorities. Our farms are not established in protected habitats and have not resulted from deforestation activity since the beginning of our establishment.
Implement only natural feeds grown in water for aquatic animal’s feed without use of commercial feed
Our black tiger shrimps are not fed using commercial feed. The system is zero input and depends fully on natural feed grown in the pond. Our farmers use organic fertilizer and probiotics to enhance the water quality.
Enhance biodiversity through integration of nature conservation and food production without negative impact to surrounding ecosysytem
As our practices are natural, organic, and zero input, farms coexist with surrounding biodiversity which increases the volume of polyculture and mangrove coverage area. Farmers’ groups, along with the company, conduct regular benthic assessments, river cleaning, and mangrove planting.
THE TERM “MOONSHOT” IS OFTEN USED TO DESCRIBE an initiative that goes beyond the confines of the present by transforming our greatest aspirations into reality, but the story of a moonshot isn’t that of a single rocket. In fact, the Apollo program that put Neil Armstrong on the moon was actually preceded by the Gemini program, which in a two-year span rapidly put ten rockets into space. This “accelerated” process — with a new mission nearly every 2-3 months — allowed NASA to rapidly iterate, validate their findings and learn from their mistakes. Telemetry. Propulsion. Re-entry. Each mission helped NASA build and test a new piece of the puzzle.
The program also had its fair share of creative challenges, especially at the outset, as the urgency of the task at hand required that the roadmap for getting to the moon be written in parallel with the rapid pace of Gemini missions. Through it all, the NASA teams never lost sight of their ultimate goal, and the teams finally aligned on their shared responsibilities. Within three years of Gemini’s conclusion, a man did walk on the moon.
FACT is a food systems solutions activator that assesses the current food landscape, engages with key influencers, identifies trends, surveys innovative work and creates greater visibility for ideas and practices with the potential to shift key food and agricultural paradigms.
Each activator focuses on a single moonshot; instead of producing white papers, policy briefs or peer-reviewed articles, these teams design and implement blueprints for action. At the end of each activator, their work is released to the public and open-sourced.
As with any rapid iteration process, many of our activators re-assess their initial plans and pivot to address new challenges along the way. Still, one thing has remained constant: their conviction that by working together and pooling their knowledge and resources, they can create a multiplier effect to more rapidly activate change.
Co-Founder
THE LEXICON
Vice President
Global Workplace Programs
GOOGLE
Who can enter and how selections are made.
A Greener Blue is a global call to action that is open to individuals and teams from all over the world. Below is a non-exhaustive list of subjects the initiative targets.
To apply, prospective participants will need to fill out the form on the website, by filling out each part of it. Applications left incomplete or containing information that is not complete enough will receive a low score and have less chance of being admitted to the storytelling lab.
Nonprofit organizations, communities of fishers and fish farmers and companies that are seeking a closer partnership or special support can also apply by contacting hello@thelexicon.org and interacting with the members of our team.
Special attention will be given to the section of the form regarding the stories that the applicants want to tell and the reasons for participating. All proposals for stories regarding small-scale or artisanal fishers or aquaculturists, communities of artisanal fishers or aquaculturists, and workers in different steps of the seafood value chain will be considered.
Stories should show the important role that these figures play in building a more sustainable seafood system. To help with this narrative, the initiative has identified 10 principles that define a more sustainable seafood system. These can be viewed on the initiative’s website and they state:
Seafood is sustainable when:
Proposed stories should show one or more of these principles in practice.
Applications are open from the 28th of June to the 15th of August 2022. There will be 50 selected applicants who will be granted access to The Lexicon’s Total Storytelling Lab. These 50 applicants will be asked to accept and sign a learning agreement and acceptance of participation document with which they agree to respect The Lexicon’s code of conduct.
The first part of the lab will take place online between August the 22nd and August the 26th and focus on training participants on the foundation of storytelling, supporting them to create a production plan, and aligning all of them around a shared vision.
Based on their motivation, quality of the story, geography, and participation in the online Lab, a selected group of participants will be gifted a GoPro camera offered to the program by GoPro For A Change. Participants who are selected to receive the GoPro camera will need to sign an acceptance and usage agreement.
The second part of the Storytelling Lab will consist of a production period in which each participant will be supported in the production of their own story. This period goes from August 26th to October 13th. Each participant will have the opportunity to access special mentorship from an international network of storytellers and seafood experts who will help them build their story. The Lexicon also provides editors, animators, and graphic designers to support participants with more technical skills.
The final deadline to submit the stories is the 14th of October. Participants will be able to both submit complete edited stories, or footage accompanied by a storyboard to be assembled by The Lexicon’s team.
All applicants who will exhibit conduct and behavior that is contrary to The Lexicon’s code of conduct will be automatically disqualified. This includes applicants proposing stories that openly discriminate against a social or ethnic group, advocate for a political group, incite violence against any group, or incite to commit crimes of any kind.
All submissions must be the entrant’s original work. Submissions must not infringe upon the trademark, copyright, moral rights, intellectual rights, or rights of privacy of any entity or person.
Participants will retain the copyrights to their work while also granting access to The Lexicon and the other partners of the initiative to share their contributions as part of A Greener Blue Global Storytelling Initiative.
If a potential selected applicant cannot be reached by the team of the Initiative within three (3) working days, using the contact information provided at the time of entry, or if the communication is returned as undeliverable, that potential participant shall forfeit.
Selected applicants will be granted access to an advanced Storytelling Lab taught and facilitated by Douglas Gayeton, award-winning storyteller and information architect, co-founder of The Lexicon. In this course, participants will learn new techniques that will improve their storytelling skills and be able to better communicate their work with a global audience. This skill includes (but is not limited to) how to build a production plan for a documentary, how to find and interact with subjects, and how to shoot a short documentary.
Twenty of the participants will receive a GoPro Hero 11 Digital Video and Audio Cameras by September 15, 2022. Additional participants may receive GoPro Digital Video and Audio Cameras to be announced at a later date. The recipients will be selected by advisors to the program and will be based on selection criteria (see below) on proposals by Storytelling Lab participants. The selections will keep in accordance with Lab criteria concerning geography, active participation in the Storytelling Lab and commitment to the creation of a story for the Initiative, a GoPro Camera to use to complete the storytelling lab and document their story. These recipients will be asked to sign an acceptance letter with terms of use and condition to receive the camera.
The Lexicon provides video editors, graphic designers, and animators to support the participants to complete their stories.
The submitted stories will be showcased during international and local events, starting from the closing event of the International Year of Fisheries and Aquaculture 2022 in Rome, in January 2023. The authors of the stories will be credited and may be invited to join.
Storytelling lab participation:
Applicants that will be granted access to the storytelling Lab will be evaluated based on the entries they provided in the online form, and in particular:
Applications will be evaluated by a team of 4 judges from The Lexicon, GSSI and the team of IYAFA (Selection committee).
When selecting applications, the call promoters may request additional documentation or interviews both for the purpose of verifying compliance with eligibility requirements and to facilitate proposal evaluation.
Camera recipients:
Participants to the Storytelling Lab who will be given a GoPro camera will be selected based on:
The evaluation will be carried out by a team of 4 judges from The Lexicon, GSSI and the team of IYAFA (Selection committee).
Incidental expenses and all other costs and expenses which are not specifically listed in these Official Rules but which may be associated with the acceptance, receipt and use of the Storytelling Lab and the camera are solely the responsibility of the respective participants and are not covered by The Lexicon or any of the A Greener Blue partners.
All participants who receive a Camera are required to sign an agreement allowing GoPro for a Cause, The Lexicon and GSSI to utilize the films for A Greener Blue and their promotional purposes. All participants will be required to an agreement to upload their footage into the shared drive of The Lexicon and make the stories, films and images available for The Lexicon and the promoting partners of A Greener Blue.
