Raffi Schieir, Director of Prevented Ocean Plastic says collective action is needed to clean up our oceans as he discusses raising social and environmental standards in the informal waste sector this UN World Oceans Day.
The climate and ocean crises are global problems that are having untold consequences for our planet. With projections suggesting that by 2050 our oceans will contain more plastic by weight than fish, tackling ocean plastic pollution this UN World Oceans Day is more urgent than ever before; and those working within the global resources and waste industry have a particularly vital role to play.
Once plastic goes into the water it is a clean-up operation, as it can no longer be recycled effectively at scale. High-quality, high-volume recycling from areas identified as “at risk of ocean plastic pollution” can only happen when we support coastal communities with infrastructure and consistent demand so collection can happen before the plastic reaches the water.
One of the largest programmes of its kind in the world, the Prevented Ocean Plastic programme, halts over one thousand tonnes of plastic pollution from entering the world’s oceans every month – roughly the same weight as a cargo ship. To date the programme has prevented over one billion plastic bottles entering the sea.
Informal waste sector
Currently, 60% of recycled plastic is collected by the informal waste sector, which is largely undocumented and lacks structure or standards, but it doesn’t have to be this way. What’s needed is collective action.
Environmental and social responsibility within the packaging sector isn’t something to be “owned” by a particular organisation – we must work together to raise standards and bring about progress.
It may sound obvious but it’s true that we all have a part to play in a circular economy and helping to end ocean plastic pollution. Plastic must be collected, sorted and recycled at scale and recycled plastic is a great alternative to virgin plastic.
Environmental and social responsibility within the packaging sector isn’t something to be “owned” by a particular organisation – we must work together to raise standards and bring about progress.
Industry and business leaders can advocate for a circular economy on plastic and consumers can show companies that they prefer recycled packaging. This will create change at scale and benefit local communities and people working in the recycling system.
By working with local bottle collectors, Prevented Ocean Plastic helps to capture this waste before it hits the ocean, and creates a reliable income for people living in developing countries. So far Prevented Ocean Plastic has provided 400,000 days of employment for bottle collectors across the globe.
Local collectors are paid to bring bottles to collection centres, where it’s sorted and cleaned then turned into flake ready for shipping.
This becomes high-quality, certified plastic that is used by retailers and brands all across the world. ‘Prevented Ocean Plastic’ is ocean-bound plastic that is fully traceable from the coastal area of collection all the way to the final product on the shelf.
Prevented Ocean Plastic
Prevented Ocean Plastic is working to capture plastic in large volumes that would otherwise not be collected. This model is scalable and helps set up infrastructure and create job opportunities. In small coastal communities that are being negatively impacted by plastic pollution, local communities can now be empowered to take care of the problem themselves.
Lidl and Groupe Guillin were two of the first early adopters to collaborate with us and use Prevented Ocean Plastic throughout their businesses. Since then, Prevented Ocean Plastic is leading the charge in raising standards in recycling and is consulting with a further 70 organisations, including manufactures, suppliers, brands, supply chain members and NGOs, to create a new set of best practice environmental and social standards that Prevented Ocean Plastic will meet and, as part of this process, share back some of the learnings with the industry.
The aim is to work together to problem solve around a variety of issues including workers’ welfare and that shared knowledge and insights are much more valuable together than apart.
The aim is to work together to problem solve around a variety of issues including workers’ welfare and that shared knowledge and insights are much more valuable together than apart.
There is talk that at least €160bn will need to be invested in making Europe’s plastics systems more circular and carbon-neutral by 2050, if long-term environmental commitments are to be met – but this is a distraction from what we can achieve today. Together we can lead the transformation of the recycled materials industry and build a positive, transparent circular economy where everyone is respected.
With our environmental action, businesses must do more, work harder and go above and beyond baseline legislative requirements. We can’t rely on governments alone to solve the climate and ocean crises. Responsible business must lead the way and we must work together.
