None of those articles are talking about the sources of ocean pollution.
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How much plastic waste has US exported to âsh*thole countriesâ over the years?:
Yes it is decreasing, but does that that mean that more ends up in landfills, or in the ocean?
How much is actually recycled?
Here is OECDâs statistics FYI:
https://www.oecd.org/environment/plastic-pollution-is-growing-relentlessly-as-waste-management-and-recycling-fall-short.htm
PS> Plastic burnt in incinerators produce local pollution and GHG emission.
Norway, with itâs small population and well developed collection system, produce relatively little plastic waste in real term, but quite a lot per capita:
The long Norwegian coastline is receiving plastic waste from NW Europe, pushed by the prevailing winds in the North Seas.
We are at the âreceiving endâ of plastic waste drifting with the Gulf Stream and coming ashore, especially on the NW Coast.
Lots of discarded and lost fishing gear drift ashore all along the coast, but especially in Northern Norway.
Lots of volunteers help to clean up the beaches, but a never ending supply of waste keep them busy every year:
Alta folkehøgskole clears marine litter. Photo: Ingunn Ims Vistnes
The Goverment support the effort by refunding expenses incured by individuals and voluteer organization:
Its not how much plastic you produce its what the population do with it, thats the issue.
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Yes thatâs right, we are talking about PLASTIC WASTE.
The question is how much is separated at source and how much of that which is actually recycled, not dumped in landfills (or in the ocean):
Source: Which countries produce the most plastic waste? | Atlas & Boots
Bio-degradable plastic has been touted as the solution to the problem:
But is it?:
Here is one of the problems with biodegradable plastic:
https://www.eunomia.co.uk/reports-tools/bio-based-and-biodegradable-plastics-norway/
What are you doning to solve the problem?
(Complaining about ir is not a solution)
Education. Training the people to not put their crap in the water. During my time at sea, attitudes have changed tremendously toward what (if anything) should be allowed to go over the side, and thatâs fantastic. More of the worldâs populations need to be trained on how to not put their crap in the water (or in another place where it could make its way into the water,) and give them places to put their waste. This is all a sign of wealth. Wealthier nations can afford to have these attitudes, but itâs more difficult to get it across to developing nations. It is possible for the number one waste generator to not put any crap in the water-- it just has to go someplace else.
Government legislation is what can reduce single use plastics.
Screw top drink bottles are probably the worst offender, I never buy them.
Here in Asia its plastic bags ( not shopping bags) and screw top bottles. Singapore deals with its waste as when you see waste on a beach its all from Indo and Malaysia
Singapore is widly known as a âGlean & Green Cityâ, where there are strickt laws against littering. Maybe you havenât noticed, but there are dustbins (w/ashtrays) all over the place.
(Yes they are being emptied regularly)
You couldnât possibly have missed the signs reminding you of the fines for littering::
Repeat offenders get to clean up the streets:
Collected garbage used to go directly to landfills, but since the late1980s the majority has been burnt in incinerators.
That creats another problem; what to do with the fly ash? Since 1999 that has gone to the hugh Semakau Landfill:
Source: NEA | NEA Seeks To Investigate And Characterise The landfilled Materials At Semakau Landfill
Other use of the fly ash has been developed. Making asphalt from it is one lof them.
PS> The paving stones used at the Tuas Mega Yard (completed 2013) was made from fly ash.
Never seen that sign in Singapore
Somehow Iâm not surprised.
Yes, but Singapore isnât all of Asia (or even a statistically significant part of it). Stop crying âbut Singapore!â every time someone makes a general comment about Asia.
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Its clean mainly due to the army of cleaners.
I still see people throwing litter all the time.
The litter from food packaging from take away food stores ( Hawker centres) is huge, it just gets cleaned up in Singapore the rest of asia its left
That is correct; Singapore isnât all of Asia. In fact is is just a âlittle red dotâ on the map of Asia.
I react when somebody staten thing like:
Or like this:
Asia is the largest continent on planet earth, stretching from the Arctic to south of Equator and from Bosporus to the Bearing Strait.
The Asian population are the most diversified on any continent.
Singapore is a city state that exempliefy that diversity better than any other place in Asia.
Some of the richest and some of the poorest countries in the world can be found in Asia.
That is why to throw out statements that caracterice all Asians and all Asian countries as if they are all the same is wrong and ignorant.
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Yes Governments should legislate, but also ensure that the rules they set can and will be followed. Laws without enforcement does not help, nor does enforcement if the facilities to follow the laws are not available. I.e. means before punishment.
Charging for plastic bags are getting common in many countries, but collection, sorting and recycling facilities are not always available. People pay for the bags and do sorting at home, but lots of plastic bags still goes in the thrash and end up in landfills, or the ocean anyway.
For drink bottles and cans there are a solution that has been proven to reduce the problem; Deposit Retur Sheame (DRS) and Reverse Vending Machines (RVM)
Picture of a RVM installed in Lithuania:
To get a functional DRS up and running takes a Government that takes recycling seriously and are prepared to face the cost of operating such a system.
Here is the way it works in Norway;:
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Which is the clean country in Asia with all the people that keep the place clean without an army of cleaners other than Japan and it only the cities that are clean. Beaches are some of the most polluted in the world from rubbish.
SO! they corral it, Then what? whats the plan after that? how do thwy propose t processes it? i dont see a barge to put it on, perhaps they think they will tow it back to S.F. in the boom not likely to work.
in California they charge you for plastic bags and extra for water bottles to pay for recycling however they just let the retailer keep the money. I recall the chinese were taking it for a while but we dont have good relations with them so it just all goes into land fill
Why âin Asiaâ?
Where in the world are there any country that is âself-cleaningâ?
It takes âan army of peopleâ to collect, sort, recycle and safely dispose of litter and garbage anywhere.
To have rules without a system to enforce and implement them is too common around the world.
To put dustbins on every lamp post may be good for political show, but if there isnât the manpower and system in place to empty them regularly it quickly becomes a "shitshow.
Singapore is implementing charge for plastic bags:
Its viewed as a money grabbing scam.
Grocery bags are not what you see discarded on the ground in Singapore.
Its all the other plastic from drink bottled to plastic that hawker centre food is sold in.
Grocery bags do get used multiple times here and for high rise flats its what everyone uses to put the garbage in to drop down the chute.
Was like the straw ban, thats faded away and its plastic straws everywhere again
It seems like it just all for headlines in the media.
If you asked a local what plastic should be banned they can all answer as everyone is seeing the same thing, waste from takeaway food in hawker centers. Political hotcake so they havent touched it.