Submitted by ethereal3xp t3_11oodad in Futurology
Comments
ethereal3xp OP t1_jbujtyc wrote
+1
Sadly... for many corps its about their bottom line. Processed food(bad for health) in non-degradable plastics(bad for environment).
Dat_Harass t1_jbvjmte wrote
No... the bottom line is having no one left to sell to.
Can't get lower, I am the limbo champion.
kstevo06 t1_jbxbpkb wrote
Bottom line is profits now, they're not concerned about the future.
unclepaprika t1_jby37af wrote
Most of them are geriatric, life support leeching old fucks, who will be dead in 10 years anyways
lazysheepdog716 t1_jbwcuoe wrote
Single use* plastics specifically. Our entire medical system and many other industries would completely implode without plastics.
mjh2901 t1_jbw1pj5 wrote
And they never reference the study's of the actual garbage that figure out the origins. You can all guess the most common origin.
Icantblametheshame t1_jbwnmx5 wrote
I can? Is it gremlins?
RenterGotNoNBN t1_jbwp2py wrote
It's the Philippines or some shit.
[deleted] t1_jbv6ba8 wrote
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After_Following_1456 t1_jbtx98e wrote
Why are people not having kids to populate a dead rock.
kenlasalle t1_jbtlyev wrote
And, considering that it didn't stop this year, it'll get that much worse 15 years from now.
What will your children say?
aaabigwyattmann5 t1_jbu65ja wrote
You guys are having children?
kenlasalle t1_jbvcrvh wrote
I'm 57 and I haven't so far. Odds are pretty good that I won't.
Imajn8 t1_jbwn4qj wrote
My uncle had a kid at 63. You've got years yet
mrt-e t1_jbv1hof wrote
Guess not. I'll adopt though.
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LobsterSpam t1_jbvc3dt wrote
This was pretty much my first reaction! When snorkelling/diving this issue is in plain sight and changing how people use straws isn't gonna cut it...
Icantblametheshame t1_jbwo1qv wrote
Considering all that snorkeling gear is also made of plastic too. I'm an avid diver
[deleted] t1_jbv9r9r wrote
Top 10 Countries that Release the Most Plastic into the Ocean (tons 2021):
Philippines — 356,371.
India — 126,513.
Malaysia — 73,098.
China — 70,707.
Indonesia — 56,333.
Brazil — 37,799.
Vietnam — 28,221.
Bangladesh — 24,640.
BoggedDownRN t1_jbvle54 wrote
That is actually quite interesting, surprised the US isnt in the top 10...
Groovychick1978 t1_jbvna2u wrote
We ship it there first.
"Due to the environmental risks and economic benefits, global plastic waste trade flows from high-income countries to low-income countries have become a routine since the late 1990s."
BoggedDownRN t1_jbvugjf wrote
Makes sense now...I wonder if the US would be first on the list should they stop shipping these plastics...
tlst9999 t1_jbw7vjv wrote
The US outsources those trash to these top 10 countries. The Philippines, being 10% of China's population, produces 5 times more plastic waste according to these stats.
For every plastic bottle wasted a day by a Chinese citizen, a Filipino has to waste 50 bottles to reach those numbers.
That's unrealistic.
.
weeBaaDoo t1_jbwpnqp wrote
That’s not a correct deduction you made. The numbers are correct.
The reason is: 1: The Philippines import waste from other countries to recycle it, but they don’t recycle it. 2: The Philippines don’t recycle as much as china. 3: The Philippines more actively use the ocean as a dumping ground for waste.
tlst9999 t1_jbx5u3n wrote
>The Philippines import waste from other countries to recycle it, but they don’t recycle it.
Other countries know that, and they still send it to Philippines anyway. They don't want recycling. They want a fall guy.
[deleted] t1_jbw8apz wrote
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Commercial_Sell_4673 t1_jbw8q7d wrote
Im not surprised. We have pretty good waste management systems. Almost all of our trash ends up in landfills where it is compacted and covered each day. This prevents it from get into the ocean. However, many 3rd world countries have open dump sites instead of landfills. This allows the waste to wash into rivers and deposit into the ocean. Here is a video showing the magnitude of these open dump sites in some of these countries. From this it is easy to see just how much trash can wash into the ocean.
Awkward_moments t1_jbwy7oq wrote
Go to any of those countries.
Streets and rivers are covered in plastic.
bplturner t1_jbw2ijp wrote
It may shock you that the US isn’t the worst at all bad things.
Rudhelm t1_jbwycon wrote
It is, because they export their plastic waste to the Phillipines.
too-legit-to-quit t1_jbwh54d wrote
All the countries that the biggest consumers of plastic pay to take their plastic garbage and put it...in the oceans.
"How was I supposed to foresee that happening?"
[deleted] t1_jbva9sf wrote
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[deleted] t1_jbxwbi8 wrote
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ethereal3xp OP t1_jbtjhcx wrote
>Plastic pollution in oceans has reached 'unprecedented' levels in 15 years
Plastic pollution in the world's oceans has reached "unprecedented levels" over the past 15 years, a new study has found, calling for a legally binding international treaty to stop the harmful waste.
Ocean plastic pollution is a persistent problem around the globe -- animals may become entangled in larger pieces of plastic like fishing nets, or ingest microplastics that eventually enter the food chain to be consumed by humans.
Research published on Wednesday found that there are an estimated 170 trillion pieces of plastic, mainly microplastics, on the surface of the world's oceans today, much of it discarded since 2005.
"Plastic pollution in the world's oceans during the past 15 years has reached unprecedented levels," said the study, published in open-access journal PLOS One.
Researchers took plastic samples from over 11,000 stations around the world focusing on a 40-year period between 1979 and 2019.
They found no trends until 1990, then a fluctuation in trends between 1990 and 2005. After that, the samples skyrocket.
"We see a really rapid increase since 2005 because there is a rapid increase in production and also a limited number of policies that are controlling the release of plastic into the ocean," contributing author Lisa Erdle told AFP.
The sources of plastic pollution in the ocean are numerous. Fishing gear like nets and buoys often end up in the middle of the ocean, dumped or dropped by accident, while things like clothing, car tyres and single-use plastics often pollute nearer to the coast.
They eventually break down into microplastics, which Erdle said can look like "confetti on the surface of the ocean".
>'Flood of toxic products'
On current trends, plastic use will nearly double from 2019 across G20 countries by 2050, reaching 451 million tonnes each year, according to the report, jointly produced by Economist Impact and The Nippon Foundation.
In 1950, only two million tonnes of plastic were produced worldwide.
Recycling, even in countries with advanced waste management systems, has done little to help the pollution problem since just a small percentage of plastics are properly recycled and much often ending up in landfills instead. If landfills are not properly managed, plastic waste can leech into the environment, eventually making its way to oceans.
"We really we see a lack of recycling, a flood of toxic products and packaging," Erdle said.
The rates of plastic waste were seen to recede at some points between 1990 and 2005, in part because there were some effective policies in place to control pollution. That includes the 1988 MARPOL treaty, a legally binding agreement among 154 countries to end the discharge of plastics from naval, fishing and shipping fleets.
But with so much more plastic being produced today, the study's authors said a new, wide-ranging treaty is needed to not only reduce plastic production and use but also better manage its disposal.
"Environmental recovery of plastic has limited merit, so solution strategies must address those systems that restrict emissions of plastic pollution in the first place," the study said.
Last year, 175 nations agreed to end plastic pollution under a legally binding United Nations agreement that could be finalised as soon as next year.
CILISI_SMITH t1_jbv3kn5 wrote
>Recycling, even in countries with advanced waste management systems, has done little to help the pollution problem since just a small percentage of plastics are properly recycled
The dirty little plastics recycling secret, it's been invented by the plastics industry to convince the public not to complain or fuck with their business model.
But Climate Town does a better break down of the problem.
hydralisk_hydrawife t1_jbwz1bm wrote
Even the non recyclable plastics, what are they doing outside of a landfill? We did our part, we put it in the trash or the recycling. What did you guys do with it next? Don't be pointing fingers back at us!
Panda_Mon t1_jbv6wey wrote
All we really need are some actual limits on corporations, and moving taxes around into real programs that help people instead of funneling upwards into checks notes corporations
seekknowledge4ever t1_jbtvjdc wrote
Imagine what's going to be like in say... 10 years? A big sewer?
ethereal3xp OP t1_jbtw38g wrote
Humanity - self inflicted damage
[deleted] t1_jbtw0n4 wrote
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evilpercy t1_jbvd9df wrote
This is do to the fact that companies never have to do a environmental impact evaluation on their product and it packaging. That cost is ignored and passed on to the tax payer. There needs to be a tax based on the report. The more it pollutes the higher the tax. No companies will say it is a job killer or would make the product to expensive. Good, this way they can find a cleaner way to make their products or do not make them. There also needs to be a "award" like Noble that rewards products that are engineered to last longer, easy to repair yourself.
ScienceWillSaveMe t1_jbw7r06 wrote
The thing is, there were such products before rampant plastic production. It’s just been crafted to make single use plastics the cheapest type of packaging. Then the producers blame the consumers for where the waste ends up. Not to mention there’s a hefty lobbying sector fighting to keep single use plastic production high because it means more profits for petrochemical companies.
hux t1_jbxvas8 wrote
Lots of companies will say it’s a job killer and it makes the product too expensive. Companies say plenty of untrue things all the time.
I agree with your premise, that the cost of the entire product lifecycle needs to be baked in from the beginning, I just disagree with you on how much pushback there would be.
jimbojonesforyou t1_jbu4dra wrote
The age of the world today is unprecedented. Tomorrow, it will be even unprecedenteder.
nickstatus t1_jbvwls7 wrote
It's unprecedents, all the way down.
_WardenoftheWest_ t1_jbulvx7 wrote
Only until next year.
Or the year after.
Or then the year after that.
Ad infinitum
unurbane t1_jbu40g4 wrote
Come back in 15 years and I think today will be ‘precedented’
ryanCrypt t1_jbufjlq wrote
Yes. Every year (every day) is a new unprecedented record. Serious problem; meaningless word.
syo505 t1_jbv4fx0 wrote
Literally every major environmental news story these days is "unprecedented."
Pandaketo t1_jbtzv7y wrote
I like the new plastics usage regulations in Europe. However, it has been established that Asia is the source of this issue. Wake the f up, please. Where are your NGOs that receive significant state funding addressing this?
Single_Pick1468 t1_jbu128p wrote
So fisheries from Europe are not a problem? Stop buying fish.
Theavianwizard t1_jbuxlmy wrote
Surfed this morning and picked up a medicine canister to toss. I find something every morning
Traditional-Lion7391 t1_jbv7ie9 wrote
Remember returnable glass bottles? How they just vanished?
ios_static t1_jbvc10y wrote
Y’all better chill out before aquaman pops out the ocean ready for war because we throwing shit in the ocean
Doobency t1_jc9a1g7 wrote
Aquaman probably died trying to get his way up to the surface; dude couldn't even inhale with all those microplastics
BigGaggy222 t1_jbvdqua wrote
Exponential human population growth will do that.
Eventually we will be drowning in our own filth.
Doobency t1_jc9a5le wrote
Major communities will be. I'm sure remote ones will be fine. Sure, they'll suffer loss of product. But most remote communities could also fend for themselves
AffectionatePhrase22 t1_jbyp4p8 wrote
Our population numbers would be fine if we didn't have an entire regressive political party who stops any real change that would help us adjust.
ConstructionHefty716 t1_jbw0bik wrote
Does not plastic pollution reach an unprecedented level every single day? It's not like any day in the planet we stop dumping plastic on that everyday there's more plastic dumped in the planet everyday is an unprecedented amount of litter and trash and pollution created by plastic due to the human.
journeymanforever t1_jbwf44k wrote
Who cares? Politicians will likely use environmental issues as an excuse to increase taxes and impose nonsensical bans, like the ban on plastic straws, even though paper cups are still lined with plastic. Furthermore, it is doubtful whether the data presented in this article is factual, considering the disparities between China's and the Philippines' data.
Doobency t1_jc9adsc wrote
It goes both ways. They exaggerate some issues to make profit, and ignore others completely to also make profit.
Ashtrail693 t1_jbwnuim wrote
And they want to clean up space junk in the other thread.
-BroncosForever- t1_jbwp87z wrote
Isn’t it always unprecedented??????
It’s not like we’re polluting less, every single second we add more to it, so every single second, it’s at and “unprecedented” level.
tibastiff t1_jbxjsby wrote
Unfortunately it's probably too little too late regardless. Hell illegal fishing has absolutely devastated the ocean, hard to imagine the law is gonna keep plastic out of the ocean if it can't even keep sea life in the ocean
FuturologyBot t1_jbtpciu wrote
The following submission statement was provided by /u/ethereal3xp:
>Plastic pollution in oceans has reached 'unprecedented' levels in 15 years
Plastic pollution in the world's oceans has reached "unprecedented levels" over the past 15 years, a new study has found, calling for a legally binding international treaty to stop the harmful waste.
Ocean plastic pollution is a persistent problem around the globe -- animals may become entangled in larger pieces of plastic like fishing nets, or ingest microplastics that eventually enter the food chain to be consumed by humans.
Research published on Wednesday found that there are an estimated 170 trillion pieces of plastic, mainly microplastics, on the surface of the world's oceans today, much of it discarded since 2005.
"Plastic pollution in the world's oceans during the past 15 years has reached unprecedented levels," said the study, published in open-access journal PLOS One.
Researchers took plastic samples from over 11,000 stations around the world focusing on a 40-year period between 1979 and 2019.
They found no trends until 1990, then a fluctuation in trends between 1990 and 2005. After that, the samples skyrocket.
"We see a really rapid increase since 2005 because there is a rapid increase in production and also a limited number of policies that are controlling the release of plastic into the ocean," contributing author Lisa Erdle told AFP.
The sources of plastic pollution in the ocean are numerous. Fishing gear like nets and buoys often end up in the middle of the ocean, dumped or dropped by accident, while things like clothing, car tyres and single-use plastics often pollute nearer to the coast.
They eventually break down into microplastics, which Erdle said can look like "confetti on the surface of the ocean".
>'Flood of toxic products'
On current trends, plastic use will nearly double from 2019 across G20 countries by 2050, reaching 451 million tonnes each year, according to the report, jointly produced by Economist Impact and The Nippon Foundation.
In 1950, only two million tonnes of plastic were produced worldwide.
Recycling, even in countries with advanced waste management systems, has done little to help the pollution problem since just a small percentage of plastics are properly recycled and much often ending up in landfills instead. If landfills are not properly managed, plastic waste can leech into the environment, eventually making its way to oceans.
"We really we see a lack of recycling, a flood of toxic products and packaging," Erdle said.
The rates of plastic waste were seen to recede at some points between 1990 and 2005, in part because there were some effective policies in place to control pollution. That includes the 1988 MARPOL treaty, a legally binding agreement among 154 countries to end the discharge of plastics from naval, fishing and shipping fleets.
But with so much more plastic being produced today, the study's authors said a new, wide-ranging treaty is needed to not only reduce plastic production and use but also better manage its disposal.
"Environmental recovery of plastic has limited merit, so solution strategies must address those systems that restrict emissions of plastic pollution in the first place," the study said.
Last year, 175 nations agreed to end plastic pollution under a legally binding United Nations agreement that could be finalised as soon as next year.
Please reply to OP's comment here: https://old.reddit.com/r/Futurology/comments/11oodad/plastic_pollution_in_oceans_has_reached/jbtjhcx/
[deleted] t1_jbu9c6f wrote
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neorily t1_jbu9ggc wrote
In other words, if we continue to increase plastic pollution and never clean it up, there will be more every year, leading to even higher "unprecedented" levels, right?
BigZaddyZ3 t1_jbufx3u wrote
Til it reaches a breaking point. Then death. Lots and lots of death. I think that’s what the writers are getting at here.
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just-a-dreamer- t1_jbv6bql wrote
More plastic!!! I am all for it. Get out more of it.
Apparently plastic makes more and more men infertile. Which is awesome. If we could cut human population down, we would prosper in peace.
The main problem on earth is too many people. People not born cause no problem.
Smackdaddy122 t1_jbvjd33 wrote
No limit on manufacturing and packaging use, that will be unlimited and undefined. But let’s all comes together and “do something”
Psychological-Ear157 t1_jbvrr90 wrote
Every year will be unprecedented until we make stern laws about production.
closetcowboy t1_jbw1l7i wrote
If I wouldn’t have read the title, would’ve sworn that was an actual sea creature.
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foreignkingx t1_jbwc18k wrote
I don’t think people are out here expecting the levels to be lower or even begin to lower.
theperpetuity t1_jbwd1f7 wrote
Why most Euro countries use so much bottled water? Airports don’t have reusable water bottle fillers.
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Regular_Dick t1_jbwhl7f wrote
Make it into Giant space balloons that block the sun over the north and south poles to lower the overall temperature of the Earth.
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Kutsumann t1_jbx5vsn wrote
When will we finally realize the producers of plastics are responsible for this mess? No matter what we do individually the more plastic produced means more plastic in our dirt and water. It’s fucking everywhere. And the government wants to blame us for it. Bollocks.
_mister_pink_ t1_jbx9e2b wrote
Awful state of affairs obviously but weird use of the word ‘unprecedented’, but I guess you see it a lot nowadays. Every single day will have unprecedented levels of plastic in the oceans on the assumption that it’s still making its way into them.
[deleted] t1_jc00ygh wrote
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M4err0w t1_jc1g5x9 wrote
hoping for nature to quickly adapt and consume the plastic
EOE97 t1_jc63q9r wrote
The biggest source of pollution and danger to marine life comes from nets and the fishing industry. If you consume marine life, you are part of the problem.
Ecosystems at the brink of collapse and business as usual will lead to the entire demise of what we have left. Something's got to change and a shift in our food choices should be one of them.
Affectionate_Fix_676 t1_jd9i6ym wrote
Use less plastic and switch to eco friendly products like Fairy Sheets
https://fairysheets.com/pages/free-samples-of-laundry-detergent-sheets
Every_Papaya_8876 t1_jbvuqsi wrote
At least Coca Cola stood up to voter suppression laws. Makes up for the plastic waste.
thewizkidoz t1_jbvwiof wrote
The problem is go tell a country like China to stop polluting. Waste of time. If the United States try’s to be green friendly it will only lose power as a nation while making little to no impact on the worlds total pollution level.
Confuciusz t1_jbxmub2 wrote
Meanwhile on a Chinese reddit equivalent: The problem is to go tell a country like the USA to stop polluting. Waste of time. If China tries to be green friendly it will only lose power as a nation while making little to no impact on the worlds total pollution level.
[deleted] t1_jbxpj96 wrote
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therealmenox t1_jbw3zbr wrote
Why do we keep measuring this, let's just not test and it can't be high, didn't we learn anything from covid!?
/s because I feel like I might need to
Paranoid_Neckazoid t1_jbveven wrote
Considering plastic is not a natural occurring substance and is a fairly new material then of course there's unprecedented levels of plastic in the oceans and it's going to keep growing because it barely being removes. This is a silly title
dalekaup t1_jbvdeq1 wrote
"has" suggests that something in the past has happened. "in 15 years" suggests something will happen in 15 years.
If a person can't craft a coherent title then I'm not reading the post.
Public_Substance451 t1_jbw8cur wrote
Imagine being so upset about the word “has” while also being so wrong about it.
Statertater t1_jbuhvh4 wrote
Every year is a new unprecedented level, please ban non-degradable plastics.