Author: Akshay K.

Many readers are accustomed to the common phrase, “Please wear a mask” or “Make sure you wear a mask!”, because of the current pandemic that has put the world in a state of disarray. As this pandemic goes on, most have made the switch from disposable to reusable masks, however, there is still one major group that is required to use disposable masks, healthcare workers. 

With many healthcare workers performing surgeries and other procedures that require sterility and cleanliness, the only way to prevent contamination is by using a new mask for every procedure. Luckily, most hospitals have waste management systems in place to prevent these masks from being littered, such as trash cans that are emptied regularly. 

Still, in the UK, the amount of masks being used is so great, that masks do end up on the streets, in storm drains, and in water bodies. The reason for this is because many people who aren’t healthcare workers use disposable masks as well. Due to this, the government has published instructions on how to make reusable masks, both to preserve stock for healthcare workers and prevent masks from making their way into nature. 

The masks that healthcare workers use are almost the same as reusable masks, they have elastic straps and a covering. However, unlike hospitals, many who wear these disposable masks daily have nowhere to get rid of them. This causes masks to pollute the environment. Laura Foster, from the Marine Conservation Society, says, “Just look at rivers such as the Thames and you’ll see them floating by.” As part of the Great British Beach Cleanup she is also asking volunteers who pick up plastic waste to count how many masks they collect. 

RSPCA, the UK’s animal welfare organization, stated that these elastic straps are easy for birds to get trapped in, as the elastic can close around the birds. Along with this, disposable masks are not biodegradable, so they will remain in the environment for a long time. 

Due to these issues, the UK government’s stance is to use reusable masks whenever possible, as to prevent plastic waste. According to a government spokesperson, they are also looking into ways of decontamination and reuse and recycling of these disposable masks.

Although this isn’t as bad of an issue in the US, I still sometimes do see masks lying on the side of the road here, about to go into storm drains. These things can’t be picked up without gloves and other safety equipment, so they become a true environmental hazard when littered. 

All in all, making the switch from disposable masks to reusable masks isn’t all that difficult. Some make the excuse that it is too expensive, or too hard to find a reusable mask, but they don’t take into consideration the millions of people that make their own mask. This pandemic has caused many issues for us, but we can’t forget the environment, whatever happens.

Update 9/17/2020: Sylvester Turner, the mayor of Houston has announced the “Don’t Let Houston Go To Waste” campaign to reduce PPE litter.

But Houston, we have a PPE litter problem. Every day, thousands, if not millions, of disposable masks, gloves & sanitizer bottles are used & improperly discarded and disposed.
 
We are kicking off a new anti-campaign: “Don’t Let Houston Go to Waste.” Because “Litter is Trashy.”

— Sylvester Turner (@SylvesterTurner) September 16, 2020

The goal of the Anti-Litter campaign under @MarthacastexT’s leadership is:
♻️To combat, reduce and extinguish the behaviors which have led us to where we are today in our city
♻️ Educate and train our neighborhoods
♻️ Leverage partner resources whether financial or human capital

— Sylvester Turner (@SylvesterTurner) September 16, 2020

Countries throughout the world, such as Zambia, Laos, and others are using plastics at alarming rates. Cheap PET, or polyethylene terephthalate, is taking these nations’ economies by storm, and filling up dumps and landfills in record time. Due to the fact that many of the countries that are affected by this pollution do not have much infrastructure built up, formal waste collection services do not exist. This allows plastic to accumulate on roads, highways, and makeshift landfills. These nations are experiencing the global issue of plastic pollution, and many do not have the resources to handle it correctly.

It’s not true that every developing nation is struggling with plastic pollution in this manner. Tanzania, Rwanda, Morocco, and several more have put in place nationwide plastic bag bans. One could even say that these countries are ahead of the Western world in limiting plastic pollution. These countries are implementing these bans based on a simple idea: If we were to ban plastics early in our country’s economic development, we will be able to combat the problem in a better way. In contrast, the United States, a developed country, is still struggling to ratify single-use plastic bans, even today.

Poorer countries are taking another stance on the issue. They are focused on the economic perspective of banning single-use plastics. As many of their citizens are jobless, they rely on selling thrown away plastics. Bottles, being the most commonly traded item, are sold to other traders, who then refill and sell them. If a country were to get rid of these bottles, then the traders would have nothing to sell, and could even protest against such legislation. These governments are trapped in a corner: Should they ban plastics and fight a major environmental problem, or should they support many of their citizens’ source of income?

Most governments have opted for the second option, as they are worried that an abrupt halt in income could cause major outrage throughout the country. One might think, what other options do these nations have? An organization known as African Impact may have found a solution.

African Impact is piloting a project called EcoBricking in Livingstone, Zambia. This project aims to recycle plastic bottles for another use, building structures, such as benches for schools. This solves both issues, the locals can collect plastic bottles and clean their town, and these plastic bottles can be used for a good cause, instead of just being refilled with water. Local students can also trade EcoBricks they make for items like stationery, toys, and football jerseys. In this way, locals get compensated for their plastics, and this plastic is used in a way that benefits the community. Some notable examples of projects that volunteers in collaboration with locals have recently completed include a chicken coop, school benches, and a compost bin. African Impact has plans to build walls, and even entire buildings, if the pilot project shows promising results. 

In my opinion, this is one of the most innovative solutions to plastic pollution in developing countries, and hopefully, many other organizations pick up on this idea soon. In the long run, more complex structures could be constructed from recycled plastic including school buildings, small offices, and even containers to collect trash, a start of a formal waste management system. If the projects grow and continue, the governments of the countries could gradually reduce the use of plastics, as the citizens of the nation move from trading plastics to more skilled jobs. One could even say that the use of plastics in this way may contribute to economic advancement of these communities!

Varanasi, India is one of the most beautiful cities in Southeast Asia, with its temples and shrines. It is famous for being on the banks of the Ganges River, a sacred river in India. Recently, the Ganges river has become prone to plastic pollution. Plastic bags, bottles and boxes are dumped on the banks of the river, with many ending up in the river and flowing into the ocean. 

Areas like these are present throughout the world, where plastic waste is dumped along banks of rivers or the coastline, eventually being pulled into the ocean. These plastics can end up in the bodies of marine animals, or even trap marine animals. 

River banks or coastlines like these are what are called plastic pollution prone areas. Just a week ago, a team from the Tokyo University of Science developed a method to map and combat plastic emissions. The map they are developing is made of sections 1 square kilometer in size. It will contain the amount of plastic emissions per square kilometer, making it possible to see which area has the most plastic. 

Unlike previous studies, this map will allow the team to find out exactly where the plastic originates from. Most studies that previously occurred focused on the plastic in the river, whereas this new study is focusing on the plastic on and near the riverbank. This data can then be interpreted to find out whether it is cities, villages, factories, or any other area that is emitting the greatest amount of plastic waste.

There are really 2 main ways to deal with plastic pollution in waterways and oceans. Organizations such as The Ocean Cleanup, and more recently, Clear Blue Sea, are all focusing on the plastic that is already in the ocean. These organizations are finding efficient ways to clean plastic out of the ocean.

The second method, debatably more efficient, is what scientists such as the ones at Tokyo’s University are doing. These scientists are finding plastic at the source, figuring out where it is coming from. With further analysis, such as finding out what factories operate in the heavily polluted areas, the researchers will be able to determine what is causing the large amount of plastic to end up in that area. 

This information can then be given to governments or environmental organizations to raise awareness for the plastic polluting these river banks. It can even be used to impose laws on certain companies or cities, limiting the amount of plastic they can use and dump. 

We’ve read above what the data from this research can do, from mapping plastics, to banning plastics completely. But many times, there are people who rely on this water to drink, bathe, and water their crops. How can this pollution affect them?

Microplastics can seep into rivers very easily. Let’s say a single plastic bottle has been thrown away on a riverbank. This plastic bottle will take hundreds of thousands of years to degrade, however the combination of a moist river bank and occasional rain can cause this process to shrink down to just a few weeks. Of course, the plastic bottle will not completely degrade, however it will start to break down, and smaller pieces of plastic known as microplastics will end up seeping into to the waterway. 

These microplastics are toxic for both humans and marine life. Blue Mussels lose a portion of their ability to absorb nutrients while microplastics remain in their system. Many times, microplastics remain in the fish’s digestive system for up to 7 days. In other species, the ingestion of microplastics do cause changes in the liver and immune system, however it is currently unknown exactly how this impacts the fish.

Humans that live on coastlines and river banks can have adverse reactions to this plastic as well. Although currently debated, researchers say that the ingestion of plastics can cause toxic chemicals to leak into our blood. These chemicals can then travel around our bodies and cause issues such as birth defects, impaired immunity, cancer, and hormonal disorders. Filters to remove these plastics from waterways are being developed around the world, however many times they are either unavailable due to such high demand, or too expensive for people living near a river to afford. 

Tokyo University’s researchers are taking a first step in a larger movement: stopping plastic emissions at their source. Plastic pollution throughout the world’s waterways will soon be mapped, possibly in the next 5-10 years. This information can help spark cleanup events, regulations against plastics, and even nationwide bans on plastic usage. With the help of ocean cleanup organizations, plastic pollution will soon be eradicated. Lastly, remember that we can all make a difference; think twice before throwing that plastic bottle on the beach.

During this COVID-19 pandemic, I’ve seen news articles all over the internet talking about how much waste surgical masks are producing, how much waste single-use bags are producing. I even wrote an article about how this pandemic is benefiting the plastic industry. 

After an order to wear masks was put in place in many cities, people were scrambling to stores to find anything they could to use to protect themselves. Most of these products are made of polypropylene or polyethylene. These materials are just contributing to the global “plastic boom” during this time. But one organization is using plastics that have been harvested from the ocean to help people in need of masks. 

PADI, or the Professional Association of Diving Instructors, in partnership with Rash’R, a company that sells eco-friendly active wear, is using plastic collected from the ocean to make masks. The masks they are manufacturing are made entirely from 1,267 pounds of plastic that they have harvested from the ocean. 

Lisa Nicklin, VP of Consumer Marketing at PADI said, “We are not profiting from this product.” PADI is selling the masks for $20.40, which is the cost of harvesting the plastic and production. I think that it’s great that an organization is doing so much to help during this critical time. They are helping out people who need masks, and at the same time, reducing the amount of plastic polluting the ocean!

But we don’t have to leave it to PADI and Rash’R to reuse polluted plastics for us. Everyone uses plastics at their own homes, whether it be plastic bags, plastic bottles or plastic containers. These plastics can just as easily be reused by people. We’ve all heard of reusing single-use plastic bags as trash bags, refilling plastic bottles with cooking oil. 

These aren’t the only ways we can reuse these polluting plastics, how about reusing plastic strawberry containers for storing fresh fruit bought from the farmer’s market? There are so many ways that these things can be used, we can all think outside the plastic box (pun intended). We don’t have to leave it to large corporations or the government to control plastics for us. 

Reusing plastics is something that can be done by anyone, from people pulling plastic out of the ocean to make masks, to someone simply reusing their plastic bottle for a few days. Remember, we can all make an impact on the future of this planet, no matter how big or small.

Recently, researchers from Cabrios and Université de Toulouse discovered an enzyme that breaks down PET, a material commonly used in disposable plastic bottles and food containers. Currently, PET breaks down (even assisted with enzymes) at a rate of only 1 percent over several weeks. The newly discovered enzyme’s rate is 90 percent over 10 hours. It is the fastest enzyme that has been discovered. 

This enzyme will be used to speed up and increase the efficiency of the recycling process. Currently, when PET arrives at a recycling plant, there is a broad range of colors. To speed up the process the material is melted down, combining all the colors. Like paint, when one combines all the PET colors, it turns into a grayish-blackish shade. Few companies want to use this color for their packaging, as it is obviously not appealing.

So what happens to this gray, unappealing plastic? Most of the time, it is used for industrial carpets or low-grade fibers. This eventually ends up in a landfill or an incinerator. According to John McGeehan, a professor at the University of Portsmouth, “It’s not really recycling at all”. 

The enzyme can break down the plastic more efficiently, with 90 percent of it being converted back into its basic materials. These materials can be reused to make plastic containers and bottles. It’s considered 10,000 percent more effective than the current enzyme.

But how else can we improve recycling? According to McGeehan, this enzyme only works on PET, as other plastics, like polyethylene have stronger bonds. For these plastics, techniques are being developed, including up-cycling, which is basically keeping the “grade” of plastic the same even after it is recycled. 

The best way we can improve recycling is by reusing. Plastic bottles can be reused, refilled every day. Why use a new bottle if one doesn’t need to? Reusing food containers is fine too, just wash them out often. We can reuse plastic bags as liners for trash cans and recycling bins.

Recycling can be improved in many ways, but as scientists work on enzymes and alternate solutions, the best way to reduce waste is to reuse.

The COVID-19 pandemic has been devastating to people worldwide, overwhelming hospitals, shutting down businesses, causing markets to tank in hours, and worst of all, killing over 100,000 as of April 10. However, how do single-use plastics factor in to this crisis? With our government doing their best to try protect the population from this pandemic, the Plastic Industry Association requested the U.S. Department of Healthto endorse that “single-use plastics are the most sanitary choice when it comes to many applications”. 

It’s not fair to say they are taking advantage of the situation, as it is true that single-use plastics that can be disposed of easily are a great choice. The Plastic Industry Association is mainly focusing on bags used to transport items, especially food. Whether one is using it a reusable bag to transport groceries, or takeout food, bacteria can thrive on it. This bacteria can then be transferred to other surfaces, such as drawers or cabinets inside homes. 

However, John Hocevar of Greenpeace USA believes that Plastic Companies are seeing this as a chance to boost sales of their products. I don’t agree with this statement, as corporations would be taking a big risk if something like this got out. They simply can’t use a global pandemic that has killed tens of thousands as a chance to increase sales. 

The National Institutes of Health, CDC, UCLA, and Princeton University did a study on whether the virus could survive on plastic and came back with surprising results. The virus can not only survive on plastic, but can remain stable and have the ability to infect someone for up to two to three days. This contradicts the statement that single-use plastics are more sanitary than reusable materials.

Granted, single-use plastics are meant to be thrown away, but what if one reuses this plastic, in the hopes of preventing pollution? In this case the virus can as easily be transmitted on these single-use plastics as it is on other reusable cloth bags, etc. The claims made by the Plastic Industry Association are not true, and they aren’t completely factual.

I agree that this shouldn’t be our main concern, and we should be finding out how to rapidly produce ventilators and masks for those that need them instead of worrying about whether plastic bags are a transmission vector. I wrote about this because I am worried that plastic companies may be trying to take advantage of the pandemic. Apart from that, I hope that everyone is doing well during quarantine!

Recently, some new plastic pollution legislation was introduced into Congress. It’s called the Break Free from Plastic Pollution Act, introduced by Senator Tom Udall (D-N.M.). This act basically covers a few main points.

1. Corporate responsibility for pollution
2. Nationwide beverage container refund system
3. Reduce & ban single use plastics
4. Establish minimum content guidelines (of recycled plastic, etc.) for plastic items

According to Mashable, this legislation is a “long shot” and will not pass due to the financial nature of parts of the legislation (mainly the beverage container refund program). However, I think, that with enough support and public influence, Congress will end up passing the legislation.

The first part of the act talks about corporations being responsible for the plastic waste they produce. This means that corporations have to implement and invest in cleanup programs with EPA approval. 

They also will be required to promote awareness programs for plastic waste. This section makes sure that all corporations are reducing the waste they produce as much as possible, both on the production side and consumer side.

Beverage Container Refund Programs are basically ways for state and local governments to persuade people to recycle their plastics. Implementing this at a National Level will increase the amount of plastic containers people recycle. The main concern I have with this is the issue of traveling to a recycling center and turning in the containers. 

The other parts of the legislation have also been implemented locally and statewide. Banning single-use plastic bags is a nationwide movement and many major cities have already instituted a ban. However, as I mentioned in one of my earlier articles, reducing one area of plastic use increases another area, in this case, trash bags (as people use grocery bags as bags for trash cans). 

Minimum content guidelines are also being implemented nationwide. These usually refer to the amount of post-consumer or recycled plastic used in a product. Chains like McDonalds and Starbucks would have to rework their product design if this law comes in to effect. This would improve the efficiency of our recycling system as a whole.

I think with enough bipartisan support, this bill would pass. Our lawmakers are working for the future of the environment, and passing this bill would be a big part of it. 

City and state governments across the nation are banning and taxing single use plastics to reduce the impact of things like plastic bags, straws, etc. Last year, New York placed a ban on single use plastic bags at grocery stores, and is charging a 3 cent tax on every paper bag used. Other states and cities, like Oregon and Hawaii have bans on plastic bags as well. However, are these bans really working? 

After researching previous plastic bans, and hearing a speech by Ganesh Nagarajan (an associate director of polymers at LyondellBasell) I’ve learned that banning types of plastics will increase the use of other types of plastic. For example, a California ban on plastic grocery bags increased the use of plastic trash bags, as many people reuse grocery bags as bags for trash cans. This shows that plastic pollution is like a balloon, you press one side, the other side gets bigger. 

In my opinion, informing people about how they can reduce plastic use in combination with taxes and bans will really reduce plastic waste. However, I think that our federal government should ultimately place some sort of ban on single use plastics, otherwise the problem will never completely stop.

Community Awareness and Outreach programs, similar to our project’s action can be set up. Grocery stores like Kroger and HEB can set up events where they give out reusable bags for use by consumers. Other environmental organizations can do the same, and have informational products to distribute.

But why aren’t some states aren’t banning plastics? The Texas Supreme Court ruled that as municipalities are not allowed to place bans on the contents of waste picked up by the city, so the plastic bag ban is unconstitutional. Eventually, I think, the federal government will put some type of ban on plastics nationwide, and this will pressure more local and state governments to finalize full bans on plastics statewide. But this is probably going to be 15 or 20 years from now.

Plastic product bans are slowly progressing nationwide (with some hitches), and are eventually going to work, but for now we are going to have to use alternative methods to reduce plastic.

Recently, I came upon this article about an Ocean Cleanup Device that returned to Vancouver with over 60 trash bag sized bags of plastic. A company named The Ocean Cleanup developed these devices and deployed them in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, to remove plastics from there and slowly clean the entire ocean. 

CEO Boyan Slat’s vision is to have the ocean completely clean by 2050, and he plans to do this by using the devices that he developed to clean the ocean. Our project group actually took a decent amount of inspiration from his ideas, and our original plan was to build a device like his. We didn’t have the resources to do something like that, but a lot of our research about what people are doing included him and his company. 

His devices can filter out all types of plastic from the ocean, including microplastics, which are plastics less than 0.2 in (5 mm) in length. Basically, a floating “coastline” traps the plastic, then boats go around and pick up the plastic store it to be recycled/thrown away. 

Boyan Slat’s plan is to have 50% of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch gone in 5 years, but he says this can only be done if he continues to have the funding and equipment to deploy a full scale system, with many devices instead of just one or two. 

But what does this all mean to us? First of all, just because the ocean is being cleaned, doesn’t mean we can keep littering, and expect it to be cleaned. This is actually one of Slat’s major concerns. On the other hand, this can raise awareness to issues such as marine plastic pollution, and cause major global corporations and governments to place restrictions on plastic waste disposal. In my opinion, Slat is an ambitious engineer, and I agree with his plan to clean the ocean.

As part of our middle school’s IB curriculum, my two friends and I were assigned to work on a project that had a community impact. After much debate, we settled on a project on the global issue of plastic pollution.

But what did this issue mean to us? We knew that the plastics that we use daily are sometimes disposed of incorrectly, and especially in a city like Houston, where there are bayous and storm drains everywhere, this plastic can easily make it to the ocean. Our project consisted of a presentation about plastic pollution, and an action. We knew that the typical action that people did for a project like ours was a beach cleanup, but we realized that a beach cleanup was not the impact we wanted to make. Our reasoning was that it didn’t raise awareness for the issue of plastic pollution. 

We decided to distribute biodegradable plastic bags at Danny Jackson dog park in Houston, and ended up giving away over 80 bags in just 2 hours! The people we talked to were really interested in the fact that they bags they were using could take over 100 years to decompose, while the ones we gave out took between 30-40 days.

Not only did we distribute bags, we contacted many organizations throughout the nation about their view on plastic pollution, including Carnival Cruise, HEB, Kroger, Houston Parks and Recreation, and BioBag. We received replies from almost all of them, with them stating their plastic policies, and some even sending us samples, like BioBag. 

After we presented, and I came home that day, I couldn’t believe that we would just abandon the issue, after all I learned about it. 

So I decided to start this blog to organize my findings and raise awareness for Plastic Pollution.