14. Thompson, R. C., Swan, S. H., Moore, C. J., & vom Saal, F. S.
(2009). Our plastic age. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal
Society B: Biological Sciences, 364(1526), 1973-1976.
Plastic threats
• ‘One of the most ubiquitous and long-lasting recent
changes to the surface of our planet is the
accumulation and fragmentation of plastics’.
• The most substantial use of plastics today, (> 1/3 of
production) is for disposable items of packaging, most
of which are discarded within a year or so of
manufacture.
17. The problem with plastics
• Non-biodegradable
• “Plastics are accumulating as debris in landfills and in
natural habitats worldwide.”
• “Current use not sustainable”
• ‘. . . plastic production continues to grow at
approximately 9 per cent per annum.’
Thompson, Richard C., Charles J. Moore, Frederick S. vom Saal &
Shanna H. Swan, 2009. Plastics, the environment and human
health: current consensus and future trends. Phil. Trans. R. Soc.
B, Biological Sciences, 364 (1526): 2153-2166.
Thompson, R. C., Swan, S. H., Moore, C. J., & vom Saal, F. S.
(2009). Our plastic age. Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B, Biological
Sciences, 364(1526), 1973-1976.
20. Only 20 percent of the plastic in the oceans comes from
ships or offshore platforms. The rest orignates from land.
Photo from Chek Jawa, Pulau Ubin by Andy Dinesh
22. Different types of marine trash
cause different problems
• Very large pieces - huge, abandoned drift nets or ‘ghost nets’
and dumping cause entanglement of animals, suppression of
plant growth
• Large pieces - from car fenders down to plastic bottles,
suppress growth
• Macro-fragments - ingested by larger animals such as
albatross and other seabirds, turtles, fish
• Micro-fragments - ingested by fish, transport invasive species
and chemicals
23. Photo credit:
Seal: Lucasa, Z., 1992. Monitoring persistent litter in the marine
environment on Sable Island, Nova Scotia. Marine Pollution
Bulletin, 24(4): 192-199.
Horseshoe crab: N. Sivasothi. Mandai Besar mangrove,
27 May 2009
Dead albatross: Midway: Message from the Gyre by Chris Jordan
A threat to marine life
looms on our shores,
locally and globally
Entanglement, Ingestion, Suffocation,
Suppression, Toxins, Transport of
Chemicals…
24. Photo credit: UNEP
Entanglement of
wildlife
Entanglement of marine animals
Photo credits: Rolf Ream National Marine Mammal Laboratory (top right);
Habitatnews (bottom)
25. Entanglement of
marine animals
300 horseshoe crabs in a
single gill net.
Mandai Besar mangrove,
27 May 2009
N. Sivasothi
Entanglement of
wildlife
26. Badly entangled flukes of a humpback whale
– Provincetown Center for Coastal Studies, United States
Entanglement of
wildlife
27. Plastic canvas in stomach
of a dead sperm whale.
Donana Biological Station, Spanish National Research Council,
28 Mar 2012 (EBD-CSIC/AFP, 07 Mar 2013)
Ingestion of
plastics
17kg of garbage blocking
stomach, including:
- some 30 m2
of plastic canvas,
- a dozen metres of plastic
rope,
- plastic sheeting,
- two flower pots.
“It did not surprise us” -
Renaud de Stephanis, a
marine biologist at the Donana
Biological Station
28. “Turtles have been found to
have eaten most plastic items,
but the most common items
eaten are:
soft plastics, such as plastic
bags and lolly wrappers, and
pieces of hard broken-down
plastic”
Dr Kathy Townsend,
Moreton Bay, Australia
fb: Turtles in Trouble
Photos by Kathy Townsend
Ingestion of
plastics
29. Midway Atoll, Pacific
Wikipedia: Midway Atoll
Ingestion of
plastics
Laysan albatross
(Phoebastria immutabilis)
Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge
David Patte/U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service
32. Thompson, Richard C., Charles J. Moore, Frederick S. vom Saal & Shanna H. Swan, 2009.
Plastics, the environment and human health: current consensus and future trends. Phil. Trans. R.
Soc. B, Biological Sciences, 364 (1526): 2153-2166.
Thompson, R. C., Swan, S. H., Moore, C. J., & vom Saal, F. S. (2009). Our plastic age. Phil.
Trans. R. Soc. B, Biological Sciences, 364(1526), 1973-1976.
Microplastics
• There is evidence that plastics are fragmenting in the
environment and, as a consequence, will become
available for ingestion by a wider range of organisms
(Barnes et al. 2009)
• The ingestion of plastic debris could lead to the transfer
of toxic chemicals to wildlife and to food chain. Recent
publications have raised new concerns around this
issue.
37. Fish are eating the plastic
Concentration of toxics are the highest at the top of
the food chain because toxics in our food has
accumulated as it goes up the food chain.
38.
39. The problem will only get worse
Thanks to Won Joon Shim, Oil and POPs Research Group, Korea Institute of
Ocean Science and Technology, Republic of South Korea, for this slide.
42. Year Round Cleanups,
International Coastal Cleanup
Singapore
Get out
there and
clean a
beach!
http://coastalcleanup.nus.edu.sg
I REFUSE TO ACCEPTI REFUSE TO ACCEPT
THIS!THIS!
What can
we do?
43. International Coastal Cleanup Singapore
Started by Ocean Conservancy in 1986
Volunteers in Singapore have been battling marine trash since 1992
Reclamation
Reclamation
Reservoir
Army
PROTECTED
Army
4,000 volunteers
>60 organisations
49. Zero Waste Singapore with data from NEA
“It is ethically wrong that more than 80 per cent of our waste
consists of recyclable material … yet so little of that is recycled,”
- Minister for the Environment and Water Resources
Vivian Balakrishnan, 02 July 2013
55. Encourage
Event catering
– – recyclable utensils,
– – less food,
– – vegetarian options
– – do we need goodie bags?
Green audit
What can
we do?
56. Public Hygiene Council - http://phc.sg
Action (nationally, globally)
Write in to ask for reductions
Consumers are a potent force!
Speak up - question food wastage,
excess plastic use, paper waste.
Share solutions!
What can
we do?
ICCS – annual beach cleanup event that’s started by OC and currently having 70-100 participating countries. Not only cleanup, but also data collection on marine trash.
Picture by Chris Jordan – 2 million plastic beverage bottles every five minutes.
LA Times Altered Oceans: http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-oceans-series,0,7783938.special
See What Lurks in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch http://www.thedailygreen.com/environmental-news/latest/great-pacific-garbage-patch-photos-460410
Read more: http://www.thedailygreen.com/environmental-news/latest/great-pacific-garbage-patch-photos-460410#ixzz1Qxmlfvsi
So plastic can travel extensively and sometimes can stay in a place in ocean for long.
http://www.greenpeace.org/international/en/campaigns/oceans/pollution/trash-vortex/
UNEP 2011 year book: http://www.unep.org/yearbook/2011/pdfs/plastic_debris_in_the_ocean.pdf
Provincetown Center for Coastal Studies
http://www.coastalstudies.org/what-we-do/whale-rescue/introduction.htm
Litter threatens sea turtle survivalMichelle Nick AAP Sydney Morning Herald 6 Jun 11;
http://wildsingaporenews.blogspot.com/2011/06/litter-threatens-sea-turtle-survival.html
Kathy Townsend video - http://sixtyminutes.ninemsn.com.au/stories/liambartlett/598914/seas-of-shame
From a multimedia presentation series by LA Times, they reported 40% of albatross chicks have died, with their stomachs full of trash. 98% of albatrosses have plastics in them.
(For more info, http://www.inspirationgreen.com/midway-island-albatross.html)
