Ocean Plastic Solutions
This fall at Nature Links, we’ve focused our attention on learning about ocean plastic. From studying how microplastics are transported to our oceans by weather patterns to learning how orcas are impacted by plastic pollution, we’ve greatly increased our knowledge on this emerging crisis. But learning so deeply about this problem can be, in all honesty, quite depressing (recent research on climate anxiety helps describe how many young people are internalizing global climate fears). The Center for Biological Diversity estimates that plastic waste will outweigh all the fish in the sea by the year 2050, a statistic that can make the most optimistic climate activist want to crawl into a deep hole. So recently, in an effort to put our increasing knowledge to use and reframe our learning in a more positive direction, we’ve been shifting our focus to ocean plastic solutions both big and small.
Last week we were lucky enough to be joined by a 14-year-old guest speaker named Maya Faulstich. Maya, a native of Yarmouth, Maine, has won awards for her research on the impact plastic has on our environment throughout its lifecycle. She makes art about the ocean plastic crisis and helps advocate for everyday efforts we can all take to reduce plastic pollution. Maya joined us as a guest speaker to help us understand how raising awareness within our individual communities can help make a difference. She also shared a range of plastic-free products that can help us all reduce our plastic consumption as well as other helpful tips on how to use less plastic when we shop. For more information on Maya’s research and activism, check out her website here.
A slide from Maya’s presentation shows laundry strips, a plastic-free alternative to traditional laundry detergent.
In another class this week, we focused on a few highly innovative ideas that are hoping to make a big impact on reducing ocean plastic. Here are a few that we learned about…
Bakey’s, a company based in Hyderabad, India, makes edible spoons
Bakey’s Edible Cutlery is a company started in India that hopes to help eliminate the 120 billion single-use plastic utensils that are thrown away in that country each year. Bakey’s makes edible spoons that come in several different flavors. Besides being completely edible, the spoons are vegan, preservative free, trans fat free, dairy free and operate on principals of fair trade. If a consumer decides not to eat their spoon with their ice cream, the spoons can be disposed of where they will fully decompose within 4 days. Bakey’s plans to expand their products to include forks, chopsticks and other utensils.
The Ocean Cleanup is an organization taking a very different, yet innovative approach to reducing the mind-blowing amount of plastic plaguing our oceans and resident marine life. The Netherlands-based group makes giant, autonomous plastic-eating machines called Interceptors. These Interceptors are moored in some of the world’s most polluted rivers and use the naturally flowing current to collect and sort debris floating on the water’s surface. The Interceptors rely on 100% solar power to operate and can run continuously day and night. The Ocean Cleanup hopes to remove 500,000 football fields worth of plastic debris from oceans and rivers, and is already well over half-way there.
As the ocean plastic crisis continues to threaten the well-being of marine life and compromise the health of our Earth’s oceans, more and more companies, organizations, governments and consumers are stepping up in response. Imagine the impact we can make if we support these emerging efforts. For profit-companies like Bakey’s, non-profits like The Ocean Cleanup and young activists like Maya are all pieces to the puzzle in promoting cleaner oceans.
