Solutions for a less plasticized world
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The plastic problem can be solved because humans are capable of everything (the best and the worst).
5 facts that illustrate the problem of single-use plastic
Once released into nature, different types of plastic take decades or hundreds of years to break down into a thousand pieces, but they never disappear and are incorporated into the food chain. Source: WWF
Single-use plastic
Let’s review some data to put it into context:
According to a 2017 study by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature, 95% of ocean plastic comes from land, passing through rivers and highly populated coastal areas.
40% of the plastic produced is used for packaging that is used once and then discarded.
Nearly half of the plastic manufactured to date has been produced since 2000.
Less than 5% of the world’s plastic is recycled.
By 2050, it is estimated that there could be more plastic than fish in the sea (by weight) according to the report “The New Plastics Economy: Rethinking the future of plastics” published in 2016 by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation and the World Economic Forum.
“At the beginning of any catastrophic event, there is a scientist who is being ignored.”
Image of waste in the sea
Activism and lobbying as an example and driver of change
The most powerful thing about activism is that it’s done through example. Empathizing and inspiring raises awareness.
Some examples of activism against single-use plastic:
Rob Greenfield , activist and adventurer
Bea Johnson, the driving force behind the Zero Waste movement, is her book Zero Waste Home.
Trash is for Tossers – Lauren Singer, popularized the concept of trash in a glass jar
Bye Bye Plastic Bags Bali movement to ban plastic bags by sisters Melati and Isabel Wijsen.
PlasticAttack, local groups organizing to pressure supermarkets to stop selling products with so much plastic.
Plastic Free July is an annual campaign to mobilize and raise awareness through the “Plastic Free July” challenge.
“Never doubt that a small group of committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.” Margaret Mead.
The above are examples of local individuals or groups that often transcend into movements. On the other hand, there are all the large organizations that bring together some of these actors and create large-scale campaigns to raise awareness and pressure governments and businesses.
Main activism and lobbying platforms:
Break Free From Plastic
Rethink Plastic
Plastic Pollution Coalition
Zero Waste Europe
A Plastic Planet
5 Gyres
Alliance to end Plastic Waste
Ellen MacArthur Foundation
Important advances in legislation and commitments made
Some of the most important agreements that have been implemented to date and commit governments and large corporations to concrete actions:
European Union Ban on Single-Use Plastics 2021
European Strategy for Plastics in a Circular Economy
New Plastics Economy – UN and Ellen MacArthur Foundation
Ecodesign, new materials and business models: towards the Circular Economy
Below are some interesting examples that demonstrate this:
Redesign everyday objects:
Everloop toothbrush by NOS studio
Replenish reusable container
RePack Reusable Home Delivery Package
Loop store , TerraCycle’s reusable home delivery service
Seaweed for packaging water and other liquids from Ooho Water
Mushrooms for IKEA and Ecovative Design packaging
Cactus (nopal) to create a substitute for Desserto leather
Piñatex , footwear material made from pineapple waste
Indians , footwear made from banana fiber
MarinaTex , a new material based on fish skin and scales created by Lucy Hughes
El cepillo de dientes Everloop de Nos studio es un ejemplo de cómo se puede rediseñar un objeto cotidiano para alargar su uso y hacerlo más sostenible.
Creating brands from recycled plastic from the sea or fishing nets Circular Economy
Finally, it is also worth highlighting all those brands that are making clothing and accessories using
Ecoalf is a well-known example of clothing and accessories
Swimsuits like the Cabuya and Sloppy Tunas brands
Sunglasses like Sea2see and Parafina
Or home accessories like a special line that IKEA created
Beware of greenwashing of eco-friendly products
These brands are showing that there is another way to do things, using waste to make attractive products that can compete in quality with others . Furthermore, they are often committed to their impact beyond the product itself and have social projects that involve fishing communities or the people who make the garments.
However, it’s important to clarify that there is also a lot of “greenwashing” (greenwashing of a brand’s image) in many products that call themselves eco-friendly and are more about marketing than mission, vision, and impact.
There are brands that are more consistent than others .
It’s also worth noting that in many cases, products are not made from 100% recovered or recycled materials . The proportions are important to consider. Finally, in many cases, these products are made with only a few types of plastic out of the many available , primarily PET from beverage bottles and nylon from fishing nets. It’s important to remember that there are many other types of plastic out there with no market value that generate no commercial interest in recycling.
We don’t expect everyone to become an expert on sustainability, but it is important to be critical and investigate brands beyond their marketing message.
If you’re interested in these types of innovations, we recommend downloading the Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s “Reuse: Rethinking Packaging” guide for more examples.
Guia Reuse Rethinking Packaging
Creating brands from recycled plastic from the sea or fishing nets Circular Economy
By the time a plastic bottle reaches the ocean or nature, someone has already designed, manufactured, sold, purchased, and thrown it away. At the end of the journey, the damage has already been done.
However, even at the end of the road, there is still much to be done. The following projects, some very famous and highly impactful, are a testament to this:
Plastic Bank , a for-profit organization founded by David Katz and Shaun Frankso, creates plastic collection points in impoverished areas to reduce waste while providing jobs to the local community in exchange for essential resources.
The Ocean Cleanup , a non-profit organization founded by Boyan Slat, develops technological solutions to extract plastic from the world’s most polluted oceans and rivers to prevent it from breaking down into tiny particles that are harder to recover.
Precious Plastic , a plastic recycling project created by Dave Hakkens based on the open source, maker and digital commons philosophy that allows the creation of small plastic recycling stations so that communities can make their own objects based on recycled plastic obtained from their own waste.
4Ocean , a for-profit company founded by Alex Schulze and Andrew Cooper, sells wristbands made partially from recycled plastic recovered from beach cleanups they organize to raise awareness about coastal plastic pollution.
It is not enough to collect, we must classify and identify responsibilities
Cleaning beaches and oceans is great, but we need to go a step further and
That’s why we love the World Cleanup Day initiative, a global beach cleanup organized by Break Free From Plastic and Greenpeace, among many others.
The big difference in this case is that it is held simultaneously on hundreds of beaches around the world and, once all the trash is collected, a global audit of polluting brands is conducted : all the waste found is separated by brand and the main global polluters are identified. Coca-Cola has been at the top of the podium for several consecutive years, followed by PepsiCo and Nestlé.
Boyan Slat, founder of The Ocean Cleanup, aboard the Interceptor, his solution to cleaning the world’s most polluted rivers.
The importance of Extended Producer Responsibility
Brand audits are a powerful advocacy action that highlights the importance of identifying the extent to which different actors are more or less responsible for plastic and other waste pollution.
The concept of ” Producer Responsibility ” seeks to add the environmental costs associated with a product throughout its life cycle to the price of that product on the market.
By adding these costs, which are often still considered externalities, manufacturers are forced to take greater responsibility for the environmental impact of the products they sell.
What can you do? Buying is voting.
We can all change the world with our purchasing decisions. It doesn’t matter if you’re an industrial designer, a politician, or a sustainability officer for a large corporation—you shop every day. And every purchase is a vote for the world you want.
You are part of the solution: things you can do
You can stay informed to build a critical opinion as a consumer.
Reduce and prevent waste as much as possible in your daily life.
Try to buy in bulk, in reusable or solid formats for cosmetics and hygiene.
Reuse and repair whenever possible: extend the life of your things!
Reject anything superfluous, avoid single-use products.
When purchasing, choose brands committed to social and environmental sustainability.
Join a local initiative that tries to improve things
Here we give you 100 more examples!
Summary and conclusions
I wish we had a crystal ball to see the future and predict the ultimate solution. What we do know is that a less plasticized world is possible as long as we keep a few things clear:
✅ Plastic isn’t the problem . The problem is its use and the “throwaway” culture.
✅ Each country must take responsibility for the waste it generates
✅ Recycling is not enough , we must focus much more on reducing and reusing
✅ Every product put on the market should be at least 100% recyclable and guaranteed to be recycled. Just because something is recyclable doesn’t mean it will be recycled .
✅ Consumer brands must take real responsibility for the impact their products generate.
✅ There is still a long way to go to innovate in packaging eco-design and new materials
✅ We citizens have a great power of collective influence through our purchasing decisions, let’s use it!
✅ And above all, the real impact is in stopping waste generation.
If you’ve made it this far, we just want to thank you for your attention and encourage you to share this article if you think it might be valuable and inspire others.
At Go Zero Waste we work to facilitate a waste-free life through technology ( Go Zero Waste app ), communication ( talks and workshops ) and collaboration between people and organizations of all kinds.
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