Global Garbage Newsletter for January 20, 2016 Please note: the links to the download of the articles (PDF) will be activated only until the 15th of February. Chris Wilcox, Nicholas J. Mallos, George H. Leonard, Alba Rodriguez, Britta Denise Hardesty, Using expert elicitation to estimate the impacts of plastic pollution on marine wildlife, Marine Policy, Volume 65, March 2016, Pages 107-114, ISSN 0308-597X, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.marpol.2015.10.014. (http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0308597X15002985) Abstract: Marine litter is a growing environmental concern. With the rapid increase in global plastics production and the resulting large volume of litter that enters the marine environment, determining the consequences of this debris on marine fauna and ocean health has now become a critical environmental priority, particularly for threatened and endangered species. However, there are limited data about the impacts of debris on marine species from which to draw conclusions about the population consequences of anthropogenic debris. To address this knowledge gap, information was elicited from experts on the ecological threat (both severity and specificity) of entanglement, ingestion and chemical contamination for three major marine taxa: seabirds, sea turtles and marine mammals. The threat assessment focused on the most common types of litter that are found along the world's coastlines, based on data gathered during three decades of international coastal clean-up efforts. Fishing related gear, balloons and plastic bags were estimated to pose the greatest entanglement risk to marine fauna. In contrast, experts identified a broader suite of items of concern for ingestion, with plastic bags and plastic utensils ranked as the greatest threats. Entanglement and ingestion affected a similar range of taxa, although entanglement was rated as slightly worse because it is more likely to be lethal. Contamination was scored the lowest in terms of impact, affecting a smaller portion of the taxa and being rated as having solely non-lethal impacts. This work points towards a number of opportunities both for policy-based and consumer-driven changes in plastics use that could have demonstrable affects for a range of ecologically important taxa that serve as indicators of marine ecosystem health. Keywords: Chemical contamination; Elicitation survey; Entanglement; Ingestion; Marine debris; Marine mammal; Plastic pollution; Seabird; Turtle http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0308597X15002985/pdfft?md5=7c0e5ccdd43e09e0d0d1303741c421c1&pid=1-s2.0-S0308597X15002985-main.pdf Jan Zalasiewicz, Colin N. Waters, Juliana Ivar do Sul, Patricia L. Corcoran, Anthony D. Barnosky, Alejandro Cearreta, Matt Edgeworth, Agnieszka GaÅ‚uszka, Catherine Jeandel, Reinhold Leinfelder, J.R. McNeill, Will Steffen, Colin Summerhayes, Michael Wagreich, Mark Williams, Alexander P. Wolfe, Yasmin Yonan, The geological cycle of plastics and their use as a stratigraphic indicator of the Anthropocene, Anthropocene, Available online 18 January 2016, ISSN 2213-3054, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ancene.2016.01.002. (http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2213305416300029) Abstract: The rise of plastics since the mid-20th century, both as a material element of modern life and as a growing environmental pollutant, has been widely described. Their distribution in both the terrestrial and marine realms suggests that they are a key geological indicator of the Anthropocene, as a distinctive stratal component. Most immediately evident in terrestrial deposits, they are clearly becoming widespread in marine sedimentary deposits in both shallow- and deep-water settings. They are abundant and widespread as macroscopic fragments and virtually ubiquitous as microplastic particles; these are dispersed by both physical and biological processes, not least via the food chain and the ‘faecal express’ route from surface to sea floor. Plastics are already widely dispersed in sedimentary deposits, and their amount seems likely to grow several-fold over the next few decades. They will continue to be input into the sedimentary cycle over coming millennia as temporary stores – landfill sites – are eroded. Plastics already enable fine time resolution within Anthropocene deposits via the development of their different types and via the artefacts (‘technofossils’) they are moulded into, and many of these may have long-term preservation potential when buried in strata. Keywords: Anthropocene; Plastics; Stratigraphy http://www.globalgarbage.org.br/mailinglist/S2213305416300029_In_Press_Accepted_Manuscript.pdf Note to users: Accepted manuscripts are Articles in Press that have been peer reviewed and accepted for publication by the Editorial Board of this publication. They have not yet been copy edited and/or formatted in the publication house style, and may not yet have the full ScienceDirect functionality, e.g., supplementary files may still need to be added, links to references may not resolve yet etc. The text could still change before final publication. Although accepted manuscripts do not have all bibliographic details available yet, they can already be cited using the year of online publication and the DOI, as follows: author(s), article title, Publication (year), DOI. Please consult the journal's reference style for the exact appearance of these elements, abbreviation of journal names and use of punctuation. When the final article is assigned to volumes/issues of the Publication, the Article in Press version will be removed and the final version will appear in the associated published volumes/issues of the Publication. The date the article was first made available online will be carried over. Carme Alomar, Fernando Estarellas, Salud Deudero, Microplastics in the Mediterranean sea: Deposition in coastal shallow sediments, spatial variation and preferential grain size, Marine Environmental Research, Available online 18 January 2016, ISSN 0141-1136, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.marenvres.2016.01.005. (http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0141113616300058) Abstract: Marine litter loads in sea compartments are an emergent issue due to their ecological and biological consequences. This study addresses microplastic quantification and morphological description to test spatial differences along an anthropogenic gradient of coastal shallow sediments and further on to evaluate the preferential deposition of microplastics in a given sediment grain fraction. Sediments from Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) contained the highest concentrations of microplastics (MPs): up to 0.90±0.10 MPs/g suggesting the transfer of microplastics from source areas to endpoint areas. In addition, a high proportion of microplastic filaments were found close to populated areas whereas fragment type microplastics were more common in MPAs. There was no clear trend between sediment grain size and microplastic deposition in sediments, although microplastics were always present in two grain size fractions: 2mm>x>1mm and 1mm>x 0.5mm. Keywords: Marine litter; MPAs; Anthropogenic gradient; Sieve fractions; Contamination; Balearic islands http://www.globalgarbage.org.br/mailinglist/S0141113616300058_In_Press_Accepted_Manuscript.pdf Rachid Dris, Johnny Gasperi, Mohamed Saad, Cécile Mirande, Bruno Tassin, Synthetic fibers in atmospheric fallout: A source of microplastics in the environment?, Marine Pollution Bulletin, Available online 17 January 2016, ISSN 0025-326X, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2016.01.006. (http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0025326X16300066) Abstract: Sources, pathways and reservoirs of microplastics, plastic particles smaller than 5 mm, remain poorly documented in an urban context. While some studies pointed out wastewater treatment plants as a potential pathway of microplastics, none have focused on the atmospheric compartment. In this work, the atmospheric fallout of microplastics was investigated in two different urban and sub-urban sites. Microplastics were collected continuously with a stainless steel funnel. Samples were then filtered and observed with a stereomicroscope. Fibers accounted for almost all the microplastics collected. An atmospheric fallout between 2 and 355 particles/m2/day was highlighted. Registered fluxes were systematically higher at the urban than at the sub-urban site. Chemical characterization allowed to estimate at 29% the proportion of these fibers being all synthetic (made with petrochemicals), or a mixture of natural and synthetic material. Extrapolation using weight and volume estimates of the collected fibers, allowed a rough estimation showing that between 3 and 10 tons of fibers are deposited by atmospheric fallout at the scale of the Parisian agglomeration every year (2500 km2). These results could serve the scientific community working on the different sources of microplastic in both continental and marine environments. Keywords: Microplastics; Urban environment; Atmospheric fallout; Microplastic sources; Synthetic fibers http://www.globalgarbage.org.br/mailinglist/S0025326X16300066_In_Press_Corrected_Proof.pdf Note to users: Corrected proofs are Articles in Press that contain the authors' corrections. Final citation details, e.g., volume and/or issue number, publication year and page numbers, still need to be added and the text might change before final publication. Although corrected proofs do not have all bibliographic details available yet, they can already be cited using the year of online publication and the DOI , as follows: author(s), article title, Publication (year), DOI. Please consult the journal's reference style for the exact appearance of these elements, abbreviation of journal names and use of punctuation. When the final article is assigned to volumes/issues of the Publication, the Article in Press version will be removed and the final version will appear in the associated published volumes/issues of the Publication. The date the article was first made available online will be carried over. , News, Marine Pollution Bulletin, Volume 102, Issue 1, 15 January 2016, Pages 4-8, ISSN 0025-326X, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2015.12.015. (http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0025326X15006360) http://www.globalgarbage.org.br/mailinglist/S0025326X15006360.pdf Tim Jesper Suhrhoff, Barbara M. Scholz-Böttcher, Qualitative impact of salinity, UV radiation and turbulence on leaching of organic plastic additives from four common plastics — A lab experiment, Marine Pollution Bulletin, Volume 102, Issue 1, 15 January 2016, Pages 84-94, ISSN 0025-326X, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2015.11.054. (http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0025326X15302010) Abstract: Four common consumer plastic samples (polyethylene, polystyrene, polyethylene terephthalate, polyvinylchloride) were studied to investigate the impact of physical parameters such as turbulence, salinity and UV irradiance on leaching behavior of selected plastic components. Polymers were exposed to two different salinities (i.e. 0 and 35 g/kg), UV radiation and turbulence. Additives (e.g. bisphenol A, phthalates, citrates, and Irgafos® 168 phosphate) and oligomers were detected in initial plastics and aqueous extracts. Identification and quantification was performed by GC–FID/MS. Bisphenol A and citrate based additives are leached easier compared to phthalates. The print highly contributed to the chemical burden of the analyzed polyethylene bag. The study underlines a positive relationship between turbulence and magnitude of leaching. Salinity had a minor impact that differs for each analyte. Global annual release of additives from assessed plastics into marine environments is estimated to be between 35 and 917 tons, of which most are derived from plasticized polyvinylchloride. Keywords: Consumer plastic; Leaching; Saltwater; Turbulence; UV; Additives http://www.globalgarbage.org.br/mailinglist/S0025326X15302010.pdf Outi Setälä, Joanna Norkko, Maiju Lehtiniemi, Feeding type affects microplastic ingestion in a coastal invertebrate community, Marine Pollution Bulletin, Volume 102, Issue 1, 15 January 2016, Pages 95-101, ISSN 0025-326X, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2015.11.053. (http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0025326X15302009) Abstract: Marine litter is one of the problems marine ecosystems face at present, coastal habitats and food webs being the most vulnerable as they are closest to the sources of litter. A range of animals (bivalves, free swimming crustaceans and benthic, deposit-feeding animals), of a coastal community of the northern Baltic Sea were exposed to relatively low concentrations of 10 μm microbeads. The experiment was carried out as a small scale mesocosm study to mimic natural habitat. The beads were ingested by all animals in all experimental concentrations (5, 50 and 250 beads mL− 1). Bivalves (Mytilus trossulus, Macoma balthica) contained significantly higher amounts of beads compared with the other groups. Free-swimming crustaceans ingested more beads compared with the benthic animals that were feeding only on the sediment surface. Ingestion of the beads was concluded to be the result of particle concentration, feeding mode and the encounter rate in a patchy environment. Keywords: Microlitter; Bivalve; Crustacean; Ingestion; Coastal; Marine food web http://www.globalgarbage.org.br/mailinglist/S0025326X15302009.pdf Fabiana Tavares Moreira, Alessandro LÃvio Prantoni, Bruno Martini, Michelle Alves de Abreu, Sérgio Biato Stoiev, Alexander Turra, Small-scale temporal and spatial variability in the abundance of plastic pellets on sandy beaches: Methodological considerations for estimating the input of microplastics, Marine Pollution Bulletin, Volume 102, Issue 1, 15 January 2016, Pages 114-121, ISSN 0025-326X, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2015.11.051. (http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0025326X15301983) Abstract: Microplastics such as pellets have been reported for many years on sandy beaches around the globe. Nevertheless, high variability is observed in their estimates and distribution patterns across the beach environment are still to be unravelled. Here, we investigate the small-scale temporal and spatial variability in the abundance of pellets in the intertidal zone of a sandy beach and evaluate factors that can increase the variability in data sets. The abundance of pellets was estimated during twelve consecutive tidal cycles, identifying the position of the high tide between cycles and sampling drift-lines across the intertidal zone. We demonstrate that beach dynamic processes such as the overlap of strandlines and artefacts of the methods can increase the small-scale variability. The results obtained are discussed in terms of the methodological considerations needed to understand the distribution of pellets in the beach environment, with special implications for studies focused on patterns of input. Keywords: Solid wastes; Input; Tidal cycle; Transect; Strandline http://www.globalgarbage.org.br/mailinglist/S0025326X15301983.pdf Christoph D. Rummel, Martin G.J. Löder, Nicolai F. Fricke, Thomas Lang, Eva-Maria Griebeler, Michael Janke, Gunnar Gerdts, Plastic ingestion by pelagic and demersal fish from the North Sea and Baltic Sea, Marine Pollution Bulletin, Volume 102, Issue 1, 15 January 2016, Pages 134-141, ISSN 0025-326X, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2015.11.043. (http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0025326X15301922) Abstract: Plastic ingestion by marine biota has been reported for a variety of different taxa. In this study, we investigated 290 gastrointestinal tracts of demersal (cod, dab and flounder) and pelagic fish species (herring and mackerel) from the North and Baltic Sea for the occurrence of plastic ingestion. In 5.5% of all investigated fishes, plastic particles were detected, with 74% of all particles being in the microplastic ( Keywords: Marine debris; Plastic; Fish; Ingestion; North Sea; Baltic Sea http://www.globalgarbage.org.br/mailinglist/S0025326X15301922.pdfhttp://www.enveurope.com/content/28/1/2 Karen Duis and Anja Coors Microplastics in the aquatic and terrestrial environment: sources (with a specific focus on personal care products), fate and effects Environmental Sciences Europe 2016, 28:2 doi:10.1186/s12302-015-0069-y Abstract Due to the widespread use and durability of synthetic polymers, plastic debris occurs in the environment worldwide. In the present work, information on sources and fate of microplastic particles in the aquatic and terrestrial environment, and on their uptake and effects, mainly in aquatic organisms, is reviewed. Microplastics in the environment originate from a variety of sources. Quantitative information on the relevance of these sources is generally lacking, but first estimates indicate that abrasion and fragmentation of larger plastic items and materials containing synthetic polymers are likely to be most relevant. Microplastics are ingested and, mostly, excreted rapidly by numerous aquatic organisms. So far, there is no clear evidence of bioaccumulation or biomagnification. In laboratory studies, the ingestion of large amounts of microplastics mainly led to a lower food uptake and, consequently, reduced energy reserves and effects on other physiological functions. Based on the evaluated data, the lowest microplastic concentrations affecting marine organisms exposed via water are much higher than levels measured in marine water. In lugworms exposed via sediment, effects were observed at microplastic levels that were higher than those in subtidal sediments but in the same range as maximum levels in beach sediments. Hydrophobic contaminants are enriched on microplastics, but the available experimental results and modelling approaches indicate that the transfer of sorbed pollutants by microplastics is not likely to contribute significantly to bioaccumulation of these pollutants. Prior to being able to comprehensively assess possible environmental risks caused by microplastics a number of knowledge gaps need to be filled. However, in view of the persistence of microplastics in the environment, the high concentrations measured at some environmental sites and the prospective of strongly increasing concentrations, the release of plastics into the environment should be reduced in a broad and global effort regardless of a proof of an environmental risk. Keywords: Plastic debris; Environmental concern; Persistence; Personal care products; Cosmetic products; Microplastic http://www.enveurope.com/content/pdf/s12302-015-0069-y.pdfhttp://www.enveurope.com/content/epub/s12302-015-0069-y.epubhttp://www.enveurope.com/content/28/1/2/additional Additional file 1: Table S1. Overview of ranges and mean or median values (underlined) of concentrations of microplastics (or, where specified, small plastic particles) in the marine environment based on Hidalgo-Ruz et al. [11] and selected recent publication. Table S2. Overview of ranges and mean or median values (underlined) of concentrations of microplastics (or, where specified, small plastic particles) in the freshwater environment. Table S3. Overview of effect concentrations derived in ecotoxicity tests with aquatic organisms exposed to microplastics. Format: DOCX Size: 92KB Download file http://www.enveurope.com/content/supplementary/s12302-015-0069-y-s1.docxhttp://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1748-9326/10/12/124006 Erik van Sebille, Chris Wilcox, Laurent Lebreton, Nikolai Maximenko, Britta Denise Hardesty, Jan A van Franeker, Marcus Eriksen, David Siegel, Francois Galgani and Kara Lavender Law A global inventory of small floating plastic debris Environ. Res. Lett. 10 (2015) 124006 doi:10.1088/1748-9326/10/12/124006 Abstract Microplastic debris floating at the ocean surface can harm marine life. Understanding the severity of this harm requires knowledge of plastic abundance and distributions. Dozens of expeditions measuring microplastics have been carried out since the 1970s, but they have primarily focused on the North Atlantic and North Pacific accumulation zones, with much sparser coverage elsewhere. Here, we use the largest dataset of microplastic measurements assembled to date to assess the confidence we can have in global estimates of microplastic abundance and mass. We use a rigorous statistical framework to standardize a global dataset of plastic marine debris measured using surface-trawling plankton nets and coupled this with three different ocean circulation models to spatially interpolate the observations. Our estimates show that the accumulated number of microplastic particles in 2014 ranges from 15 to 51 trillion particles, weighing between 93 and 236 thousand metric tons, which is only approximately 1% of global plastic waste estimated to enter the ocean in the year 2010. These estimates are larger than previous global estimates, but vary widely because the scarcity of data in most of the world ocean, differences in model formulations, and fundamental knowledge gaps in the sources, transformations and fates of microplastics in the ocean. http://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1748-9326/10/12/124006/pdf Supplementary data. (1.4 MB, pdf) http://iopscience.iop.org/1748-9326/10/12/124006/media/erl124006_supdata.pdfhttp://science.sciencemag.org/content/351/6269/aad2622 Colin N. Waters, Jan Zalasiewicz, Colin Summerhayes, Anthony D. Barnosky, Clément Poirier, Agnieszka GaÅ‚uszka, Alejandro Cearreta, Matt Edgeworth, Erle C. Ellis, Michael Ellis1, Catherine Jeandel, Reinhold Leinfelder, J. R. McNeill, Daniel deB. Richter, Will Steffen, James Syvitski, Davor Vidas, Michael Wagreich, Mark Williams, An Zhisheng, Jacques Grinevald, Eric Odada, Naomi Oreskes, Alexander P. Wolfe The Anthropocene is functionally and stratigraphically distinct from the Holocene Science 08 Jan 2016: Vol. 351, Issue 6269, pp. DOI: 10.1126/science.aad2622 Abstract Human activity is leaving a pervasive and persistent signature on Earth. Vigorous debate continues about whether this warrants recognition as a new geologic time unit known as the Anthropocene. We review anthropogenic markers of functional changes in the Earth system through the stratigraphic record. The appearance of manufactured materials in sediments, including aluminum, plastics, and concrete, coincides with global spikes in fallout radionuclides and particulates from fossil fuel combustion. Carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus cycles have been substantially modified over the past century. Rates of sea-level rise and the extent of human perturbation of the climate system exceed Late Holocene changes. Biotic changes include species invasions worldwide and accelerating rates of extinction. These combined signals render the Anthropocene stratigraphically distinct from the Holocene and earlier epochs. http://www.globalgarbage.org.br/mailinglist/aad2622.pdf , Earth's oceans show decline in microscopic plant life, Marine Pollution Bulletin, Volume 100, Issue 1, 15 November 2015, Pages 1-4, ISSN 0025-326X, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2015.10.048. (http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0025326X15005718) http://www.globalgarbage.org.br/mailinglist/S0025326X15005718.pdfhttp://www.globalgarbage.org.br/mailinglist/Micro2016_2ndCircular.pdf Lanzarote, January 14th 2016 SECOND CIRCULAR: CALL FOR ABSTARCTS AND SIDE EVENTS We are pleased to invite the scientific community and stakeholders to MICRO 2016, an international conference that will be hosted in Lanzarote, Spain, 25 - 27 May 2016: Fate and Impact of Microplastics in Marine Ecosystems: From the Coastline to the Open Sea MICRO 2016 provides an opportunity to share available knowledge, fill in gaps, identify new questions and research needs, and develop commitments to operationalize solutions. http://www.weforum.org/reports/the-new-plastics-economy-rethinking-the-future-of-plastics The New Plastics Economy: Rethinking the future of plastics Today nearly everyone, everywhere, every day comes into contact with plastics. Plastics have become the ubiquitous workhorse material of the modern economy. And yet, while delivering many benefits, the current plastics economy has drawbacks that are becoming more apparent by the day. Significant economic value is lost after each use, and given the projected growth in consumption, by 2050 oceans are expected to contain more plastics than fish (by weight), and the entire plastics industry will consume 20% of total oil production and 15% of the annual carbon budget. How can we turn the challenges of our current plastics economy into a global opportunity for innovation and value capture, resulting in stronger economies and better environmental outcomes? Published Tuesday 19 January 2016 http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_The_New_Plastics_Economy.pdfhttp://www.weforum.org/events/world-economic-forum-annual-meeting-2016/sessions/rethinking-plastics 2016-01-22 09:15 Issue Briefing: Rethinking Plastics Learn first-hand how systemic change can create a New Plastics Economy, turning the $80-$120 billion worth of plastic packaging that is burnt, buried or dumped into the environment each year into an opportunity. Speakers: Ellen MacArthur, Dominic Kailash Nath Waughray, Oliver Cann, Jean-Louis Chaussade Topics: Global Economy http://www.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org/news/new-plastics-economy-report-offers-blueprint-to-design-a-circular-future-for-plastics NEW PLASTICS ECONOMY REPORT OFFERS BLUEPRINT TO DESIGN A CIRCULAR FUTURE FOR PLASTICS JANUARY 19, 2016 Applying circular economy principles to global plastic packaging flows could transform the plastics economy and drastically reduce negative externalities such as leakage into oceans, according to the latest report by the World Economic Forum and Ellen MacArthur Foundation, with analytical support from McKinsey & Company. The New Plastics Economy: Rethinking the future of plastics provides for the first time a vision of a global economy in which plastics never become waste, and outlines concrete steps towards achieving the systemic shift needed. The report, financially supported by the MAVA Foundation, was produced as part of Project MainStream, a global, multi-industry initiative that aims to accelerate business-driven innovations to help scale the circular economy. http://www.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org/publications/the-new-plastics-economy-rethinking-the-future-of-plasticshttp://www.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org/assets/downloads/publications/EllenMacArthurFoundation_TheNewPlasticsEconomy_19012016.pdfhttp://www.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org/news/the-new-plastics-economy-rethinking-the-future-of-plastics-infographics THE NEW PLASTICS ECONOMY: RETHINKING THE FUTURE OF PLASTICS - DOWNLOAD THE INFOGRAPHICS JANUARY 19, 2016 View and download key infographics from The New Plastics Economy: Rethinking the future of plastics report by the World Economic Forum, the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, and McKinsey & Company. Simply click on an image to download it. http://www.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org/assets/downloads/EllenMacArthurFoundation_NewPlasticsEconomy_1_02.jpghttp://www.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org/assets/downloads/EllenMacArthurFoundation_NewPlasticsEconomy_1_06.jpghttp://www.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org/assets/downloads/EllenMacArthurFoundation_NewPlasticsEconomy_1_08.jpghttp://www.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org/assets/downloads/EllenMacArthurFoundation_NewPlasticsEconomy_1_10.jpghttp://www.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org/assets/downloads/EllenMacArthurFoundation_NewPlasticsEconomy_1_14.jpghttp://www.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org/assets/downloads/EllenMacArthurFoundation_NewPlasticsEconomy_1_16.jpghttp://www.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org/assets/downloads/EllenMacArthurFoundation_NewPlasticsEconomy_1_36.jpghttp://marinedebris.noaa.gov/about-us/2016-2020-strategic-plan 2016-2020 Strategic Plan Marine debris is a pervasive problem that threatens our oceans and coastal environments. Since the inception of the NOAA Marine Debris Program in 2006, we have strived to combat this issue by finding solutions through research, removal and prevention efforts. We have had many accomplishments during this time, including funding important and innovative research projects, removing a significant amount of coastal debris, and reaching thousands of students, teachers, and communities to bring the issue of marine debris to the forefront. There is still a long way to go to solve this problem and we need to be strategic about our future priorities, so we have refined our vision and developed a strategic plan to lead us into the future and help us succeed in continuing to combat marine debris in the coming years. The NOAA Marine Debris Program will continue to take action to help protect our important natural resources. Take a look at our 2016-2020 Strategic Plan to see some of our goals for the future. http://marinedebris.noaa.gov/sites/default/files/Strategic%20Plan%202016.pdfhttp://marinedebris.noaa.gov/our-work/fiscal-year-2015-accomplishments-report Fiscal Year 2015 Accomplishments Report It was a busy year for the NOAA Marine Debris Program. Throughout 2015, we continued our important work funding removal projects around the country as well as our efforts to remove debris connected to the tsunami in Japan and Hurricane Sandy. The Program also worked to prevent future debris by engaging in education and outreach focusing on behavior change, including funding the development of new curriculum, supporting outreach to teens and teacher workshops, and working with recreational fishermen. This year, we were particularly proud of our “Trash Talk” videos, a six-part educational series created with NOAA Ocean Today, which were designed to raise awareness on the issue of marine debris in a fun, visual, interesting way. In 2015, we strove to continue to be at the forefront of the marine debris issue. We collaborated with various partners to develop regional marine debris plans and to create marine debris exhibits at visitor centers around the nation. We supported research to better understand the impacts and distribution of marine debris, including investigating the concentration of microplastics in the Gulf of Alaska and the Chesapeake Bay. In addition, we participated in the global marine debris discussion by participating in the G7 Summit and acting as Chair of the UN’s Environment Programme’s Global Partnership on Marine Litter. Looking to the future, we developed a new NOAA Marine Debris Program Strategic Plan, which outlines the Program’s goals and strategies for the coming years. We're proud of our efforts over the past year and are excited to present the NOAA Marine Debris Program’s 2015 Accomplishments Report, which highlights some of our major achievements over fiscal year 2015. http://marinedebris.noaa.gov/sites/default/files/FY15%20Accomplishments%20Report.pdfhttps://eia-international.org/time-to-turn-the-tide-of-plastic-waste-choking-our-oceans Time to turn the tide of plastic waste choking our oceans 5th October, 2015 As a mandatory 5p charge for plastic bags comes into effect in England today, EIA releases a new report calling on governments, industry, retailers and consumers alike to help end the appalling damage plastic waste inflicts on marine environments. Lost at Sea – The urgent need to tackle marine litter urges a focus on cutting single-use plastics, removing plastics from down-the-drain products and embracing circular economy principles to dramatically reduce and better recycle plastic products and packaging. http://eia-global.org/images/uploads/EIA_Lost_at_Sea_-_FINAL.pdfhttp://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/jan/19/collecting-plastic-waste-near-coasts-is-most-effective-clean-up-method Collecting plastic waste near coasts 'is most effective clean-up method' Analysis finds that placing plastic collectors near coasts would remove 31% of microplastics, versus 1% if they were all in the ‘Great Pacific Garbage patch’ Rebecca Smithers Tuesday 19 January 2016 00.01 GMT Dredging plastic waste from coastal locations rather than deep in the oceans is the the most efficient way to clean it up and avoid damaging global ecosystems, according to new analysis. Floating plastic waste ranging from bags, bottles and caps, fibres and ‘microbeads’ wash out into the oceans from rivers and sewers, while larger plastics are broken down into smaller fragments that can last for hundreds to thousands of years. Fragments of all sizes are swallowed by marine life and enter the food chain, disrupting fragile ecosystems. Researchers from Imperial College looked at the so-called Great Pacific garbage patch - an area of open ocean in the North Pacific - which has an unusually large area of microplastics. The patch is enclosed by ocean currents that concentrate the plastics into an area estimated to be larger than twice the size of the United Kingdom. http://www.oceanconservancy.org/who-we-are/newsroom/2016/entangled-eaten.html Entangled, Eaten, Contaminated: Ocean Conservancy and Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO) Publish First Comprehensive Impact Assessment of Trash on Marine Wildlife Study highlights critical need to ramp up local to global action to stem the tide of plastics into our ocean Media Contact: Julia Roberson jroberson@oceanconservancy.org 202.351.0476 (Washington, D.C. - January 12, 2016) – A first-of-its-kind analysis of the impact of 20 ocean trash items on seabirds, marine mammals and sea turtles conducted using expert elicitation was published today in Marine Policy by Ocean Conservancy and Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO). Until now, the impact of marine debris items, such as plastic bags and fishing gear, to populations of these animals has been far less clear. An analysis based on a survey of 274 experts representing 19 fields of study assigned scores for entanglement, ingestions and contamination on a shortlist of items culled from 30 years of data from Ocean Conservancy’s International Coastal Cleanup. The study found that a wide variety of items pose threats to marine wildlife through entanglement, ingestion, or contamination, suggesting that a comprehensive approach to preventing plastics from entering the ocean is vitally needed. Among the items, abandoned and lost fishing gear like nets, fishing line and buoys were found to pose the greatest overall threat to marine wildlife, primarily because of entanglement. Plastic bags emerged as the second most harmful item as they are often confused for food by marine mammals. Smaller items like balloons were also found to be harmful. http://blog.oceanconservancy.org/2016/01/12/entangled-eaten-contaminated/ Entangled, Eaten, Contaminated Posted On January 12, 2016 by George Leonard A comprehensive assessment of trash on marine wildlife There is a vast sea of trash in our oceans. For the first time, we now have a comprehensive picture of the toll it is taking on seabirds, sea turtles and marine mammals. A new study in Marine Policy by scientists at Ocean Conservancy and Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) mapped impacts ranging from entanglement, ingestion and chemical contamination of the 20 most commonly found ocean debris like fishing gear, balloons, plastic bottles and bags and a range of other plastic garbage found regularly in the ocean. Our research was based on elicitation, a widely-used technique to rigorously quantify the professional judgement of a community of experts, representing 19 fields of study. http://blog.oceanconservancy.org/2016/01/12/how-dangerous-is-ocean-plastic/ How Dangerous is Ocean Plastic? Insights From Global Experts on the Greatest Threat to Marine Wildlife Posted On January 12, 2016 by Nick Mallos By George H. Leonard, PhD and Nicholas J. Mallos MEM Over the course of the 30-year history of the International Coastal Cleanup, volunteers have removed over 200 million items from beaches and waterways around the world. The top-ten list of items removed includes items like plastics bottles, plastic bottle caps, aluminum cans, cigarette butts, derelict fishing gear and a range of disposable plastic goods and food packaging. The scientific literature is replete with anecdotal information of marine wildlife impacted by these marine debris items. Indeed, over 690 species (from the smallest of plankton to the largest of whales) have been documented to be negatively impacted by marine debris. But until now, the consequence of different marine debris items to populations of these animals – and the mechanism by which they do so – has been far less clear. Experimentally testing the impact of plastic items to whole populations of marine wildlife is technically challenging (if not impossible) and for species that are of threatened or endangered status, legally prohibited as well as morally questionable. But we have just published a paper in Marine Policy along with our colleagues Drs. Chris Wilcox and Denise Hardesty at Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) in Australia that uses elicitation techniques to overcome these challenges. Our analysis provides key insights into the relative threat of different debris items to a healthy ocean that should provide additional impetus to decision makers to tackle this growing problem. http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/jan/07/human-impact-has-pushed-earth-into-the-anthropocene-scientists-say Human impact has pushed Earth into the Anthropocene, scientists say New study provides one of the strongest cases yet that the planet has entered a new geological epoch Adam Vaughan @adamvaughan_uk Thursday 7 January 2016 19.00 GMT There is now compelling evidence to show that humanity’s impact on the Earth’s atmosphere, oceans and wildlife has pushed the world into a new geological epoch, according to a group of scientists. The question of whether humans’ combined environmental impact has tipped the planet into an “Anthropocene” – ending the current Holocene which began around 12,000 years ago – will be put to the geological body that formally approves such time divisions later this year. The new study provides one of the strongest cases yet that from the amount of concrete mankind uses in building to the amount of plastic rubbish dumped in the oceans, Earth has entered a new geological epoch. “We could be looking here at a stepchange from one world to another that justifies being called an epoch,” said Dr Colin Waters, principal geologist at the British Geological Survey and an author on the study published in Science on Thursday. “What this paper does is to say the changes are as big as those that happened at the end of the last ice age . This is a big deal.” http://www.portofamsterdam.com/Eng/Free-disposal-of-clean-plastic-waste-in-Rotterdam-and-Amsterdam-ports.html Free disposal of clean plastic waste in Rotterdam and Amsterdam ports Thursday, December 24, 2015 Sea-going vessels in the ports of Rotterdam Rijnmond and the North Sea Canal Area can dispose of plastic shipping waste free of charge on an unlimited basis starting 1 January 2016. This has been agreed between the port authorities of Rotterdam and Amsterdam and the waste collection companies. The waste must be segregated and clean at the time of disposal. The new campaign is part of the Green Deal for the Ship Waste Chain that Minister Schultz van Haegen of Infrastructure and Environment signed with the industry on 10 September 2014. Signatories to the Green Deal include Port of Amsterdam, Zeeland Seaports, Groningen Seaports, Port of Den Helder, NVVS (ship suppliers), the Royal Association of Netherlands Ship Owners (KVNR), ship waste collection companies, ILT and The North Sea Foundation. *** To be removed from the Mailing List, send an email to MailingList@globalgarbage.org">MailingList@globalgarbage.org">MailingList@globalgarbage.org">MailingList@globalgarbage.org">MailingList@globalgarbage.org">MailingList@globalgarbage.org">MailingList@globalgarbage.org">MailingList@globalgarbage.org with the subject REMOVE. To send information to be divulged on the Mailing List, send an email to MailingList@globalgarbage.org">MailingList@globalgarbage.org">MailingList@globalgarbage.org">MailingList@globalgarbage.org">MailingList@globalgarbage.org">MailingList@globalgarbage.org">MailingList@globalgarbage.org">MailingList@globalgarbage.org with the subject NEWS. 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