The Rotary Club Osborne Park has joined a worldwide Rotary International project to raise awareness, act and be a part of the solution to the microplastics that are polluting our world.
Plastic has been found at the bottom of the Mariana Trench and in air at the summit of Mt Everest. Plastic can now be found in our food and in our drinking water. It is part of most of the clothe
s we wear. And… it is in our bodies.
s we wear. And… it is in our bodies. The Rotary Clubs of Amsterdam commenced a project in 2018 to remove plastic rubbish from waterways. The aim is to eliminate plastic soup in oceans, seas, lakes, rivers, forest, parks and streets by 2050. End Plastic Soup is now a global initiative already supported by thousands of Rotarians and hundreds of Rotaries, Rotaract & Interact Clubs worldwide.
The goal is to contribute to solve and prevent the plastic pollution problem throughout the full cycle.
What is Plastic Soup?
Plastic Soup is all plastic waste in our environment: on land, the air and in the waters. 80% of the plastic pollution on land floats into our oceans and seas by rivers and through the air.
Plastic pollution comes from plastic that we throw away on the street, in rivers, parks, fishnets that are discarded, from washing synthetic clothing, brushing our teeth, etc. All these different types of plastic combined form the plastic soup in the seas. Plastic is flexible, lightweight, waterproof and can be opaque or transparent.
Plastic can be made into a vast range of shapes and sizes. It is used in everything from packaging, household products, cosmetics, transportation, agriculture, textiles, construction, electrical and electronics, and industrial machinery. It is a low cost and long-lasting material. 90% of plastic is made from fossil fuels. 2.5 tons of carbon dioxide is emitted when producing 1 ton of plastic.
There is an estimated 75 to 199 million tons of plastic waste currently in our oceans with a further 15 million tons entering the oceans every year. Plastic makes up 80% of all marine pollution.
Only 1% of plastic floats. Most of it sinks to the bottom of the ocean. Once the plastic is in the gyres (a large circular system in the ocean), it’s almost impossible to remove.
The Great Pacific Garbage Patch lies in the North Pacific. It consists of 1.6 million square kilometers of floating plastic rubbish. Three times the size of France!There are large collections of plastic in other oceans. They lie in the North Atlantic, South Atlantic, South Pacific and the Indian Oceans. Visible plastic lies on the surface of the sea to 2 meters below. It resembles a PLASTIC SOUP.The plastic garbage patches of the oceans are almost entirely made up of tiny bits of plastic (< 5 mm) called microplastics, which are formed as plastic products break up. Microplastics cannot always be seen by the naked eye.
In the last 10 years, more plastic has been manufactured than ever before in history.50% of plastic made is for single use products. 500 billion plastic bags are used annually or 1 million per minute.57% of plastic bottles are used for water. Australia is the second highest consumer of plastic water bottles in the world per capita. The second biggest producer of single use plastic waste per capita is Australia. 75% of rubbish along the Australian coast is plastic. Plastic consumed per Australian has increased 20% in last 10 years
Some figures on plastic production:
- The amount of plastic that is produced in the world every year has increased from 2 million tons in 1950 to 390 million tons in 2021 (figures from the plastics industry https://plasticseurope.org).
- 56% of the plastic has been produced after 2000. The expectation is that the production will further increase to about 600 million tons in 2025.
- About 40% of all plastic products are thrown away within one month
Avoiding the problem: burning waste for energy, and plastic recycling are not the solution. We need to rethink our economy and our consumption behaviour: start ‘upstream’ in a holistic way, reduce the use of new plastic and reduce single-use unnecessary plastics, create a new plastics circular economy, becoming ‘regenerative’ for all materials and resources. Why do we need to do this? Plankton is a major contributor to carbon absorption. The fertility and functioning of plankton have been reduced in the past 15 years due to temperature rise and because of microplastics. This has an impact on climate change. Plankton is also responsible for 60-70% of the oxygen production on our planet: the oceans are our lungs.
Microplastics impact fertility and hormone systems of all life on our planet, and therefore impacts biodiversity on land, soil, air, and in the oceans, killing marine live and other animal
Plastic and our Health
Toxic chemical additives and pollutants found in plastics threaten human health on a global scale, twenty five percent of plastic compounds are harmful to humans. Some plastics are known to cause cancer or affect hormone activity in the human body. Plastic in the plaque in your blood vessels increases chance of heart attack or stroke.
Recycling
- 25% of plastic is thermoset and is near impossible to recycle.
- 75% of plastic can be recycled but this only happens to 10% of plastic waste.
- 78% of plastic rubbish is dumped in the ocean or used as landfill.
- The rest is incinerated.
Only good quality, clean plastics can undergo the recycling process.
The Plastic Atlas (https://www.boell.de/en/tags/plastic-atlas) says
“Recycling alone cannot solve the plastic crisis. New ideas are needed that tackle the roots of the problem”
The West Australian Government has implemented bans on some plastic products. Since 1st July 2022 they have banned
- all plastic shopping bags with handles
- disposable plastic utensils - straws, stirrers and cutlery
- disposable plastic food ware without lids - plates, bowls and food containers
- expanded polystyrene food containers and trays
- balloon releases are also banned from 1 July 2022; however, balloons are not banned.
Solutions
- REDUCE your purchases of plastic products, especially single use items. Choose non plastic alternatives.
- RE-USE plastic items rather than dispose, where possible.
- RECYCLE. Utilise recycling bins. Clean plastics before you place them in the recycling bin.
Many nations have banned single use shopping bags. Some places have banned the sale of bottled water. Many cafes have fully biodegradable coffee cups and water bottles. There is a greater awareness of the harmful effects of plastic.
Containers for Change
The RC Osborne Park is registered to collect the 10c on cans and bottles. This adds to our fundraising and helps the environment. Please make the opportunity to take your cans and bottles to your nearest recycling point and use the following code C10279641 to donate the proceeds to our bank account. Keep this code in your car to make it easier to remember. The centre on 257 Balcatta Rd, Balcatta is efficient and easy to use. enter the code into the computer at the entrance, print a label, stick the label on your bag(s) and deposit it the wire cage. The money will be deposited in our back account. Hirers of the Colin Moore Community Centre are encouraged to recycle their cans and bottles in the blue topped bin at the front of the building.
Call to Action
We ask all our club members, fellow Rotarians, and the West Australian community to be more aware of the environment and the harm that Plastic soup is to our future. Act - when out walking “Pick up 3” i.e. pick up 3 pieces of rubbish especially plastics and put them in the right waste bin, stop them from being deposited in our waterways. Use less plastic in your everyday activities- have a reuseable water bottle or coffee cup. Encourage your friends and family to act likewise!!
The service will be provided by Black Swan Health, who have been delivering the Street Doctor service for 20 years, starting in Fremantle, with several clinics in the southern Perth suburbs. There are no clinics north of the river, this will be the first.
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