Plastic: Not so Fantastic? A Sea Change in the way we Think.
The image of a baby turtle struggling to break free from a piece of plastic on Blue Planet will be one that stays with the millions of those who watched the series. The images of that baby turtle and all the other wildlife affected by the rise of plastic pollution have served as important catalysts in a movement to limit plastic production and waste.
Known as the ‘Blue Planet effect’, the series has helped people really visualise what is going in our oceans while inviting us to question the impact of the way we live our lives has on the environment.
More than 8 million tonnes of plastic finds its way into the oceans each year with a reported estimate of 300 million tonnes of the stuff littering our seas currently. A shocking statistic estimates that there will by 2050, there will be more plastic than fish. Our seas now contain about 51 trillion microplastic particles- that is 500 times more than the number of stars in our galaxy. Some are regarding plastic pollution as the sixth mass extinction of life on Earth with over 600 species worldwide being harmed.
With this sort of information now being widely circulated, campaigns to reduce plastic consumption have been amplified and governments are starting to listen.
The Independent’s Cut the Cup Waste campaign found that the majority of the public would be in favour of a 25p charge added to coffee cups.
After the success of the 5p plastic bag charge which has led to an 80 percent drop in plastic bag use across England. Ministers have considered the introduction of a similar charge on disposable coffee cups; however, the levy proposal was rejected in March by ministers.
This year, China banned all UK waste imports in an attempt to address the country’s pollution problem. As a result, plastic waste exports are already shifting to other countries, in particular South-East Asia.
Whilst this might help other developing countries to build up their recycling capacities, it runs the risk of overburdening countries like Vietnam and Malaysia, with negative impacts for the environment and oceans.
It is currently unclear what objects make up the biggest component of ocean plastic. Research into ocean plastic sources came from beach clean-ups citing common objects like cigarettes, straws and cups. But earlier this year researchers published a report after measuring the trash in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch: the largest source of plastic came from fishing equipment.
An Ocean Plastics Charter was signed by the G7 countries in June to emphasise their commitment to reduce plastic pollution by 2030. But the charter does not account for the regulation of fishing equipment and also leaves out the US and Japan. Greenpeace has branded the proposals ‘tepid’. The UN made ‘Beat Plastic Pollution’ its theme for World Environment Day this year but has only made suggestions for individual countries.
What might all this mean for the Insurance Market?
The research is unclear and trends are difficult to predict. If the political climate encourages more recycling and careful waste management we might see a growth in this area of technology which could be insured.
Clearly, South- East Asia might be an area of particular interest if they are now overladen with waste. There could even be a measures put in place where governments could hold companies transporting plastics and waste and those responsible for fishing equipment liable, if they are found to be contributing to the problem.
2018 certainly has seen a sea-change in the way we think about the environment and specifically plastic. Environmentalism is on its way to becoming a social norm; the plastic straw ban for example, has made using a plastic straw increasingly socially unacceptable.
Only yesterday was I chastised for using two different coffee cups and not a reusable one.
It is exactly these sorts of behaviours which will encourage everyone to become that bit more aware of their decisions to use plastic.
Alice Jay, Work Experience, Markel Marine
