Kiera Jefferson
The ocean is a diverse and vibrant ecosystem that is currently under threat from various human activities. With millions of tons of plastic being dumped into our oceans each year, it is no surprise that several organizations have taken a stand against plastic pollution. These organizations work tirelessly to protect the ocean, its ecosystems, and its inhabitants, as well as the communities that depend on it. One such organization is The Ocean Cleanup, a non-profit organization that develops advanced technologies to rid the oceans of plastic debris. Other notable organizations include Greenpeace, a global group working to stop environmental crimes and protect the ocean, and Oceana, which is solely devoted to marine conservation and has won numerous policy victories. Additionally, the Surfrider Foundation and the Environmental Defense Fund are also actively involved in fighting plastic pollution and promoting coastal preservation. These organizations, along with many others, strive to create a sustainable future for our oceans and the planet.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Number of organizations | 11 |
| Location | Worldwide |
| Type of organization | Non-profit foundation, charity, business |
| Year founded | 2001, 2009, 2013 |
| Goals | Stop plastic pollution, reduce plastic waste, ban single-use plastics, protect marine wildlife and ecosystems, promote sustainability, clean up the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, recycle plastic, protect biodiversity, prevent ocean acidification, promote clean energy |
| Strategies | Developing and implementing campaigns, using technology, creating barriers to capture plastic, buying plastic waste, upcycling, advising companies, lobbying governments, working with communities, hosting beach cleanups, implementing sustainable fishing practices |
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What You'll Learn
- The Ocean Cleanup: develops technology to remove plastic debris from the ocean
- Greenpeace: works with governments to ban single-use plastics
- Ocean Conservancy: advocates for the ocean and inspires others
- The Surfrider Foundation: fights plastic pollution and promotes ocean-friendly restaurants
- Parley: converts plastic waste into clothing materials
The Ocean Cleanup: develops technology to remove plastic debris from the ocean
The Ocean Cleanup is a non-profit organization that develops technology to remove plastic debris from the ocean. It aims to remove 90% of plastic from the ocean by 2040. The organization has been researching, extracting, and monitoring plastic pollution in oceans and rivers for over ten years, with tens of millions of kilograms removed to date.
The Ocean Cleanup uses a dual strategy to tackle the plastic pollution crisis. Firstly, they intercept plastic in rivers to prevent it from reaching the ocean. This involves deploying floating barriers and extraction systems in rivers or at river mouths, targeting 1000 rivers responsible for 80% of riverine pollution. Secondly, they clean up plastic that has already accumulated in the ocean, such as in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, a plastic accumulation zone with over 100,000,000 kilograms of plastic.
The Ocean Cleanup's technology has undergone various design iterations. The initial design featured long, floating barriers fixed to the seabed, attached to a central platform. However, tests indicated that conventional oil containment booms would not be durable enough. The design was then modified to use hard-walled HDPE pipes, with reduced dimensions to enable the use of multiple systems. The concept of anchoring the system to the seabed was replaced with sea anchors, allowing the system to drift with the currents and target areas with high concentrations of debris.
The Ocean Cleanup has deployed its river cleanup barrier, called "The Interceptor," in several locations worldwide, including Indonesia, Malaysia, the Dominican Republic, and the United States. They have also trialed a new design called "Trashfence" and continue to expand their technology to make a significant impact on reducing plastic waste in the oceans.
The Ocean Cleanup's mission is to address the urgent global crisis of plastic pollution, which has devastating effects on marine wildlife, ecosystems, and the human food chain. Trillions of pieces of plastic pollute the oceans, and this problem is worsening. By developing innovative technologies and taking direct action, The Ocean Cleanup strives to restore the ocean ecosystem and create a sustainable future for our planet.
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Greenpeace: works with governments to ban single-use plastics
Greenpeace is a global non-profit organization that works to stop environmental crimes and protect biodiversity. With its vast networks, Greenpeace lobbies corporations to reduce their plastic footprint and end the flow of plastic into our oceans. Greenpeace also addresses unsustainable industrial fishing practices, climate change, and ocean acidification.
Greenpeace has been actively involved in pushing governments to ban single-use plastics. In Canada, Greenpeace released survey results showing that 65% of Canadians agreed that the government should act quickly to ban single-use plastics. This led to Minister McKenna's commitment to collect, reuse, and recycle at least 75% of plastic waste from government operations by 2030. Greenpeace Canada also participated in the Break Free From Plastic movement, calling for G7 countries to pass binding reduction targets and bans on single-use plastics.
In the UK, Greenpeace, along with plastic pollution campaigners City to Sea and campaign group 38 Degrees, submitted a petition signed by 117,000 people calling for a ban on the most polluting single-use plastic items. The petition was part of the #CutTheCutlery campaign and urged the government to meet and exceed the EU's Single-Use Plastics Directive. The majority of respondents to the government's consultation supported a ban on items such as cutlery, plates, and polystyrene food containers, with many calling for an earlier implementation date.
Greenpeace has also been active in other countries, advocating for a strong Global Plastics Treaty and demanding world governments to include references to plastic production in the negotiations. Greenpeace Canada activists even hung a banner near the Shaw Center, calling for a cut in plastic production.
Overall, Greenpeace's work with governments to ban single-use plastics is a crucial part of their mission to protect the environment and reduce plastic pollution in our oceans.
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Ocean Conservancy: advocates for the ocean and inspires others
Ocean Conservancy is a non-profit organization that aims to protect marine mammals and their habitats. It was established in 1979 as the CEE (Center for Environmental Education) and was officially renamed the Ocean Conservancy in 2001. The organization's main goals include advocating for strong ocean policies, conducting scientific research, fostering collaborations, and empowering communities to protect and restore ocean and coastal habitats.
One of Ocean Conservancy's notable achievements was the establishment of the Seal Rescue Fund (SRF) in 1979 to protect marine mammals from commercial exploitation. They also played a significant role in the International Whaling Commission's decision to adopt an international moratorium on commercial whaling in 1982. In addition, the organization led efforts against the U.S.-sanctioned fur seal hunt and worked to protect dolphins from the tuna industry, assisting in the creation of the dolphin-safe tuna-labeling program.
Ocean Conservancy has also been active in safeguarding sea turtles. They helped derail proposals to reopen international trade in sea turtle products and ended Japanese imports of hawksbill sea turtle shells. Additionally, their advocacy efforts contributed to federal and state regulations requiring the use of turtle excluder devices (TEDs) in shrimp trawl gear, saving thousands of turtle lives annually.
The organization further recognizes the importance of community engagement and has initiated ocean cleanups where volunteers can remove trash from local oceans and beaches. Their flagship event, the International Coastal Cleanup, was first held in 1986 and now involves over 150 countries annually. To date, more than 17 million volunteers have participated, collecting over 300 million pounds of trash from the ocean.
Through its various initiatives, Ocean Conservancy continues to advocate for the ocean and inspire others to take action in protecting marine life and ecosystems.
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The Surfrider Foundation: fights plastic pollution and promotes ocean-friendly restaurants
The Surfrider Foundation is a non-profit organisation dedicated to fighting plastic pollution and promoting ocean-friendly restaurants. It has a powerful activist network that works towards protecting and preserving the world's oceans, waves, and beaches for all people. The foundation's initiatives include beach cleanups, a blue water task force, and ocean-friendly gardens.
The Surfrider Foundation's Ocean Friendly Restaurants program recognises and promotes restaurants that are committed to cutting out single-use plastic. The program offers a simple framework to help restaurants make sustainable choices and reduce their plastic footprint. Restaurants that join the program receive a welcome packet with marketing materials such as window stickers, brochures, and bill inserts to promote their membership to customers. They also gain access to national vendor discounts on sustainable products and tax-deductible donation opportunities.
The foundation provides guidance and resources to help restaurants transition to reusable and sustainable alternatives. This includes information on how to safely use reusables, the secret to more sustainable takeout, and why reusables are safe during the COVID-19 pandemic. The foundation also exposes the plastic industry's tactics in promoting single-use plastics.
The Surfrider Foundation has been influential in passing legislation at the local, state, and national levels to reduce plastic pollution. Their beach cleanups not only help keep beaches and coastlines clean but also contribute to plastic pollution research and policy influence. The foundation's activists are tackling the growing threat of plastic pollution, which is detrimental to both ocean health and human health.
The foundation encourages individuals to get involved in their local chapters and spread awareness about the problems with plastics. They also provide a step-by-step guide, the Rise Above Plastics Activist Toolkit, to help communities reduce single-use plastics and create positive change.
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Parley: converts plastic waste into clothing materials
Parley is a non-profit organization that enables creators, thinkers, and leaders to collaborate and raise awareness about the rampant problem of ocean pollution. The Parley for the Oceans Program is centred on three strategies: avoiding plastic, intercepting plastic waste, and redesigning the material itself. Parley has partnered with several companies that have either created or pledged to reuse ocean plastics to create new products. For example, Adidas, Stella McCartney, and American Express have all partnered with Parley.
Parley's work is important because plastic pollution has been a growing global concern for decades. More than 8 million tons of plastic are dumped into the oceans each year, and it is incredibly difficult to recover. Plastic particles can easily slip through water treatment plants and enter rivers and oceans, affecting even the smallest forms of marine life. Recent studies have found that most seabirds and 100% of sea turtles have plastic in their stomachs.
Parley's strategy of intercepting plastic waste before it enters the ocean is similar to that of The Ocean Cleanup, a non-profit organization developing and scaling technologies to rid the oceans of plastic. The Ocean Cleanup uses a dual strategy of intercepting plastic in rivers and cleaning up what has already accumulated in the ocean. The Ocean Cleanup has been working since 2013 to remove plastic from the ocean and prevent it from breaking down into dangerous microplastics.
Parley's strategy of redesigning plastic materials is similar to that of Lava Rubber, an ocean-friendly business that collects old neoprene wetsuits and scraps and transforms them into something new through a special manufacturing process.
Parley's work to raise awareness about ocean pollution is similar to that of Greenpeace, a global organization working to stop environmental crimes and protect biodiversity in all its forms. Greenpeace pushes for a ban on single-use plastics and argues with big corporations to reduce their plastic footprint.
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Frequently asked questions
There are many organizations working to stop ocean pollution, including:
- The Ocean Cleanup, a non-profit organization developing advanced technologies to rid the oceans of plastic.
- The Ocean Conservancy, which works in sectors ranging from fighting climate change to implementing sustainable fishing practices.
- The Surfrider Foundation, which fights for plastic pollution, ocean protection, beach access, coastal preservation, and clean water.
- Greenpeace, a global non-profit organization working to stop environmental crimes and protect biodiversity.
The Ocean Cleanup uses a system of floating barriers to capture plastic and bring it back to shore for proper disposal. They also develop technologies to recycle the collected plastic and prevent it from breaking down into dangerous microplastics.
One of the best ways to get involved is to join an organization as a member or volunteer. Many organizations also accept donations to support their work. You can also take direct action by contacting local officials or participating in beach cleanups.
Some specific projects include Oceana's work to end single-use plastics and save right whales from extinction, and the Sea Life Trust's campaign to reduce plastic pollution and remove ghost fishing gear from the ocean. Organizations like Project AWARE also create long-term solutions to plastic pollution and bring attention to issues like the global shark trade.
