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The Transition | January 2023
People and progress in solving the ocean plastic crisis

About OpenOceans Global. Our work centers on mapping ocean plastic, curating the best solutions, and linking together a community of ocean plastic experts and leaders. Learn more on NBC7/39's Down to Earth segment and in ArcNews. Past issues of The Transition can be found here.


What's New with OpenOceans Global

On January 6, 2023, OpenOceans Global submitted comments to the United Nations' international plastic treaty process in its role as an official observer.
 
 

 
 

Did you know?

In India, more than 90% of PET bottles are recycled because of their value to trash pickers.
 
 

 
 

Taking a Deeper Dive


U.S. plastic recycling is astonishingly inconsistent, showing opportunity for improvement

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Whether the public distrusts the potential for recycling plastic or the adoption of plastic recycling infrastructure has been too slow, the reality is that the implementation of plastic recycling in the U.S. varies widely by both types of plastic and geography. While recycling isn’t the whole answer to addressing the ocean plastic crisis, having sufficient recycled plastic feedstock is critical to meeting sustainability goals being adopted by governments around the world and to reducing the amount of virgin plastic being produced.

A 2021 Eunomia study commissioned by the Ball Corporation, “The 50 States of Recycling,” took a comprehensive look at recycling in the United States, not only for plastic but for all recycling, including cardboard, paper, aluminum, and glass. The Ball Corporation supplies sustainable aluminum packaging solutions for beverage, personal care, and household products and is well-known for its glass Mason jars.

The study had these key takeaways:

  • Recycling policies, such as deposit return systems (DRS) like bottle bills, and investment in infrastructure, such as curbside collection and recycling technologies, are crucial to advancing packaging circularity.
  • Not all recycling is created equal when it comes to reducing GHG emissions and the economic costs of recycling. For example, glass and aluminum, which can be recycled indefinitely, showed the greatest opportunity for reducing their carbon footprints, followed by PET.
  • Collection and recycling are not synonymous. It is critical to prioritize the recycling of high-value materials instead of collecting non-recyclable contaminants that make the entire system less effective.
  • Comprehensive and accurate data and measurement is a crucial step in moving the US towards a more circular economy. This includes waste characterization studies for residential and commercial waste streams and reporting systems to track the amount of material collected, recycled, and disposed of.

State recycling rates vary widely

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Image Credit: Eunomia/Ball Corporation

The Eunomia report provided several charts like the one above that shows the incredible variability between the states in the amount of plastic that is recycled.

Why does Maine recycle 57% of its plastic and West Virginia only 2%?
The inconsistency of recycling plastic from state to state as documented in the report is astounding. The outright leader is Maine, which recycles 57% of its plastic. Michigan is second at 39%. Contrast those percentages with states like West Virginia, which recycles 2%, and Mississippi, Tennessee, and South Carolina, which recycle only 4% of their plastic. The takeaway is that great improvement is possible and that Maine has set a standard that is not just aspirational but achievable.

Could all states recycle 72% of PET bottles like Maine?
The numbers for polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles are even more astounding. According to the Ball study, Maine recycles 72% of its PET bottles, while South Carolina recycles only 2% of its PET bottles.

Globally, even higher standards have also been achieved. Norway has a 97% recycling rate for PET bottles, according to Plastics Today. India achieves a 90% recycling rate due to the value of PET bottles to the nation’s trash pickers, according to multiple sources.

How much of each resin type is recycled?

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Image credit: State University of New York

Plastic product recyclability can be described by seven categories. According to a State University of New York study in 2017, these three categories of plastic had the highest recycling rates in the U.S.

  • 18.2% - #1/PET (polyethylene terephthalate) – carbonated beverage and water bottles, preheatable food trays.
  • 9.4% - #2/HDPE (high-density polyethylene) – milk cartons, grocery bags, household chemical bottles.
  • 4.2% - #4/LDPE (low-density polyethylene) – flexible items like trash bags, garment bags, squeeze bottles.

The recycling rate is less than 1% for each of the other four types of plastic.

  • Negligible - #3/PVC (polyvinyl chloride) – Pipe, windows, synthetic leather, medical tubing, auto product bottles.
  • 6% - #5/PP (polypropylene) – straws, cups, yogurt containers, ketchup bottles, hangers, auto battery casings.
  • 4% - #6/PS (polystyrene) – to-go containers, hot and cold cups, flatware, foam packing, trays for meat or fish.
  • No data - #7/Other – nylon, polycarbonates, polylactic acid, multilayer packaging, safety glasses, and lenses.

Comparing the amount of plastic discarded by type with the percentage recycled shows the opportunity to expand recycling, particularly given the number of U.S. states that have very limited rates of recycling, as shown in the Eunomia report.

Some additional factoids from the report:

  • 3.5 times more PET is recycled in states with deposit return systems (DRS).
  • Of the top ten recycling states:
    • 9 with the highest recycling rates for PET bottles and aluminum cans have DRS and curbside recycling.
    • 7 have good data quality, availability, and state reporting systems.
    • 8 have higher landfill disposal costs on a per-ton basis.

Americans support action to improve recycling
The report also conducted a consumer survey of 4,000 adults in March 2021 to identify national attitudes about recycling. The amount of support for recycling was overwhelming.

  • 84% - agree that investing in expanding and improving our nation’s recycling infrastructure should be a higher priority.
  • 67% - agree that companies that manufacture food and beverage containers should be responsible for the cost of collecting and recycling their products after people discard them.
  • 84% - agree that the U.S. should create a nationwide beverage container refund program to encourage recycling where consumers get back a small fee for returning empty glass jars, aluminum cans, and plastic bottles.
  • 81% - agree that difficult or impossible-to-recycle packaging materials should be phased out of use in the U.S. to reduce pollution.
  • 83% - would recycle if it was more convenient.
  • 82% - would recycle more if they had more confidence in the system actually working.

The purpose of Ball Corporation's state-by-state assessment of recycling was to allow comparable recycling rates to be calculated. This calculation sets a baseline in each state that can be used to inform policy, design programs, and assess infrastructure needs. While recycling is only one part of solving the ocean plastic crisis, OpenOceans Global’s position is that this data clearly documents that great gains can be made in plastic recycling if the political will and funding are available. The data provides not just aspirational goals, but achievable goals that could be adopted in each state and globally. The most impact can be had in plastic resin types 1, 2 and 4. The full Eunomia report commissioned by the Ball Company can be found here. A “key insights” presentation can be found here.

 
 

 
   
 

 
 

Mapping Plastic-Fouled Coastlines

See more beaches fouled by plastic on our ocean plastic trash map. To report a shoreline pervasively fouled by significant amounts of plastic debris, use our online plastic trash reporting app.

This Month's Coastal Hotspot: Mausund and the Froan Nature Reserve, Norway

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Image Credit: Mausund Field Station

The outer island coastal areas of Trøndelag are among the most polluted in Norway, particularly the Mausund and the Froan Nature Reserve. 70% of the plastic comes from abroad, but the rest comes from shipping and local industry. According to a story in Norwegian SciTech News, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, "beach clean-up crews have collected a total of 5,500 cubic meters, or 5.5 million liters, of marine waste since 2017. Then add to that 14,200 kilos of oil, chemicals, and other liquids that were collected. Close to 1,500 volunteers have worked on the project.” Local sources say “this is not anything the groups will be able to clean up overnight; it will probably take decades.”

 
 

 
 

Solutions

See more solutions on our ocean plastic solutions page.  Have a solution we should know about? Submit it here.

This Month's Featured Solution: Norway’s strategy to recycle more than 95% of PET bottles

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Image credit: TOMRA

In Norway, you buy the beverage but are just loaned the plastic bottle. A Norwegian initiative has put that country on the leading edge for collecting and recycling beverage bottles and cans, achieving a collection rate of more than 95%. Producers and consumers are incentivized with dollars to recycle. and reduced packaging is rewarded with a lowered surcharge - which allows for simplified recycling. The producers are ultimately responsible for the program, and it nearly pays for itself.

Two companies and a national taxation strategy make the process work. There is a basic tax for beverage producers on all single-use containers, plus a variable environmental tax that is reduced as return rates increase. Consumers pay between 20 and 30 Norwegian kroner (two to three cents USD at current exchange rates) for each bottle or can, which is refunded when they return the container. Containers with a 95% return rate or more are exempt from the environmental tax, creating a financial incentive for producers to participate in this deposit return system (DRS) and achieve the highest possible return rate. The tax is currently set to zero because of the success of the program. In 2021, more than 1.55 billion beverage containers were returned for recycling. Norway’s DRS is the responsibility of the country’s beverage producers – they pay 100% of the net costs for the system. Unredeemed deposits, revenue from the sales of container materials, and other revenues (mainly from interest) cover the largest proportion of the costs – covering almost 95% in 2021, with 5.4% paid through an Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) fee from producers.

These two companies implement the system.

TOMRA provides reverse vending machines for the automated collection of used beverage containers and provides advanced collection and sorting systems and has 3,900 reverse vending machines in 3,500 locations in Norway and approximately 11,500 manual return points, equaling one redemption point for every 362 people.

The system is managed by Infinitum, a privately owned not-for-profit organization created by beverage manufacturers and grocery chains in Norway to drive efficient collection and recycling of beverage bottles and cans. Infinitum sets requirements for packaging. All containers require Infinitum-approved labeling and must be produced according to the material packaging specification.

Taxation fuels retailer participation and commitment to driving high return rates. The high density of collection points and high level of automation increase efficiency in a return-to-retail model where all stores accept all containers. Its centralized operation supports transparency with “regulation rather than legislation,” creating a responsive model.

Additional source: Packaging Europe,

 
 

 
 

Meet the Experts and Leaders

OpenOceans Global is identifying ocean plastic experts from around the world. Here is one of the experts leading efforts to reduce plastic pollution that you should know about.

Nancy Wallace, Director, NOAA’s Marine Debris Program

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Image credit: NOAA

As director of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Marine Debris Program, Nancy Wallace works to research, prevent, and reduce the impacts of marine debris in the United States. Wallace's influence extends beyond U.S. shores as the former chair of the United Nations Global Partnership on Marine Litter (GPML). Recently renamed the Global Partnership on Plastic Pollution and Marine Litter, GPML is a multi-stakeholder partnership focused on marine litter and plastic pollution prevention and reduction. Wallace has been the chair of the United States Interagency Marine Debris Coordinating Committee (IMDCC) for the past decade. Authorized by Congress, the IMDCC is a multi-agency body responsible for coordinating a comprehensive program of marine debris research and activities among federal agencies. The Committee shares information, assesses and promotes best management practices, and coordinates the federal government’s efforts to address marine debris. Wallace has led ocean policy-related issues for the past 20 years. Her past work includes resource conservation with the National Park Service, developing sustainable catch limits for U.S. fisheries, and improving water quality in the Gulf of Mexico. Wallace has a master's degree in marine affairs and policy from the University of Miami Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science. She believes marine debris is one of the most widespread pollution problems facing the world's oceans and waterways. She asserts that marine debris is a global problem, an everyday problem, and a threat to the environment, navigation safety, the economy, and human safety and health. Wallace is an expert on the impacts of marine debris, technologies to help track and remove marine debris, and how we all can be part of the solution.

 
 

 
 

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OpenOceans Global is a 501(c)3 not-for-profit organization.

 
 

 
 
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OpenOceans Global

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