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The Transition
People and progress in solving the ocean plastic crisis

January 2022. The Transition newsletter reports on people and progress in solving the ocean plastic crisis. OpenOceans Global's work centers on mapping ocean plastic, curating the best solutions, and linking together a community of ocean plastic experts and leaders.

 
 

 
 

Did You Know?

Plastic debris is currently the most abundant type of litter in the ocean, making up 80% of all marine debris found from surface waters to deep-sea sediments. Plastic is found on the shorelines of every continent, with more plastic waste found near popular tourist destinations and densely populated areas.

From: International Union for the Conservation of Nature

 
 

 
 

Taking a Deeper Dive

UN Releases New Report on Improving its Marine Litter Activities

The United Nations, on January 13, 2022, released a new report, "Addressing marine litter and microplastics." The report is a comprehensive overview of the activities of 40 United Nations agencies, programs, and initiatives in supporting its member states in addressing marine litter and microplastics. The report recommends that further UN work on marine litter and microplastics should focus on four main action areas in the short- to medium-term by enhancing:

  1. Information sharing, the exchange of knowledge, best practices and experience regarding marine litter and microplastics.
  2. Collaboration across the entire life cycle to address marine litter systematically.
  3. The visibility of the marine litter and microplastics issue in agencies’ mandates and processes.
  4. The integration and mainstreaming of provisions relating to the elimination of marine litter and microplastics in policymaking, programming and management at the entity and system-wide levels by building on existing UN-wide sustainability strategies, using a source-to-sea approach.

UN Global Assessment of Marine Litter and Plastic Pollution

An earlier United Nations report, "From Pollution to Solution: a global assessment of marine litter and plastic pollution," published on October 21, 2021, provided a comprehensive look at the impact of marine litter and plastic pollution on the environment and their effects on the health of ecosystems, wildlife, and humans.

Both UN reports, along with many other resources, can be accessed in the Solutions section of OpenOceans Global's website.

 
 

 
 

Mapping Plastic-Fouled Coastlines

See more beaches fouled by plastic on our ocean plastic map.


Chennai Beach - Namma Beach, Namma Chennai

Chennai Beach Cleanup.pngIn Chennai, a city of more than 10 million people in southern India, a small nonprofit is making a big difference in addressing plastic and trash on the local coastline. Working together under the auspices of the Namma Beach, Namma Chennai (Our Beach, Our Chennai) nonprofit, funded by the Reciprocity Foundation, volunteers have collected more than 80,000 kilograms (176,000 pounds) of plastic trash. Along the way, the organization has raised awareness in villages, schools, and fishing communities. They are also addressing inclusion and diversity by providing employment for women. As seen in the image above, the organization also installs and maintains concrete bins as a more permanent form of trash containers where people can dispose of their waste. It is then collected by municipal trash services. To see the area where this work is being done, go to our ocean plastic map and search for "Chennai." Thanks to Namma Beach, Namma Chennai volunteer Karan Chakravarthy for providing us with this story. Image credit: Namma Beach, Namma Chennai.

 
 

 
 

Solutions

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


Category: Global Plastic Collaborations - Clean Currents Coalition

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The Benioff Ocean Initiative and The Coca-Cola Foundation are partnering to empower a collaborative network of innovative, passionate problem-solvers combating the flow of plastic waste from rivers to the ocean. Called the Clean Currents Coalition, nine teams are already using cutting-edge science to address that challenge in nine rivers in India, Kenya, Indonesia, Jamaica, Thailand, Panama, Ecuador, Vietnam, and Mexico. The organization has hosted 236 events and collected 495,409 kilograms of plastic (1.1 million pounds). Image credit: Clean Currents Coalition.

 
 

 
 

Meet the Experts and Leaders

OpenOceans Global is seeking to identify ocean plastic experts and leaders from around the world. Here are two you should know about.


Nicolai Maximenko, International Pacific Research Center

Nikolai Maximeno 2 260 x 130.pngNicolai Maximenko is an oceanographer at the University of Hawaii, International Pacific Research Center. He is a leading global expert in understanding ocean currents, playing a critical role in transporting plastic and other debris across the oceans. Nikolai has done extensive research on identifying plastic accumulation and pathways in the North Pacific Gyre, using drifters and models. Nikolai is the author or coauthor of 65 research papers addressing ocean dynamics and transport. Image credit: Loop.


Marcus Erickson and Anna Cummins, 5 Gyres Institute

Marcus Erikson and Family.pngMarcus Eriksen and Anna Cummins are the co-founders of 5 Gyres Institute. What started as a love story on a 2008 sailing expedition to the North Pacific Gyre has resulted in 5 Gyres becoming a leader in the global movement against plastic pollution. With a background steeped in scientific research and expertise in plastic pollution, 5 Gyres has brought much needed global attention to the ocean plastic crisis. Since 2009, their team has completed 19 expeditions, bringing more than 300 citizen scientists, corporate executives, brands, and celebrities to the gyres, lakes, and rivers to conduct firsthand research on plastic pollution. Through this research, 5 Gyres continuously engages diverse stakeholders in understanding the science to drive impact and conduct community outreach and citizen science to implement data-driven solutions. Image credit: 5 Gyres Institute.

 
 

 
 
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OpenOceans Global

P.O. Box 22971
San Diego, CA 92192-2971
United States
+1 858-353-5489
info@openoceans.org
http://www.openoceans.org

 

 
 

 
 

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