Bremen, 1 June 2017 \u2013 Greenpeace Germany activists took to the water today in protest against the world\u2019s worsening marine plastic pollution crisis and called on the G20 countries to take concrete steps to adopt solutions and reduce the use of plastics.<\/p>\n
As high-level G20 administrators met to discuss the marine litter crisis, 50 activists in bright red survival suits formed the letters \u2018ACT\u2019 in the waters of a lake near the conference venue in Bremen. The activists also unfurled a banner reading \u2018for plastic-free oceans\u2019.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur oceans and the marine life that call them home are choking on throwaway plastics as an estimated 8 million tonnes of this waste washes into the sea from land every year. This is a rapidly worsening crisis and actions not words from governments are urgently needed to resolve it. As the world\u2019s most developed nations, the G20 countries have a responsibility to show leadership and to adopt legally-binding solutions,\u201d Greenpeace oceans expert Thilo Maack said.<\/p>\n
Greenpeace is calling on governments to ban key sources of marine plastics as a crucial first step, including phasing out single-use plastic items, such as packaging and microbeads. \u00a0Any company or business producing plastic items, such as packaging, must be held to account under mandatory Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) to contribute to the solution.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe cannot recycle our way out of the plastic litter problem. Governments are too quick to turn to recycling and should instead prioritise the waste management hierarchy through prevention at source, followed by reuse and then recycling,\u201d Maack said.<\/p>\n
Plastic has flooded our daily lives, reflective of a throwaway culture since much of the plastic is used to manufacture a variety of single-use items including packaging.<\/p>\n
Global plastics production has skyrocketed in the last 50 years, and especially in recent decades. In 2002-2013 alone, it increased approximately 50 percent to 299 million tonnes from 204 million tonnes. This figure is expected to exceed an estimated 500 million tonnes per year by 2020 (1), which would represent a 900 percent increase on 1980 levels.<\/p>\n
No definitive figure on the abundance of plastic in the world\u2019s oceans exists, but 60-80 percent of marine litter is estimated to be plastics. \u00a0Approximately 4 to 12 million tonnes of plastics enter the ocean every year (2). \u00a0And only about 14% of plastics is recycled (3).<\/p>\n
\u201cInnovation and implementation of alternative delivery systems and substitution of microbeads with sustainable materials is the key\u201d. \u00a0Mandatory phase out timelines would strongly motivate innovation and if supported by a G20 competition to identify and implement the best innovative solutions, this would contribute far more than continued talks. It is time for solutions,\u201d Maack added.<\/p>\n
ENDS<\/p>\n
Notes:<\/strong><\/p>\n 1. Global Ocean Commission, 2015 \u201cPlastics – Keeping them out of the ocean\u201d<\/p>\n 2. Jambeck et al, 2015 \u201cPlastic waste inputs from land into the ocean\u201d Science Vol. 347 Issue 6223<\/p>\n 3. Ellen MacArthur Foundation “The New Plastics Economy: Rethinking the future of plastics” (2016)<\/p>\n Images and video:<\/strong><\/p>\n Photos: here\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n