2018 is shaping up to be a breakthrough year in terms of awareness around the plastic pollution problem. But we're nowhere near solving it yet, says DW's environment team leader.
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Image: picture-alliance/Photoshot
People seem to finally be waking up to the global issue of plastic pollution – it was the focus of this year's Earth Day, and also World Environment Day in 2018 has the theme beating plastic pollution.
The unfortunate recent end of a whale in Thailand provides a timely illustration of the problem. It died with 80 plastic bags in its stomach, which prevented it from getting enough nutrition to survive. That whale, like innumerable other marine animals, died a slow and painful death as a result of our consumption habits.
But the plastics problem, and its accompanying disturbing images, are not new at all.
If current trends continue, there will be around 12 billion tons of plastic waste – twice as much as the current 6 billion tons – in our environment by 2050.
In terms of environmental problems, plastic has the advantage of being a physical, tangible thing – this very visibility is among the reasons the plastic problem is finally entering the mainstream.
David Attenborough's Planet Earth II is among the media products lending publicity to the issue.
You could even say concern about plastic pollution has become a trend.
But can the growing momentum around the topic be harnessed to transform this trend into real change?
Well, that depends on you.
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Awareness is a positive and necessary first step. But next comes action.
Not only do consumers need to change their behavior, to reduce their single-use plastics – consumers also need to send the signal that they care about the issue, and want the system to change.
Also, businesses will need to do their part, coming up with alternative products and models to allow a low-plastic society to flourish and continue to enjoy modern conveniences. Indeed, many businesses are ready to embrace a bioeconomy.
But ultimately, it's up to governments to create frameworks that make change possible. And it's up to us to demand that.
Are you ready to change your own habits, and call on your government to make that a system change?
Until then, we'll continue to drown in our own waste.
Sonya Diehn is the Environment Team Leader for DW.
Rivers of plastic
Most of the plastic that ends up in our oceans is carried there by eight rivers in Asia and two in Africa. They face many other environmental problems too.
Image: Imago/Xinhua/Guo Chen
1: Yangtze River
The Yangtze is Asia's longest river and the third-longest river in the world. It also tops the list of river systems through which the most plastic waste flows into the oceans, according to a recent study. The Yangtze flows into the East China Sea near Shanghai and is crucial to China's economy and ecology. The river basin is home to 480 million people — one-third of the country's population.
Image: Imago/VCG
2. Indus River
The Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research found 90 percent of plastic flowing into oceans can be traced to 10 rivers. The Indus ranks second on the list. One of Asia's largest rivers, it flows through parts of India and Pakistan into the Arabian Sea, supporting millions of people. While much plastic enters rivers because of a lack of waste infrastructure, sewage systems contribute too.
Image: Asif Hassan/AFP/Getty Images
3. Yellow River
Plastic can enter the food chain as fish and other marine and freshwater animals ingest it. The Yellow River, said to be the cradle of Chinese civilization, is third on the plastic-waste list but that's not the only environmental problem with which it contends. Pollution has rendered much of the river's water undrinkable. Around 30 percent of its fish species are believed to have disappeared too.
Image: Teh Eng Koon/AFP/Getty Images
4. Hai River
Another of China's rivers, the Hai, comes in at number 4. It connects two of China's most populous metropolitan areas, Tianjin and Beijing, before flowing into one of the world's busiest shipping lanes, the Bohai Sea. The 10 river systems share traits, says the study. One is that they are located in densely populated areas with a lack of waste infrastructure and little awareness of recycling.
Image: Imago/Zumapress/Feng Jun
5. Nile River
Generally thought to be the world's longest river, the Nile flows through 11 countries before entering the Mediterranean Sea from Egypt. Some 360 million people live in the river basin where its waters support agriculture — the region's main economic activity. Irrigation and evaporation mean the river doesn't even reach the sea in dry periods. Still, it comes in at number five in the ranking.
Image: Imago/Zumapress
6. The Ganges
The Ganges is central to Indian spiritual life and provides water to more than half a billion people. Sewage, agricultural and industrial waste have made it one of the world's most polluted rivers, as have the multitudes of plastic that end up in it. Cleaning up the waste — as students are doing in this picture — is important, but experts say we must produce less and stop pollution at the source.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/S. Kanojia
7. Pearl River
Here, workers clear floating waste from China's notoriously dirty Pearl River, which enters the South China Sea between Hong Kong and Macau. Sewage and industrial waste flow into the river delta, keeping apace with the region's incredible rate of urban expansion. Since the late 1970s, the delta has transformed from a mainly agricultural and rural region to one of the world's largest urban areas.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/Goh Chai Hin
8. Amur/Heilong River
It's not until they hit urban and industrial areas that rivers feel the worst effects of pollution. Still, according to recent studies, plastic debris is even being found in remote and "pristine" locations. The Amur River rises in the hills of northeastern China and forms much of the border between China's Heilongjiang province and Russia's Siberia before it snakes out to the Sea of Okhotsk.
Image: picture-alliance/Zumapress/Chu Fuchao
9. Niger River
The Niger is West Africa's main river, supporting over 100 million people and one of the planet's most lush ecosystems. It flows through five countries before entering the Atlantic Ocean from Nigeria. Plastic pollution aside, extensive dam construction is affecting water availability — and frequent oil spills in the Niger Delta have caused widespread water contamination.
Image: Getty Images
10. Mekong River
Dams are having major ecological and social impacts on the Mekong too. Around 20 million people live in the Mekong Delta. Many are dependent on fishing and agriculture for survival. The river flows through six countries in Southeast Asia, including Vietnam and Laos, and is tenth on the list of river systems that carry most of the 8 million tons of plastic that are dumped into the seas each year.
